California Proposition 43 would require a two-thirds vote to pass any citizen-initiated local special tax, a change that applies to Coronado and every other city in the state. The measure is on the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Under current law, special taxes proposed by the Coronado City Council already require two-thirds approval. But citizen-initiated special taxes need only a simple majority (over 50%), according to the California Secretary of State's voter guide. Prop 43 would close that gap, raising the citizen-initiative threshold to two-thirds starting Jan. 1, 2027.

The split dates to a 2017 California Supreme Court ruling. The court held that Proposition 13's two-thirds requirement applied only to measures placed on the ballot by elected officials, not by citizens, as KQED reported. Since then, citizen-initiated special taxes across California have needed only a simple majority.

How it reached the ballot

Prop 43 is not a citizen initiative. The state Legislature placed it on the ballot as part of a deal with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which had qualified a more restrictive measure, KPBS reported.

Lawmakers passed the enabling legislation, ACA 22, on June 25 by votes of 68-2 in the Assembly and 35-1 in the Senate, according to Ballotpedia.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, authored ACA 22 but opposes the measure. "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," Wicks said, according to Ballotpedia.

Who supports and opposes it

The California Taxpayers Association, Family Business Association of California and California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce back Prop 43. In the official ballot argument, supporters said the measure restores Proposition 13's two-thirds vote requirement for local special taxes and closes what they called a court-created loophole.

California Professional Firefighters, California Federation of Teachers and Nurse Alliance of SEIU CA oppose it. Opponents argued in their ballot statement that the measure would not cut taxes but would allow 33.4% of voters to block initiatives supported by nearly 67%.

Campaign finance filings show support committees raised roughly $14.9 million, with the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC contributing $9.85 million. Opposition committees raised about $4.9 million, led by $1.5 million from the SEIU California State Council, Ballotpedia reported.

Early polling

A Public Policy Institute of California poll conducted Sept. 4–10 of 1,103 likely voters found 43% in support, 51% opposed and 6% undecided. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

What it means locally

No citizen-initiated special tax has appeared on a Coronado ballot in available city records. But Prop 43 would set the rules for any future attempt to put one before voters. The measure is not retroactive and would not affect taxes already approved.

The proposition also prohibits any new ad valorem property taxes, except for voter-approved bond debt-service taxes already authorized in the state constitution, Ballotpedia reported.

Coronado's voter registration deadline is Oct. 19. Vote-by-mail ballots were mailed Oct. 5, according to the city's election page.