By admin 
California voters will decide this November how much support local communities need to raise special taxes.
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Proposition 43 would amend the state constitution to require two-thirds of voters to approve local special taxes initiated by citizens, raising the threshold from a simple majority. Special taxes are taxes imposed for specific purposes, like funding a certain project or service.
Supporters argue that because government-initiated local special taxes require a two-thirds vote, so should citizen-initiated local special taxes. Opponents say the measure would make it harder for communities to raise money for local needs, such as education, fire protection and infrastructure, and would allow a minority of voters to block measures supported by the majority.
“Why, to fund our local schools or fire districts, do we need the same level of support that the U.S. Senate needs to impeach a president? It doesn’t make sense,” said Ben Grieff, executive director of Evolve California, which opposes the measure.
Prop. 43 was placed on the ballot as part of a compromise between Democratic state lawmakers and supporters of a broader tax initiative. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, said she drafted the amendment to keep the original measure off the ballot.
The initial measure, sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, was retroactive: In addition to raising the future threshold, it would have invalidated any property-related special taxes previously adopted with an approval rate below two-thirds. Wicks said it threatened billions in local funding.
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After lawmakers approved the narrower Prop. 43, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association withdrew the original initiative from the ballot. Wicks took to social media to voice her opposition to the measure.
“Sometimes the choice is between bad — and much worse. That’s where we found ourselves,” Wicks wrote on X. “I authored ACA 22 not because I wanted it to become law — but because it was the only path left to get the more dangerous initiative off the ballot before time ran out.”
Grieff said he believes Californians will look at who supports and opposes the proposition when deciding how to vote. Community groups, faith-based organizations, labor groups and people who “keep everything running” oppose the measure, while anti-tax conservatives more aligned with President Donald Trump’s worldview support it, he said.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association did not respond to a request for comment.
“Our local communities want to be able to decide with a simple majority if they should raise revenue to fund the services they need,” Grieff said. “To have 34% of folks in an area get to block desperately needed funding for roads, fire protection, schools, affordable housing — that’s not something that the voters of California want to see enacted across the state.”
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