The passage rate of local tax and bond measures on the June 2 ballot was 57.6 percent (based on preliminary results), which is significantly lower than average approval rates in the neighborhood of 70 percent in recent years.
Statewide, there were 92 local measures that proposed a tax increase or a bond that would be repaid via tax increases. Results posted by county elections officials indicate that 53 passed, 37 failed, and two are so close that it is possible for the results to change as counties tally the remaining votes.
Click here for the detailed list of local tax measure results compiled by CalTax.
The approved measures equate to $301.7 million a year in new taxes, along with property tax increases that will be needed to pay for $745 million in bonds, plus interest.
The close measures include Measure ER, a Los Angeles County sales tax increase that had 50.6 percent of the vote as of the most recent report – a 24,436-vote advantage. Proponents and media outlets in Los Angeles have declared Measure ER a winner based on projections that it will remain over the 50 percent threshold needed for passage.
If Measure ER passes, the countywide sales tax rate will increase 0.5 percent for five years, raising the rate to 10.25 percent. The tax hike will cost residents approximately $1 billion annually, according to the county’s estimates.
Ballot language stated that the tax was intended to offset federal funding reductions affecting hospitals, clinics, and public health services, but the measure is a general tax with revenue that will go into the county’s general fund.
The other close contest is Measure F, a school bond in the Weed Union Elementary School District that is one vote away from passing, according to Siskiyou County’s latest update.
Other key elections:
- San Francisco CEO Tax Increase Fails. San Francisco’s Proposition D, which proposed to significantly increase the tax rates of the existing “Overpaid Executive Gross Receipts Tax,” originally enacted by voters in 2020, failed with 52.8 percent of the voters opposed. The existing ordinance targets corporations where the highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median compensation of the employer’s San Francisco-based workforce. The majority-vote measure on this month’s ballot would have cost taxpayers $200 million annually. CalTax joined with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Advance SF to oppose the tax.
- San Francisco Gross Receipts Tax Reform Fails. San Francisco voters also rejected Proposition C, which proposed altering the recently enacted Proposition M gross receipts tax framework, which restructured rates, apportionment rules, and small business exemptions. The failure of the measure – it was opposed by 66 percent of the voters – preserves the existing Proposition M structure, preventing an estimated $350 million to $400 million in additional annual taxes. The outcome maintains the current tax system for businesses operating in San Francisco without imposing new tax increases.
- San Diego Vacancy Tax Rejected. San Diego’s Measure A, which proposed a new tax on non-primary residential properties that remain vacant for more than 182 days per year, failed with 53.3 percent opposed. The majority-vote measure would have established an annual tax beginning at $8,000 per property, increasing to $10,000 in subsequent years, with higher charges for corporate-owned units. Revenue would have been deposited into the city’s general fund for general governmental purposes.
- Contra Costa County Sales Tax Fails. Contra Costa County’s Measure B, which proposed increasing the county sales tax 0.625 percent, was opposed by 56.9 percent of the voters. The tax would have pushed the total sales tax to 10.875 percent in the county’s highest-tax cities.
Broken down by type of tax, these were the June 2 results:
- Sales taxes: 15 passed, six failed, and Measure ER’s outcome is pending ($155,001,000 in new taxes approved, without Measure ER).
- Parcel taxes: 19 passed and 13 failed ($100,771,062 in new taxes approved).
- School bonds: 14 passed, 13 failed, and one is too close to call ($745,183,000 in new bond debt, to be repaid with interest)
- Hotel taxes: Two passed and two failed.
- Cannabis business taxes: Two passed ($31,000,000 in tax increases).
The results won’t be finalized for several weeks. Under California law, vote-by-mail ballots that were postmarked on or before June 2 are counted if they were received by elections officials by June 9. Counties must send complete election returns to the secretary of state by July 3, and the secretary of state has until July 10 to certify all election results.