Prop 43 would raise the bar on raising taxes

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Happy Monday. 

Our election countdown continues. 

It’s not often when the supporters and opponents of a ballot measure agree. Even rarer when they would both describe the measure in the same way. Yet both groups staking their positions on this year’s Proposition 43 ballot measure describe it similarly: It will make it harder for local governments to raise taxes. 

The real point of divergence is whether that’s a good thing. And if you ask the opponents of the measure, including many Democratic lawmakers, local government officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bad would be very, very bad.

Special taxes are one of only a few tools in local governments’ arsenals to raise money for specific projects. Due to a series of court decisions over the past several years that sought to clarify elements of a 1978 ballot measure that made sweeping constitutional changes to tax measures, special taxes hold a unique position. 

Local special taxes proposed by governments, such as city councils and boards of supervisors, must win with a two-thirds vote – a threshold that makes them virtually impossible to pass. The barrier for citizen-led initiatives that raise special taxes, though, remains a simple majority. Prop 43 would raise that threshold so that all special taxes must pass with a two-thirds vote. 

General taxes, which can fund a wide range of services and programs, can also pass with a simple majority.

Prop 43’s primary backer and coauthor of the measure, the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, has cast the court decisions allowing citizens’ special tax initiatives to pass by simple majority as a loophole. If the ballot measure were to pass, it would essentially hit the rewind button to a period before a 2017 state Supreme Court decision that set the current simple majority rule. 

Local leaders across California have begun sounding the alarm over the implications if Prop 43 were to pass, saying it would cut off a crucial funding source that allows local communities to tax themselves to pay for their priorities. 

If the measure passes, measures such as Alameda County’s 2025 Measure B funding healthcare, Sonoma County’s 2024 Measure H for fire protection and Santa Clara’s June 2026 Measure D for open space preservation would not have made it to the finish line — they all received a majority of support but less than a two-thirds vote.

The measure is not retroactive, and would apply to measures introduced beginning next year. 

Newsom’s campaign team last week released an almost complete list of the governor’s positions on the ballot measures, with a few exceptions.

Overall he’s voting no on four measures, and yes on eight, as the Chronicle’s Sophia Bollag reported. 

But if you’re curious about the governor’s positions on Props 41 and 45, spokesperson Izzy Gardon said the governor is still reviewing them and hasn’t yet taken a public stance. 

Prop 41 is the one of two measures designed to invalidate the billionaire tax. It would require audits for programs funded by new statewide special taxes and prohibit new state taxes that would circumvent the state spending limit. 

Prop 45 would limit environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act for many new construction projects.

Aside from Prop 43, Newsom’s other no votes are: 

His yes votes are a longer list: 

California officials are warning immigrant communities across the state of a potential pre-election surge in ICE operations, the Chronicle’s Hannah Wiley reported. Operations have reportedly already led to dozens of recent arrests, mainly in the Central Valley.  

The increased reported ICE activity comes weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections and amid false claims by President Donald Trump and administration officials of widespread noncitizen voting in states like California.

One Democratic congressional aide told the Chronicle that lawmakers have participated in emergency conference calls with key stakeholders across California to discuss how they can combat what appears to be a ramp up in activity targeting the state.

It’s unclear how extensive the reported operations are. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Chronicle’s questions regarding where the operations are happening, how many people have been detained and what ICE’s broader goals are.

Sen. Adam Schiff wrote in a Friday social media post that the administration is hoping to “deter Latino citizens from voting,” 

Rep. David Valadao, R-Bakersfield, said in a Thursday statement that DHS officials confirmed that operations are underway in the Central Valley.

Remember that audit that found several consultants billed the California High-Speed Rail Authority for lavish travel expenses, gym trips and other costs?

Now, the board chair of the agency is pledging to seek reimbursement from those consultants, the Chronicle’s Rachel Swan reported. 

Officials now have to go over receipts in light of the state investigation last month that found the agency paid nearly $600,000 for travel expenses that appeared to lack proper paperwork. 

These included trips to a Planet Fitness, an escape room and various private residences.

“I take these findings very seriously,” Board Chair Steve Kawa said at the opening of a special meeting on Friday to address the audit. 

Analysts at the Office of the Inspector General reviewed roughly half of the $2 million the authority paid to four consulting firms to defray their travel costs during fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26. 

Of the $1.15 million subjected to scrutiny, $680,500 — roughly 60% — had no documented approval before the travel occurred, as required by law. Staff determined that $595,600 in contractor expenses were “unallowable.”

Want to know more about what’s on your ballot? 

The San Francisco Chronicle’s 2026 voter guide is here, with all the need-to-know information about this year’s election. 

For those of you in the Bay Area, that includes guides about your local ballot measures and races. For the rest of us, it’s a very useful guide for all the state races, including the very long list of statewide ballot measures. 

Confused about the propositions? Out of the loop on the lesser-known statewide races like controller and insurance commissioner? We’ve got you. 

Check out the interactive voter guide for California and Bay Area elections.

ICYMI

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