California Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Special Taxes Initiative (2026)
| California Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Special Taxes Initiative | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Ballot measure supermajority requirements |
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| Status Cleared for signature gathering |
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| Type Initiated state statute |
Origin |
The California Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Special Taxes Initiative (#25-0006A1) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would require a two-thirds vote by the electorate to enact special local taxes enacted by local governments and successful citizen initiative campaigns. It would also prohibit cities from imposing real estate transfer taxes above the 0.11% cap set by Proposition 13 (1978).[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:[2]
| “ | Limits ability of voters to raise revenues for local government services. Initiative constitutional amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:[2]
| “ | Limits voters’ ability to pass voter-proposed local special taxes by raising the vote approval threshold requirement for such ballot measures from a simple majority (over 50%) to two-thirds. In charter cities, prohibits voters from approving real estate transfer taxes other than the existing 0.11% transfer tax authorized by Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911. Overturns all existing voter-approved property-related taxes, including real estate sales and transfer taxes, that do not comply with these requirements two years after the measure is enacted.[3] | ” |
Full text
Three versions of the initiative were filed:
Path to the ballot
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide for direct initiatives and nine (9) that provide for indirect initiatives (two provide for both). An indirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 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.
Initiative #25-0004, #25-0005, and #25-0006
- May 12, 2025: The initiative was filed by Jon Coupal.[4]
- June 16, 2025: Two new versions of the initiative were filed by Jon Coupal.
- June 25, 2025: A third version of the initiative was filed.
- July 16, 2025: Versions #25-0004 and #25-0005 were cleared for signature gathering.[5]
- July 30, 2025: A new version of #25-0006 was filed.
- December 9, 2026: The secretary of state reported that the petition for #25-0006 had collected at least 25% of the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.[2]
- January 12, 2026: The circulation deadline passed for initiatives #25-0004 and #25-0005. Each submitted raw signatures for verification.
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text #25-0006," accessed December 10, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 24, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiatives Pending Review," accessed November 26, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed July 17, 2025
