The California secretary of state announced on April 21 that two ballot initiatives had qualified for the November ballot — the first initiatives to qualify this election cycle in California.

One is an initiated constitutional amendment that would increase the vote requirement to pass citizen-initiated local special taxes from a simple majority (50%+1) to a two-thirds (66.67%) vote. It would also prohibit charter cities from imposing their own real estate transfer taxes, whether for general or specific purposes, above the existing statutory rate of $0.275 per $500 of value. Citizen-initiated local special taxes previously approved by less than a two-thirds vote and real estate transfer taxes in charter cities would be invalidated. The initiative would allow counties and cities to continue levying and splitting revenue from documentary transfer taxes currently authorized by state law. Currently, 26 charter cities have enacted their own transfer taxes above the state rate.

The measure is sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, with the majority of funding from the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC ($3.65 million).

In 2024, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California Business Roundtable qualified a similar initiative that would have amended the state constitution to define all state and local levies, charges, and fees as taxes and to require new state taxes proposed by the state legislature to be enacted via a two-thirds legislative vote and voter approval, and new local taxes to be enacted via a two-thirds vote of the electorate. In June 2024, prior to the finalization of statewide ballots, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the 2024 initiative amounted to a revision of the state constitution and was therefore unconstitutional and could not go before voters in November.

During the 2024 election cycle, the California State Legislature voted to refer a constitutional amendment (Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13) to the 2024 ballot, designed to 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. The amendment contains a provision that the new vote requirement for initiatives would apply to any initiatives featured on the same ballot as the amendment. After the 2024 initiative was removed from the ballot, the state legislature voted to move ACA 13 to the 2026 ballot. This means that if the legislative amendment passes, the newly qualified initiative would need to pass by a two-thirds vote, since it proposes a two-thirds vote requirement for taxes.

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.”

To qualify an initiated constitutional amendment in California, proponents must submit 874,641 valid signatures, equal to 8% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election. 

The campaign submitted over 1.3 million signatures for verification. The random count is not complete, but with an average county verification rate of 78.1%, the secretary of state determined the petition contained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The second initiative to qualify is an initiated state statute that would establish a second-mortgage homebuyer program for qualified homebuyers on qualifying homes administered by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), and authorize CalHFA to issue up to $25 billion in bonds to fund the program.

The criteria for a qualified homebuyer would include:

• California resident for one year prior to application;
• agreement to occupy the home as a primary residence within 60 days of closing;
• income at or below 200% of the area median income for a similar-sized family in the county or city where the qualified new home is located; and
• down payment of no less than 3% of the purchase price of the qualified home.

The initiative would limit second-mortgage loans to 17% of a home’s sales price. Homebuyers would have to secure a first mortgage to cover any remaining costs of the qualified home. The initiative would require CalHFA to set interest and terms on the loans to account for the interest on the bonds and the administrative costs of the program by CalHFA.

The initiative was filed by former Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg (D). Explaining the initiative, he said, “I wanted to create something that would support the building of, and therefore supply, more middle-class housing. We need to increase supply. Because these subsidy programs, most of them, just end up increasing the cost of housing. You wind up buying your grandma’s house with bad pipes and a leaky roof, and then you’re stuck with all those expenses. The subsidies raise prices, but they don’t add supply. And lately, everything has been focused on affordable rental housing. This is about ownership. Because, as I always say, home is where the wealth is."

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the homeownership rate in California, the proportion of households that are owner-occupied, was 55.3% as of Jan. 1, 2024. The peak of homeownership in California between 1984 and 2024 was 2006, with 60.2%. 

To qualify an initiated state statute in California, proponents need to submit 546,651 valid signatures, which is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election.

The campaign submitted over 918,000 signatures for verification. The random count is not complete, but with an average county verification rate of 78.7%, the secretary of state determined the petition contained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

California voters will also be deciding on three legislative referrals — the amendment related to initiative supermajority requirements; a law allowing state and local governments to create public campaign finance programs; and an amendment to eliminate the successor election when a state officer is recalled.

Six initiatives have reported collecting at least 25% of the required number of signatures. Three other initiative petitions are pending signature verification, including:

• A law to create a compensation limit for CEOs, executives, administrators, and managers of healthcare corporations;
• A law to prohibit healthcare clinics, specifically federally-qualified health centers and related organizations, from spending less than 90% of their annual revenue on mission-related purposes; and
• A constitutional amendment to require voters to present government-issued identification when casting ballots and require election officials to use government data to confirm voter citizenship and report verification rates.

In California, proponents of citizen-initiated ballot measures can withdraw a qualified measure by 5 p.m. 131 days before the next general election. The 2026 deadline is June 25.