Your Nov. 3 ballot: the statewide tax props and the local tax measures in L.A. County

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A hand holding a vote-by-mail ballot beside a ballot box

Your Nov. 3 ballot: the statewide tax props and the local tax measures in L.A. County

Props. 41 and 42 would nullify Prop. 40 if either gets more yes votes, even if Prop. 40 also passes. Here is what each says, using the official ballot labels.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 16, 2026

California voters will decide five tax-related statewide measures on Nov. 3, the most since 1990, CalMatters reported, and many Los Angeles County voters will also see local tax questions on the same ballot.

The statewide measures

Titles below are from the Secretary of State's official list of measures.

Prop. 40, "Imposes One-Time Tax on Certain Taxpayers." The ballot label says it imposes a 5% tax on certain taxpayers with assets over $1 billion, with revenue primarily for health care. CalMatters reports it would affect an estimated 200 Californians. Its sponsor, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, projects roughly $100 billion over five years; the label's fiscal summary says tens of billions of dollars over several years.

Prop. 41, "Prohibits New State Taxes That Exclude Revenues from State Spending Limit. Requires Audits for New State Special Taxes." It would nullify state taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026 that exempt their revenue from the state spending limit, and require pre-election and recurring audits of programs funded by new special taxes.

Prop. 42, "Prohibits New State Personal Property Taxes and Certain Retroactive State Taxes." It would bar new state taxes on the ownership of personal property and certain retroactive taxes, and nullify taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026 that conflict with it.

If either Prop. 41 or 42 gets more votes than Prop. 40, Prop. 40 is nullified even if it also passes, CalMatters reported.

Prop. 43, "Limits Voters' Ability to Raise Revenues for Local Government Services." It would raise the share of votes needed to pass voter-proposed local special taxes from a majority to two-thirds, beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The two-thirds threshold already applies to special taxes proposed by local governments.

Prop. 3, "Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care by Extending Existing Tax on High Incomes." CalMatters counts it as the fifth tax measure; it would make permanent the higher rates on income above $360,000.

Local tax measures in L.A. County

The county registrar's list, revised Aug. 14, shows 66 local measures. A sample of the tax questions, with ballot-label projections:

  • Inglewood Measure AT: tiered admissions-tax rates of 10% and 2.5% by venue size, and removal of the annual revenue cap.
  • Los Angeles Measure FD: a half-cent city sales tax for the Fire Department, projected at about $345 million a year.
  • Hermosa Beach Measure HB: a half-cent sales tax, projected at about $2 million a year.
  • Diamond Bar Measure Q and San Gabriel Measure PS: 1-cent sales taxes projected at about $6 million and $7.1 million a year, respectively. Cudahy Measure OK would extend its existing 3/4-cent tax.
  • Hotel taxes: Rancho Palos Verdes Measure RS (10% to 13%, about $2.2 million), Hawthorne Measure O (12% to 17%, about $3.1 million) and Culver City Measure T (14% to 15%, then 16% in March 2028).
  • Parcel taxes: Culver City Measure AA ($0.48 per building square foot for schools, about $18 million a year), Palos Verdes Estates Measure PVE ($1,025 per parcel plus 20 cents per square foot, about $8.7 million), Pasadena Measure PFD (19 cents per square foot for fire services, about $22.1 million) and Santa Monica Measure ES ($495 per parcel for schools, about $12 million).

Several school districts, including Inglewood Unified (Measure MM, $396 million in bonds), also have bond measures. Required vote thresholds vary and are labeled on the registrar's list.

Why it matters

Tax measures historically struggle at the ballot: CalMatters reported that since 2000 only a third of tax propositions have passed, compared with 57% of non-tax measures.

What's next

  • Nov. 3: Election Day.
  • Check your ballot: the registrar and the Secretary of State's voter guide list what appears at your address.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: Missvain, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

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