Measures / Measure M

Metro (LA County transportation) · Sales tax

Measure M: Permanent transportation half-cent

Transit construction and operations, highways, street and sidewalk repair, bridge retrofits and fare subsidies. After 0.5% administration: 35% transit construction, 17% highways, 20% transit operations, 16% Local Return, 5% rail operations, 2% each for ADA and reduced fares, state of good repair and active transportation, and 1% regional rail.

StatusIn effect

Rate½ cent on every taxable dollar countywide

Money per year—

Approved by votersNovember 8, 201671.15% yes

In effectSince Jul 1, 2017

EndsNo end dateThe tax is a half cent now and rises to 1 cent on July 1, 2039, when Measure R expires. The ballot language says it continues until voters decide to end it. Source

Background and sources

Metro's Local Return page lists Measure M's Local Return share as 17%; the funding guide's formula shows 16% plus a 1% amount set aside before the split. Both are shown here until a reviewer confirms how Metro counts it.

Sources (4)

Local Return program LA Metro
Measure M LA Metro
Measure M sales tax cash receipts through May 2026 LA Metro
Selected transportation funding sources (allocation formulas from Metro's funding guide) South Bay Cities Council of Governments

Written into the measure

Allocations in the measure

Transit constructionshare of the money 35%

Transit operationsshare of the money 20%

Highwaysshare of the money 17%

Local Returnshare of the money · Metro's Local Return page says 17% 16%

Rail operationsshare of the money 5%

ADA and reduced faresshare of the money 2%

State of good repairshare of the money 2%

Active transportationshare of the money 2%

Regional railshare of the money 1%

Latest amounts

Current figures

FY 2025-26 adopted$61.5MCity of LA Measure M Local Return Fund

Explanation

The fund's full budget for the year. It includes money carried over from earlier years as well as new receipts.

Source: FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget, Supporting Information

FY 2026-27 proposed$47.8MCity of LA Measure M Local Return Fund-22.3% vs FY 2025-26

Explanation

Source: FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget, Supporting Information

FY 2025-26, 11 months$1.01BMeasure M collected, July 2025 to May 2026+2.13% vs the same months a year earlier

Explanation

Source: Measure M sales tax cash receipts through May 2026

Revenue collected

Monthly receipts

11 months entered: $1.01B collected, vs. $992M in the same months a year earlier.

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

FY 2025-26Same month, year before

Source: Measure M sales tax cash receipts through May 2026

Public reporting

Program dashboards

1 of 2 programs or reports have no public dashboard Tally LA could find (checked Oct 28, 2026).

Program	Dashboard?	What it shows or lacks
Monthly cash receipts	✓ Exists LA Metro	Monthly collections vs. the year before (PDF) Open →
Project spending tracker	✕ None found	No public dataset of spending to date on each Measure M project.

Votes

Decisions about this measure

Feb 10, 2026, City Council: Applied for the City's share of South Bay Cities' Measure M money for 2026 (12–0 (3 absent))

All votes →