NEWS RELEASE FROM THE HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION AND THE CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 23, 2026:
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association refuses to bow to political pressure to remove Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 from the November ballot
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association announced Monday that it will not pull its initiative, the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 (LTPA), from the November ballot despite intense political pressure to do so following a legislative deal to pass a statewide cap on real estate transfer taxes.
Assembly Bill 736 was introduced on Monday. It would cap transfer taxes at 1.5%, with exceptions. Insofar as it reduces some of the most onerous taxes on the sale or transfer of real estate, HJTA regards it as a step in the right direction, however, it is not adequate, especially in comparison to something much better – the initiative’s complete rollback, in two years, of all taxes higher than 0.11% on the sale or transfer of real estate.
The LTPA restores the meaning to the words in the state constitution, in Article XIIIA, Section 4, which completely ban real estate transfer taxes. Courts have disregarded this prohibition and allowed some cities to enact them.
Most importantly, however, AB 736 does nothing to address the devastating impact of “Upland” taxes, special taxes that require a two-thirds vote of the electorate but have passed with far less when proposed by “citizens’ initiative.” This is a court-created loophole stemming from the California Supreme Court’s ambiguous language in 2017’s California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland.
Californians are paying billions of dollars in new taxes that failed to get the two-thirds vote required by the state constitution. As a result of the “Upland” decisions, special interests can write their own tax increase, direct the money to themselves, collect signatures to place it on the ballot, and evade the two-thirds vote requirement to pass special taxes.
Furthermore, the fact that AB 736 is a proposed statute, not a constitutional amendment, will leave all taxpayers and businesses permanently vulnerable to the political whims of the tax-and-spend lobby.
Without an “Upland” fix, there is nothing to protect Californians from “citizens’ initiative” split-roll parcel taxes or any other abusive and destructive tax increase passing with the barest majority, despite the plain language of the state constitution.
The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 will restore the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds vote of the electorate to pass all local special taxes as well as the constitution’s ban on real estate transfer taxes higher than 0.11%. Along with repealing excessive real estate transfer taxes, the initiative repeals, in two years, all property-related special taxes that failed to get a two-thirds vote.
“The Local Taxpayers Protection Act is intended to do just what its name says, including protecting taxpayers from local governments’ use of the Upland loophole to pass special taxes without the constitutionally required two-thirds vote of the public,” said CalTax President Robert Gutierrez. “While AB 736 highlights the problem of excessive local transfer taxes, it is not a substitute for the broader taxpayer protections that voters deserve. CalTax remains focused on giving voters the opportunity to close the Upland loophole, restore limits on taxes, and make California more affordable.”
More than 1.3 million California voters signed petitions to place the Local Taxpayer Protection Act on the ballot. In November, Californians will have the opportunity to pass this important initiative and take back their rights.
“The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is leading the fight to reinstate the guardrails against excessive taxation upon which the taxpayers of California have relied for more than 40 years,” said HJTA President Jon Coupal. “We will never stop fighting for taxpayers.”
For More Information:
Jon Coupal, President, HJTA; 916-444-9950, jon@hjta.org
Robert Gutierrez, President, California Taxpayers Association
About the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is a member-supported nonprofit organization that fights for the interests of taxpayers and to secure the constitutional taxpayer protections voters have adopted through the initiative process, beginning with Proposition 13 in 1978. More information at hjta.org.
About the California Taxpayers Association
The California Taxpayers Association was established in 1926 by taxpayers as a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax research and advocacy association representing individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies, with a mission to protect taxpayers from unnecessary taxation and support government efficiency. More information at www.caltax.org.