San Diego Association of Governments

The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the county, 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 and North County Transit District, 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.

Governance
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.

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

Fare payment systems
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.

Primary Members
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:


 * Carlsbad
 * Chula Vista
 * Coronado
 * Del Mar
 * El Cajon
 * Encinitas
 * Escondido
 * Imperial Beach
 * La Mesa
 * Lemon Grove
 * National City
 * Oceanside
 * Poway
 * City of San Diego
 * San Marcos
 * Santee
 * Solana Beach
 * Vista
 * County of San Diego

Advisory Members
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:


 * Imperial County
 * California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
 * Metropolitan Transit System
 * North County Transit District
 * United States Department of Defense
 * Port of San Diego
 * San Diego County Water Authority
 * San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
 * Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association
 * Mexico (Consulate General of Mexico)
 * Association of Planning Groups