California Tax Deal Removes Major Ballot Fight, Preserves Two-Thirds Vote Requirement

In a surprise Capitol compromise, California lawmakers and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) have reached a tentative agreement that could remove one of the state’s biggest ballot battles while preserving the two-thirds voter approval requirement for future local special taxes.

HJTA President Jon Coupal confirmed he plans to withdraw the Local Taxpayer Protection Act (LTPA) from the November ballot if the Legislature places a constitutional amendment before voters restoring the two-thirds vote requirement for local special taxes.

“This arrangement, if agreed to, gives what we’ve been promising our members,” Coupal said.

As part of the deal, lawmakers would also pull ACA 13, the Democratic-backed measure that would have required future initiatives raising voter approval thresholds to pass by those same higher thresholds. Opponents argued ACA 13 was intended to make initiatives like the LTPA much harder to pass.

Instead, the Legislature would place a narrower constitutional amendment before voters requiring a two-thirds vote for future local special taxes while eliminating the LTPA’s retroactive provisions, easing concerns that previously approved local taxes could face legal challenges.

The compromise avoids what was expected to be one of California’s most expensive statewide ballot fights this year. If finalized, voters would decide a single constitutional amendment rather than competing tax-related measures.

The proposal still requires final legislative approval before the agreement becomes official.

Sources: Sacramento Bee; San Joaquin Valley Sun; Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association; statements from HJTA President Jon Coupal.