Fresno County Board of Supervisors sues state over effort to force vote on Measure C renewal

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to file a lawsuit against the state of California for AB 1923, the state law that would force the county to place a renewal of Measure C in front of voters, calling it unconstitutional.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast and will be updated.

Nathan Magsig, Buddy Mendes, and Garry Bredefeld voted "yes" to file a lawsuit, while Brian Pacheco and Luiz Chavez voted "no."

The dispute began when Fresno County supervisors ruled that the "Better Roads, Safe Streets" initiative needed additional review. The time county staff needed to prepare that report, pushed the ballot measure beyond the deadline required to qualify for the November ballot.

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Nathan Magsig, Buddy Mendes, and Garry Bredefeld voted "yes," while Brian Pacheco and Luiz Chavez voted "no."

In response, state lawmakers passed AB 1923 to force the county to place the measure on the November ballot. Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on August 6.

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Fresno County's lawsuit is against the state, backers of the initiative, and James Kus, in his official capacity as Fresno County Clerk.

If the measure is not approved by voters, Fresno County will lose the long time source of supplemental transportation funding.