Oakland, California, Measure S, Appropriations Ordinance (March 2020)

Oakland Measure S
Election date March 3, 2020
Topic City budget
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

An Appropriations Ordinance was on the ballot for Oakland voters in Alameda County, California, on March 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported increasing the city's appropriations limit until March 3, 2024, to allow the city to continue to spend the tax revenue from local taxes previously approved by Oakland voters on emergency, library, and safety services without increasing or imposing new taxes.

A "no" vote opposed increasing the city's appropriations limit until March 3, 2024, to allow the city to continue to spend the tax revenue from local taxes previously approved by Oakland voters on emergency, library, and safety services without increasing or imposing new taxes.

A simple majority was required for the approval of Measure S.

Election results

Oakland Measure S
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		82,583	72.35%
No		31,562	27.65%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the measure increasing the appropriations limit under Article XIIIB of the California Constitution (which limits city expenditures of tax proceeds) to allow the City of Oakland to continue to expend revenues from taxes previously approved by Oakland voters for emergency medical services, paramedic services, library services, public safety and violence prevention services, homeless services and other lawful governmental purposes, without increasing or imposing new taxes, be adopted?

”

Impartial analysis

The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Barbara Parker, city attorney:

“ In 1979, California: voters passed Proposition 4, an initiative that added Article XIIIB to the California Constitution. This constitutional amendment established a limit, known as the "Gann Limit" or "Appropriations Limit", on the amount of tax revenue state and local governments (including cities) can appropriate (spend) in any fiscal year. The expenditure of tax revenue by state and local governments cannot exceed their appropriations limits. Article XIIIB requires that local governments calculate appropriations (spending) limits annually. An appropriations limit is calculated by adjusting the "base year" appropriations limit each year for inflation and population growth. In 1990, California voters passed Proposition 111, which established Fiscal Year 1986-1987 as the "base year" for all governments. Therefore, the City of Oakland's annual appropriations limit is the City's appropriations limit from Fiscal Year 1986-1987 (base year) adjusted each year for inflation and population growth. Since Fiscal Year 1986-1987, Oakland voters have passed local tax measures that generate tax revenue to pay for important municipal services such as emergency dispatch services, paramedic services, libraries, violence prevention, and services to the homeless. To permit the City of Oakland to continue to spend tax revenue on these important municipal services without exceeding the City's appropriations limit, the City of Oakland's appropriations limit must be increased. Section 4 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution allows the electors of a local government to increase the City's appropriations limit by a majority vote for up to four years. This measure would increase the City's appropriations limit until March 3, 2024. This increase will allow the City to continue to spend the tax revenue from local taxes previously approved by Oakland voters on important municipal services such as emergency dispatch services, paramedic services, libraries, violence prevention, and services to the homeless, without increasing or imposing new taxes. This measure was placed on the ballot by the Oakland City Council. Passage of this measure requires an affirmative vote of a majority of voters (i.e., more than 50% of the votes cast). A "Yes" vote will approve the measure; a "No" vote will reject the measure. ”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Oakland City Council.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• City budget on the ballot
• City government on the ballot
• Alameda County measures

California

• March 3, 2020 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• Oakland, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• City of Oakland website