Californians approved 36 local tax increases and rejected 14 in June 7 elections, according to preliminary results, and another six remain too close to call.
The approved measures include nearly $1 billion in new general obligation and school bond indebtedness that will be repaid through property tax increases, and an additional $91 million in new direct taxes.
Click here for CalTax’s detailed list of the local tax measures.
Noteworthy measures include:
- Parcel Tax Repealed in San Bernardino. Voters in San Bernardino overwhelmingly approved Measure Z, a citizen-initiated ballot measure to repeal a parcel tax that had been approved by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors after a protest period was held, but without a vote of the electorate. Measure Z proponents said the board acted illegally by imposing the tax without first getting a two-thirds vote of the people.
- San Francisco General Obligation Bond Is Too Close to Call. Measure A, a $400 million general obligation bond to be repaid through a property tax of $100 per $100,000 of assessed value, is too close to call based on preliminary results. Measure A, which received significant support from San Francisco’s business community, has 63.32 percent support, which is just short of the two-thirds support needed to pass. The tax would cost taxpayers $30 million annually and remain active for 30 years.
- Fresno County Sales Tax Increase Approved. Fresno County voters overwhelmingly approved Measure Z, extending an expiring transactions and use tax of 0.1 percent. The tax is expected to cost taxpayers $15 million annually, with revenue earmarked to support the operations of the Fresno County Zoo. Measure Z was supported by 82.39 percent of the voters.
- Manhattan Beach Parcel Tax Rejected. Manhattan Beach voters soundly rejected Measure A, a citizen-initiated parcel tax that would have imposed a $1,095 tax on residential property, increasing in future years for inflation, to raise funds for the local school district. The tax would have remained active for 12 years and would have cost taxpayers an estimated $11 million annually. Citing the Upland decision, the city declared that the measure needed a simple majority vote, rather than a two-thirds vote as a special tax. Preliminary results show that the measure received only 31.2 percent of the vote in support.
Counties will continue to certify election results in the weeks ahead, with the deadline to finalize ballot counting on July 7.