Protect Prop. 13, the campaign behind the initiative to require a two-thirds supermajority vote to enact citizen-initiated local special taxes in California, reported submitting over 1.3 million signatures to local county officials for verification on Feb. 25.

The measure is an initiated constitutional amendment that would increase the vote threshold from a simple majority to a two-thirds vote for local special taxes proposed via initiative. Local special taxes proposed by a governing board, such as a city council or board of supervisors, are already required to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the electorate. The measure would require the repeal of existing property-related special taxes approved by less than two-thirds of voters on Dec. 31, two years after the enactment of the initiative, if it is approved.

The amendment would also prohibit charter cities from enacting a real estate transfer tax above the state rate of $0.275 per $500 and repeal any existing charter city transfer taxes on Dec. 31, two years after the enactment of the initiative if approved. The initiative would allow counties and cities to continue to levy and split the revenue from documentary transfer taxes currently authorized by state law. As of Jan. 2025, 26 charter cities have enacted their own transfer taxes above the state rate.

A similar measure qualified for the ballot in 2024 but was removed by the California Supreme Court after the justices unanimously ruled that the initiative amounted to a revision of the state constitution and was therefore unconstitutional and could not be decided by voters. The initiative would have amended the state constitution to define all state and local levies, charges, and fees as taxes. The initiative would have also required new or increased state taxes to be passed by a two-thirds legislative vote in each chamber and approved by a simple majority of voters. It would also have increased the vote requirement for local taxes proposed by local government or citizens to a two-thirds vote of the local electorate. 

Protect Prop. 13, the campaign registered in support of the 2026 initiative, reported over $840,000 in contributions through Dec. 31, 2025. The top donors included the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC and the Issues PAC of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles.

Proposition 13 was an initiated constitutional amendment approved by voters in June 1978 by a margin of 65% to 35%. It was drafted by Howard Jarvis, who founded the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The proposition:

• required that properties be taxed at no more than 1% of their full cash value shown on the 1975-1976 assessment rolls and limit annual increases of assessed (taxable) value to the inflation rate or 2%, whichever was less;
• upon the transfer of properties, allowed them to be reassessed at 1% of their sale price and reset the limit on annual increases of assessed value;
• prohibited the state legislature from enacting new taxes on the value or sale of properties;
• required a two-thirds vote of the state legislature to increase non-property taxes;
• required local governments to refer special taxes to the ballot and require a two-thirds vote of electors; and
• made the state government responsible for distributing property tax revenue among local governments.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who filed the initiative, said, “Taxpayers deserve certainty and fairness. The Local Taxpayer Protection Act protects the integrity of voter-approved tax safeguards and prevents end-runs around longstanding constitutional protections. This is about defending taxpayers and making sure local governments live within their means.”

California voters will be deciding on a legislatively referred amendment in November that would require citizen-initiated constitutional amendments that propose a higher vote threshold for future state or local ballot measures to meet the same higher threshold to pass (for example, a ballot initiative proposing a 60% requirement for certain other measures would itself require a 60% vote to pass). The state legislature originally referred the amendment to the 2024 ballot in response to the 2024 initiative. After the 2024 initiative was removed by the Supreme Court, the state legislature passed a bill to move the amendment to the 2026 ballot.

To qualify an initiated constitutional amendment in California, proponents need to submit 874,641 valid signatures, which is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election. The deadline for signature verification is June 25.

The campaign is the first to report submitting more than the required number of signatures needed to qualify for the 2026 ballot. As of Feb. 25, 44 ballot initiatives were filed for circulation with the California Secretary of State for the 2026 ballot. Between 2010 and 2024, the average number of initiatives filed each cycle was 77 with an average of nine certified, but the past four cycles have been below both averages. 

Main link: https://ballotpedia.org/California_Two-Thirds_Vote_Requirement_for_Special_Taxes_Initiative_(2026)