San Diego Association of Governments

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for San Diego County, California. It is an association of local county governments, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and county supervisors, and also has capital planning and fare setting powers for the county's transit systems, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and the North County Transit District (NCTD), some of which was assumed by the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (became MTS in 1986). SANDAG, along with the Southern California Association of Governments, are the only metropolitan planning agencies in Southern California.

San Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG)
Agency overview
Formed1980
Preceding agency
  • Comprehensive Planning Organization of San Diego
JurisdictionSan Diego County
Headquarters401 B Street, Suite 800, San Diego, CA 92101
Annual budget$1.36 billion
Agency executive
  • Mario Orso, Executive Director
Child agencies
Websitesandag.org

Governance

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The board was previously governed with the representation of one board member from every city in San Diego County, with each member holding two votes in two systems. The approval of a project required the majority tally vote representing all cities and board members and the majority of represented members weighted by population.

After the passage of SANDAG's reform bill in 2017, any four representatives representing a majority of the county's population can overrule the tally vote.[1]

From 2018 to 2023, the director of SANDAG was Hasan Ikhrata, who made transit expansion and roadway pricing a priority.[2] In 2024, he was replaced by Mario Orso.[3]

Programs

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Fare payment systems

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The Compass Card was launched by SANDAG in May of 2009 to integrate the fare payment systems of San Diego MTS and North County Transit District into one system, meant to reduce the number of fare transactions at customer service centers. The Compass Card was replaced by PRONTO in September 2021.

Members

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Primary Members

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As of July 2024, all 18 incorporated cities of San Diego County as well as the county government itself are members of SANDAG. Those include:[4]

Advisory Members

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Additionally, 11 other agencies/governments that border San Diego County or are relevant to the region also participate in the Association as advisory members. Those include:[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Keatts, Andrew (2017-10-11). "Governor Signs Bill to Dramatically Shift Power at SANDAG". Voice of San Diego. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  2. ^ Weisburg, Lori. "SANDAG'S embattled Hasan Ikhrata to leave agency by end of year". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  3. ^ "SANDAG Board Appoints Mario Orso as Chief Executive Officer". SANDAG. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b "SANDAG - SANDAG Board of Directors". www.sandag.org. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
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  • SANDAG · San Diego Association of Governments
  • LAO Report March 2006 Assessment of SANDAG's Role in San Diego from the Legislative Analyst's Office