Legislation setting the stage for a 2010 San Diego County sales tax measure to fund environmental projects sailed through the Assembly on Thursday and headed for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The legislation passed on a 53-12 vote, according to the staff of state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, the bill's sponsor.

"The governor has not taken a position on this bill yet," said Rachel Cameron, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman in Sacramento.

Steve Aceti, executive director of the Encinitas-based California Coastal Coalition that represents cities and counties along the state's shoreline, and a bill supporter, said Schwarzenegger is likely to sign the bill.

"The fact that it gained Republican votes along its path will be very significant in terms of the way the governor views the bill," Aceti said. "The other thing he'll like about the bill is that it requires a two-thirds vote of the county electorate (to approve a ballot measure)."

The legislation, Senate Bill 1685, would not establish a tax. Instead, it would give power to a regional planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments, to place an environmental sales tax measure or "Quality of Life Initiative" on the countywide ballot. The Senate approved the bill this month.

The bill builds on the association's existing authority to seek voter approval for a sales tax of up to one cent on the dollar to pay for transportation projects. Half of that authority is currently in use, with the half-cent TransNet measure passed in 1987 and renewed in 2004.

The association has authority to ask for an additional half-cent. But the agency needs permission to expand the purpose for the money to quality of life projects.

The legislation would open a way to use sales tax dollars to put sand on the region's thinning shoreline, clean up rivers and bays, buy open space and underwrite the cost of operating trains and buses.

For now, the sales tax stands at 7.75 percent in most North County communities. The exception is Vista, where shoppers pay 8.25 cents on the dollar.

Not everyone likes the idea of going to voters for a potential half-cent increase. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association believes the measure is particularly poor timing, coming just four years after the regional agency sought and won approval for extending the TransNet measure for 40 years.

"In light of the fact that the voters just passed a $14 billion tax increase in 2004, we think SANDAG should focus on completing projects from that measure rather than wasting time and money concocting a new multibillion-dollar wish list," said Lani Lutar, the group's executive director.

SANDAG has compiled a list of potential environmental projects with cost totals ranging from $5 billion to $12 billion.

Lutar said the taxpayer group also fears the added responsibility would remake SANDAG into something the region doesn't want.

"SANDAG wants to establish itself as the regional superauthority with the ability to spend tens of billions of dollars," she said. "We are concerned that they are turning into a bloated bureaucracy that lacks oversight."

But supporters of an environmental tax say the measure is something the region needs.

Escondido Mayor Lori Pfeiler said that unlike many municipal services, the region lacks a reliable funding source for cleaning up stormwater runoff, putting sand on the beach and managing open space. And Pfeiler said the state is taking operational money away from public transit.

Aceti, of the California Coastal Coalition, suggested a sales tax measure is more likely to gain voter approval than, say, a countywide hotel tax or real estate transfer fee.

"This is across the board," he said. "You're not targeting hotel guests. You're not targeting people who sell and buy homes."

Aceti said the measure would offer something for everyone.

He maintained coastal residents would benefit from inland open space projects because they hike on inland trails, and inland residents would benefit from sand replenishment projects because they play at the beaches.

"And everyone in the region needs to have clean water," Aceti said.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.