Sacramento,-California---State-Capitol by Andre m is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
In 1978, Californians overwhelmingly supported the passage of Proposition 13, which amended the Constitution of California to restrict the growth of property taxes levied by state and local governments. Led by the legendary Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann, the successful campaign in California sparked a nationwide surge of similar laws and initiatives to rein in tax burdens at all levels of government.
Jarvis didn’t stop there. He went on to found the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), which has worked tirelessly since 1978 to defend California taxpayers from runaway government overreach. Nearly 50 years later, HJTA remains the most prominent force standing between California voters and a state government that has become increasingly eager to undermine the core protections of Proposition 13.
Today, HJTA is leading a renewed charge to protect taxpayers, this time with a 2026 statewide ballot initiative known as the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13.”
“Prop 13” capped the property tax rate at 1% of the assessed value of real property while restricting annual increases to 2%. A key component of this initiative concerns property value reassessment, which is barred unless property is sold to a new owner or significantly altered. Its most significant provision changed the legislative procedure regarding tax increases. To raise taxes at the state level requires the support of a two-thirds majority of lawmakers in both chambers, and at the local level, a two-thirds majority of voters must support the tax in the next election.
Jarvis followed up in 1996 with the successful Prop 218, which clarified the voting requirements set forth in Prop 13 for special taxes and expanded them to cover fees and assessments. This prohibited local governments from introducing tax hikes under the guise of regulatory reform. Californians were thus given stronger and further clarified agency in terms of setting tax policy.
Prop 13 and its cousin, Prop 218, have safeguarded Californians from overreach and excessive taxation for nearly fifty years. But in recent years, many state legislators, judges, and local government leaders have subtly introduced new loopholes in Prop 13 to allow for tax increases or lower the two-thirds requirement for their approval.
In 2017, this effort gained traction with California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland, wherein the California Supreme Court ruled that Prop 218 only concerned taxes levied through government-proposed legislation, not through citizen-led initiatives. Under the ruling, citizen-led initiatives now require only a simple majority. Since 2017, many tax hikes have been implemented across California that would have failed under Prop 218 and Prop 13. In effect, this was the opening of Pandora’s box.
Measure ULA in Los Angeles, enacted in 2023, is a prime example of this type of loophole exploitation. ULA enacted a 4% tax on property sales over $5 million and 5.5% on those over $10 million, a blatant overreach in the housing market. Since it passed with only 57.77% approval, ULA would not have become law under a Prop 13/218 tax regime.
Thanks to ULA, the odds of a sale reaching or exceeding the tax threshold decreased by approximately 50%, and non-single-family sales decreased by at least 30%. Developers began submitting lower bids for properties to avoid taxation, rendering many potential housing projects financially unfeasible. Banks also factored in additional costs, making loans riskier. Encouraging housing developers to stop developing housing has clearly not worked out well for Los Angeles. Go figure.
In 2024, HJTA, California Business Roundtable, and affiliated organizations backed the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPA), which 1.43 million Californians petitioned to place on the ballot. However, Governor Gavin Newsom and other Golden State Democrats sued to have the proposal removed from the ballot. The California Supreme Court chose to side with Newsom and other tax-loving politicians instead of the people they are supposed to serve. With shoddy arguments rejecting the constitutionality of a citizen-led initiative to limit taxation, the Court struck the initiative from the ballot after it had already qualified.
With government overreach and partisan politics bearing down on California, causing both economic stagnation and population decline, the time to act is now. The people of California have voted time and again to protect themselves from egregious taxation, and yet those protections are under siege. That’s why HJTA’s 2026 ballot initiative, the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act,” is so vital. This crucial initiative will finally close the Upland loophole and firmly establish Prop 13 as an immovable barrier to further government overreach, ensuring that local governments can’t simply pass new taxes with a 55% threshold when all new local taxes and bonds should be subject to a two-thirds vote.
Americans for Tax Reform stands with HJTA and the taxpayers of California in their never-ending battle to keep the government from taking more out of their pockets. For this abuse of power to cease, this initiative must become law. It is time to close Pandora’s box, renew Prop 13’s protections, and return to the people their full constitutional authority to say no to unnecessary new taxes wherever they may arise.