Codify Majority Vote Threshold for Local Tax Measures
Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
Please introduce an amendment to the California constitution to make 50% + 1 the threshold for all local tax measures. Homeless San Franciscans, San Francisco teachers, and San Francisco families are counting on it.
Background
SF recently passed a number of tax measures (the Prop C's and Prop G) by majority vote, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation is suing to overturn them in court.
Based on the recent Upland decision in the CA Supreme Court, it seems like local initiatives can raise taxes for a specific purpose by a bare majority, not a 2/3 vote, but this is not entirely clear. Sen. Wiener said in a meeting with ISF that he supports 50% + 1 as the threshold for local tax measures, and also he thinks that tax measures introduced by elected officials should have the same threshold as those introduced by the initiative system.
BUT he's skeptical that changing the threshold has enough support to get through the state legislature. Let's provide constituent support to get Sen. Wiener to do what he sort of already wants to do, so that the will of SF voters isn't overturned and homeless people (Prop C), teachers (Prop G) and families (other Prop C) aren't left out in the cold.
Further Reading:
SF unique in requiring only simple majority vote for tax measures, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 16, 2018
