Local ballot measures around California

There are more than 350 local measures across California on the Nov. 6 ballot. Among them:

• El Monte and Richmond would levy a “soda tax” on sugared beverages.

• Arcata proposes a 45% tax on excessive electricity usage, aimed at marijuana “grow houses.”

• The desert town of Needles would impose a 10% tax on marijuana sales.

• To combat loitering by the homeless, Berkeley would ban sitting on sidewalks in commercial areas from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

• The Davis Joint Unified School District wants voters to renew a $204 parcel tax and add one for $242 if Gov. Jerry Brown’s statewide tax initiative fails, to make up for loss of state funds.

• Los Angeles County voters are asked to extend a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects.

• San Francisco, Chico, Richmond, Arcata and Mendocino County have measures declaring that corporations should not have the same rights as individuals, a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that corporations have the same right as individuals to make political expenditures.

Sources: League of California Cities, Times reporting by Phil Willon