For immediate release
May 13, 2025
New initiative to Save Proposition 13 filed by Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed two versions of a statewide initiative with the Attorney General’s office on Monday to close the court-created loophole in Proposition 13 that has allowed tax increases to pass with less than the required two-thirds vote when the taxes are proposed by a citizens’ initiative.
The Save Proposition 13 Act of 2026 aims to reverse rulings by the California courts that have created a workaround to raise taxes without meeting the requirements placed in the state constitution by Proposition 13 and other taxpayer-protection initiatives.
“In 2017, the California Supreme Court’s decision in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland created an ambiguity relating to whether the state constitution applies to local citizens’ initiatives in the same way it applies to measures placed on the ballot by a government body,” HJTA President Jon Coupal said. “Since that time, we’ve seen the appellate courts allow all kinds of unconstitutional taxes – backed by tax-and-spend special interests – go into effect, costing Californians billions of dollars that they would not have had to pay if the courts followed the constitution.”
Coupal pointed to a number of initiative tax increases that were declared passed despite falling short of Proposition 13’s two-thirds vote requirement for special taxes (taxes dedicated to a specific purpose):
- Proposition C in San Francisco, a June 2018 measure imposing a special tax on commercial real estate leases that passed with 50.87% of the vote
- Measure A in Los Angeles County, a November 2024 measure raising the county sales tax for a special purpose that passed with 57.78% of the vote
- Measure ULA in the City of Los Angeles, a November 2022 measure that placed a 4%-5.5% transfer tax on high-value real estate for a special purpose,which passed with 57.77% of the vote“The Upland loophole has allowed special interest groups to write initiatives that raise taxes, direct the money to themselves, and pass them with just a simple majority,” Coupal said. “The same tax increase proposed by a City Council or County Board of Supervisors would require a two-thirds vote of the electorate to pass. Our initiative will amend the state constitution to restore and reinforce the taxpayer protections that voters adopted when they passed Proposition 13.”
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About Proposition 13
Proposition 13, the nation-leading California ballot initiative to control property taxes, placed limits on the annual increase in the taxable value of property while it was under the same ownership and cut the property tax rate to 1%. Prior to Prop. 13, property in California was assessed at current market value every year and the statewide average tax rate was 2.67%. Prop. 13 also required a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise state taxes, gave voters the right to vote on local taxes and prohibited transfer taxes as well as new ad valorem (based on value) property taxes. Proposition 13 passed with nearly 65% of the statewide vote in 1978 and has continued to enjoy the support of two-thirds of Californians ever since.
About the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA)
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA.org) is a member-supported nonprofit organization backed by hundreds of thousands of members throughout California. With offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles, HJTA is dedicated to protecting Proposition 13 and all California taxpayers, and to defending the taxpayer protections voters adopted through the initiative process beginning in 1978.