California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Certifies Measures for the November 3, 2026, General Election Ballot Sacramento, Calif. – California
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that 14 measures
have qualified for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot. Five
measures were placed on the ballot by the Legislature, and nine
qualified through the initiative process.
Initiatives
are eligible to qualify for the ballot after proponents collect and
submit valid petition signatures. Initiative statutes require 546,651
valid signatures and initiative constitutional amendments require
874,641 valid signatures. The signatures are collected by the
proponents and submitted to county elections officials who then verify
the signatures. Initiatives become eligible to qualify for the ballot
through either a random sampling of signatures or a full check of
signatures.
For more information on ballot measures, candidate filing requirements, and election deadlines, please visit: https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2026-primary/election-guide/section-07-general-election-calendar.pdf.
The measures qualified for the November ballot are listed below.
Legislative Measures
SCA 1 (Newman) Elections: recall of state officers. (Res. Ch. 204, 2024)
SB 42 (Umberg) Political Reform Act of 1974: public campaign financing: California Fair Elections Act of 2026. (Ch. 245, 2025)
ACA 20 (Gabriel) Save for California's Future Act. (Res. Ch. 130, 2026)
SB 417 (Limón) The Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 (Ch. 16, 2026)
ACA 22 (Wicks) Local taxes: limitation (Res. Ch. 132, 2026)
Initiatives
CREATES LOAN PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE-INCOME BUYERS OF QUALIFIED NEW HOMES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Authorizes
up to $25 billion in bonds to offer eligible buyers fixed-rate
mortgages for up to 17% of the purchase price of a “qualified new home”
(new construction or first sale of converted nonresidential property,
priced below about $1 million–$1.5 million, depending on county,
adjusted annually). Borrowers must be California residents for one
year, plan to occupy the home, earn less than 200% of area median
income, and pay at least 3% down. Requires that bonds be repaid by
homeowners’ mortgage payments, not State. Summary of estimate by
Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state
and local governments: No direct state or local costs. (25-0013A1)
ESTABLISHES ADDITIONAL VOTER IDENTIFICATION AND CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Under
current law, when registering to vote, individuals must state under
penalty of perjury that they are United States citizens and provide
information to verify their identity (e.g., birthdate, driver’s license
or Social Security number). This measure would amend the California
Constitution to further require that: - voters
present government-issued identification at the polls or the last four
digits of a government-issued identification number when voting by
mail;
- the State provide voter identification cards on request; and
- elections officials annually report percentage of each county’s voters whose citizenship they have verified.
Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: One-time
state and local government costs in the tens of millions of dollars to
prepare for implementation of the measure. Increased annual state and
local government costs potentially ranging in the tens of millions of
dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill new
requirements related to elections administration. (25-0007A1.)
REQUIRES COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINICS SPEND 90% OF REVENUE ON PROGRAM SERVICES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires
nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Centers (community clinics that
provide primary care to medically underserved areas and populations) to
spend at least 90% of their revenue on program services advancing their
charitable purpose, including but not limited to patient services,
rather than management and overhead. Department of Public Health may
waive spending requirement in exceptional circumstances. Authorizes
Attorney General to publish guidance defining qualifying expenditures.
Imposes monetary penalties for noncompliance, which may be refunded if
centers become compliant within five years. Authorizes criminal charges
for false reports and schemes to artificially increase spending ratio.
Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of
fiscal impact on state and local governments: State
cost of up to the low tens of millions of dollars annually to enforce
the new requirement that nonprofit safety net health clinics spend at
least 90 percent of annual revenue on certain types of expenses, much
of which would be covered by fees and penalties charged on the affected
entities. (25-0008A1)
PROVIDES
PERMANENT FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS AND HEALTHCARE BY EXTENDING EXISTING TAX
ON HIGH INCOMES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Makes
permanent the existing 2012 voter-approved tax rates for high-income
Californians, currently set to expire in 2031. Rates apply to personal
income over about $360,000 for single filers, $721,000 for joint
filers, and $490,000 for heads of household (2024 levels; adjusted
annually for inflation). Allocates tax revenues 89% to K-12 schools,
11% to community colleges. Allows local school boards to decide how
revenues are spent; bars use for administrative costs. Increases
General Fund revenues available for education, healthcare, budget
reserves, and other programs. Summary of estimate by Legislative
Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local
governments: Maintains
$5 billion to $15 billion of annual state income taxes (in today’s
dollars) by making a tax on high income earners permanent instead of
letting it expire in 2031. (25-0016.)
MODIFIES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Amends
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to expedite environmental
review of specified project categories (including most housing,
transportation, water, health, and clean energy projects). For these
types of projects, this measure:- sets deadlines for public agencies to complete environmental review and take required actions for project;
- allows
expedited review of project’s environmental impacts, limiting public
agencies’ current obligation to consider a range of feasible project
alternatives to reduce environmental impacts; and
- limits
court review of project approvals by establishing deadlines for filing
and resolving lawsuits and limiting evidence court may consider and
relief it can order.
Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: State
and local government implementation costs in the tens of millions of
dollars annually for the first several years. Over the long term, the
annual net fiscal effects are uncertain, but state and local
governments likely would experience net savings due to reduced
administrative and legal workload. Net fiscal effects on state trial
courts ranging from annual savings of up to the tens of millions of
dollars to annual costs of up to the low tens of millions of dollars. (25-0023A1.)
IMPOSES ONE-TIME TAX ON CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AND TRUSTS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Imposes
one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets
valued over $1 billion; covered assets include businesses, securities,
art, collectibles, and intellectual property, but exclude real property
and some pensions and retirement accounts. Allocates 90% of these tax
revenues for health care, 10% for food assistance or education-related
programs; prohibits using revenues to replace existing funding for
these purposes. Exempts such tax revenues from constitutional
requirements for school funding, budget reserves, and state spending
limit. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of
Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Temporary
increase in state revenues from a new tax on the wealth of
billionaires. These wealth tax revenues probably would add up to tens
of billions of dollars spread over several years. Likely ongoing
decrease in state income tax revenues of hundreds of millions of
dollars or more per year. (25-0024A1.)
REQUIRES
AUDITS OF PROGRAMS FUNDED BY NEW STATE SPECIAL TAXES. PROHIBITS NEW
STATE TAXES THAT ARE EXCLUDED FROM EXISTING VOTER-APPROVED STATE
SPENDING LIMIT. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. For
statewide special taxes, requires (1) a pre-election audit of programs
that would receive funding from a special tax proposed by voter
initiative, and (2) recurring audits of programs funded by all special
taxes enacted after January 1, 2026. Prohibits any new state taxes,
enacted after January 1, 2026, that exclude their revenues from
existing voter-approved state spending limit, including any new taxes
that appear on the same ballot as this measure. Summary of estimate by
Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state
and local governments: Unknown Fiscal Effect. Net
costs or savings resulting from the measure would depend on (1) how
many special tax initiatives qualify for a one-time audit but are not
approved by voters, (2) the number of pages that are added to the Voter Information Guide each election cycle, and (3) the level of savings that are identified and implemented as a result of the audits. (25-0040A1.)
AUTHORIZES BONDS FOR IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Authorizes
$8.4 billion in state general obligation bonds for immunology and
immunotherapy research (technologies that use body’s immune system to
treat disease), allocated equally between (1) a University of
California-affiliated nonprofit medical research institute selected by
the California Department of Public Health based on specified criteria,
and (2) a grant program for public or nonprofit universities and
institutions. Requires half of research money go to cancer, heart
disease, and Alzheimer’s disease research. Requires funding recipients
to sell technology and drugs derived from research in California for
20% below national average price. Appropriates money from General Fund
to repay bonds. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director
of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased
state costs of about $500 million annually for 25 years to repay the
bonds. The state could recoup part or all of this cost in subsequent
decades if the funded research leads to discoveries that generate
revenue, though this is uncertain. (25-0026A1.)
PROHIBITS NEW STATE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES AND CERTAIN RETROACTIVE STATE TAXES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Prohibits
any new state tax that either (1) taxes the ownership or control of
personal property (including retirement accounts, financial assets,
investment accounts, business interests, and intellectual property), or
(2) applies retroactively based on the taxpayer’s conduct, activities,
or a status that occurred before the new tax’s effective date, with
limited exceptions. Applies to taxes that are enacted or take effect on
or after January 1, 2026, including taxes that appear on the same
ballot as this measure. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and
Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Possibility that tax revenues will be lower in the future. (25-0041A1.)
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of San Bruno CA Events and of Interest to San Bruno Residents
