Limits ability of voters to raise revenues for local government services. Initiative constitutional amendment. 

May 11, 2026 - Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that an initiative became eligible for the November 3, 2026, 

In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 874,641 valid petition signatures, which is equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election.  

A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 962,106 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.  

On June 25, 2026, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).  

The Attorney General's official title and summary of the measure is as follows:  

LIMITS ABILITY OF VOTERS TO RAISE REVENUES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. 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.  Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Annual loss of revenues to local governments totaling up to a couple of billion dollars, predominantly affecting certain charter cities. Potential future reduction in what local governments would otherwise collect in revenues due to a higher vote threshold for certain taxes and fewer types of taxes that local governments can adopt. (25-0006A1.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1983 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0006A1. 

The proponent of the measure is John Coupal. The address for the proponent is 1201 K Street, Ste. 1030, Sacramento, CA 95814. 

For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/. 

Source: CA. SoS