Proposition 43, appearing on this November’s statewide ballot, will close a court-created loophole in Proposition 13 that gave the green light to local governments to impose local special taxes without the two-thirds vote required by the plain language of Prop. 13. Section 4 of Prop. 13 states, in unambiguous terms, that special taxes may only be approved “by a two-thirds vote of the qualified electors of such district.” Nonetheless, the courts have ruled that the two-thirds vote requirement would not apply if the tax was placed on the ballot by a “citizens’ initiative.” These more recent decisions are in direct...