Slideshow Commuters on Caltrain board a northbound train from Palo Alto station on Aug. 23, 2017. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that allows the agency to present voters with a sales tax measure. Photo by Veronica Weber. Caltrain is the only transit agency without a dedicated funding source that currently receives support from San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Weekly file photo. Previous Next

Caltrain's plan to ask voters for a sales-tax increase received a boost Tuesday, when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that will allow the rail service to move ahead with the measure.

Senate Bill 797, which was authored by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, authorizes a measure for a sales tax of no more than one-eighth of a cent. The measure would have to be approved by Caltrain's partner agencies in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and then by a two-thirds majority of the voters in the three counties.

Caltrain, which is in the midst of a modernization project that includes electrification of its fleet, has long been the only transit agency with no dedicated funding source in California. To date, it has relied on annual contributions from each of the three counties.

In a statement, Caltrain Executive Dirctor Jim Hartnett said Hill's bill is "critical to supporting our efforts to upgrade Caltrain service so we can meet the evolving mobility demands of our growing region."

"The Caltrain Electrification Project that is currently under construction will provide us with the potential to dramatically increase rail service to Caltrain communities, and SB 797 provides the opportunity to invest in that potential to truly meet the long term needs of the region," Hartnett said.