Santa Rosa County will have to wait until November 2026 to ask voters to support another half-cent Local Option Sales Taxes (LOST) after the effort to double the existing half-cent LOST to a full-cent LOST failed yesterday by a 54.33-45.67 margin.
The current half-cent LOST doesn’t sunset until December 31, 2026, but the county was aiming to repeal and replace it with a full-cent LOST and planned to spend half of the projected $30 million per year in revenues toward transportation infrastructure.
The half-cent LOST was first approved by voters in August 2016, taking effect January 1, 2017 and generating $46 million in the first five years. Voters approved extending the half-cent LOST in November 2020.
Back in 2019, during a special election, the county first attempted to double the LOST, losing by a 66% margin.
Since that time legislation was passed which forces such a binding referendum to appear only on General Election ballots.
Additionally, the county will have to wait four years to attempt doubling the LOST again.
