California Prohibit Exceptions to State Minimum Guarantee for Education Funding Amendment (2026)
| California Prohibit Exceptions to State Minimum Guarantee for Education Funding Amendment | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Revenue and spending limits |
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| Status Cleared for signature gathering |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
The California Prohibit Exceptions to State Minimum Guarantee for Education Funding Amendment (#25-0038) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would prohibit taxes enacted after January 1, 2026, can be exempted from the state minimum guarantee for education funding established by Proposition 98 passed in 1988.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:[3]
| “ | Requires new state taxes be subject to existing voter-approved school funding requirement and state spending limit. Initiative constitutional amendment.[4] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:[3]
| “ | Current law requires (1) a portion of state revenues be allocated to K-12 schools and community colleges and (2) any state tax revenues collected in excess of specified limit be allocated to schools, budget reserves, or refunded to taxpayers. This measure would prohibit new state taxes that exclude their revenues from these requirements. Applies to taxes that are enacted or take effect on or after January 1, 2026, including taxes that appear on the same ballot as this measure.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in California
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Stages of this ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[2]
- December 8, 2025: The initiative was filed by Kurt R. Oneto.
- February 11, 2026: The initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in California.
Explore California's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed December 9, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 California Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 24, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
