California Certifies 14 Ballot Measures Including Billionaire Wealth Tax

The Secretary of State of California certified 14 statewide measures for the November 3 ballot on June 28. The most contentious proposal is Proposition 40, a 5% wealth tax on approximately 200 billionaires sponsored by the Service Employees International Union-United Health Care Workers. The measure intends to allocate funds toward healthcare, education, and food assistance.

Billionaire Sergey Brin and other opponents sponsored two countermeasures, Proposition 41 and Proposition 42. If all three measures pass, only the one receiving the most votes will be enacted. Governor Gavin Newsom emerged as a prominent opponent of the wealth tax, attempting to persuade the union to withdraw the measure by recruiting medical and teachers' associations. Efforts to reach a compromise by reducing the tax rate to 2% failed.

Other significant measures include Proposition 3, sponsored by the California Teachers Association to make a high-income surtax permanent, and Proposition 39, a Republican-backed requirement for government-issued voter IDs. Voters will also decide on reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act to expedite environmental reviews, increases to the state rainy day fund, and bonds for affordable housing and veterans.

The final list of 14 measures followed last-minute compromises that removed several potential proposals. These agreements resolved conflicts between trial lawyers and rideshare companies, as well as hospital executives and healthcare unions.