Your guide to Proposition 43: Voting thresholds for local special taxes

Proposition 43 would clarify that any local special tax on the ballot needs support from two-thirds of voters, rather than a simple majority. If passed, it would go into effect on Jan. 1.

Local taxes proposed by governments that are used for a specific purpose require a two-thirds vote to be approved. But in recent years, California courts have allowed special taxes proposed by citizens to be approved with a simple majority vote, meaning more than half.

At the same time, the special interests pushing a tax hike are in some cases aligned with politicians on the measure, blurring the line between who is behind a proposed tax increase.

California

Voter guide to the 2026 California general election

California’s general election takes place on Novemer 3. Learn about L.A.’s city and county races as well races for state office.

Oct. 1, 2026

Backers argue that Proposition 43 is needed to close a loophole that makes it easier for groups, including business entities and unions, to seek special taxes.

Opponents contend that raising the threshold will make it harder to pass taxes and a lack of revenue will hurt communities seeking to fix roads or pay for public safety.

Fundraising data will be updated regularly until the election.

The California Taxpayers Assn., Family Business Assn. of California, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and California Consumer Advocates for Affordability all back the measure. They want to rein in the ability of politicians and special interests to seek higher taxes and argue the cost of living in California is already too high.

Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., argued in a Cal Matters opinion piece that passage of Proposition 43 would clarify existing law.

“There is no ‘citizens’ initiative tax increase exception’ from the two-thirds vote requirement in Prop. 13. Courts have simply made it up,” she wrote. “Californians who are already struggling with the high cost of living have been forced to pay even higher prices because judges have made it easier to raise taxes.”

One such case is Measure ULA, passed by L.A. voters in 2022. It created a tax on high-value real estate transactions to fund homeless initiatives. The measure passed with 58% of the vote, but opponents argued the two-thirds threshold should have been applied.

California Professional Firefighters, the California Federation of Teachers, the Nurse Alliance of SEIU California and the California School Employees Assn. all oppose the measure. They argue that it will make it harder to pass tax hikes to pay for police and fire departments, fix and repair local roads, staff local schools or backfill federal healthcare cuts.

They also argue that Proposition 43 skirts the California Supreme Court’s opinion on the threshold.

Gubnatorial candidate Xavier Becerra opposes Proposition 43. In a statement, he called corporations “special interests” that want the proposition to pass in order to block new taxes.

“Prop. 43 would hand special interests the power to block the resources our communities count on most: fire protection, safe roads, good schools,” Becerrra said.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who authored the legislation that became Proposition 43 — ACA 22 — opposes the measure and has urged Californians to vote against it. She said the only reason she crafted the bill was because it was a necessary bargaining chip to torpedo another ballot measure backed by the Jarvis taxpayers group that would have devastated revenues for local governments and retroactively rescinded some local tax increases.

The fight over California tax policy has its roots in Proposition 13, the successful 1978 initiative that said local governments couldn’t increase taxes for specific purposes, such as road or school repairs, without the approval of two-thirds of local voters.

California voters also clarified that those taxes included assessments and other fees when they passed Proposition 218 in 1996.

In recent years, private groups seeking to raise local taxes have used voter-backed initiative petitions to get their measures on the ballot.

The California Supreme Court in 2017 indicated that the two-thirds threshold for local taxes applies to measures put on the ballot by elected government bodies, not to those sponsored by citizens.