Ballotpedia:Analysis of the 2021 local ballot measures in California
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January 7, 2021
By The Ballot Measures Team
California voters decided 48 local ballot measures on nine different election dates in 2021.
Measures by outcome
Of the 48 local ballot measures in California in 2021, voters approved 36 (75%) and defeated 12 (25%).
In 2019, there were 78 local measures on the ballot in California, of which 62 (79.5%) were approved, and 16 (20.5%) were defeated.
Measures by county
In 2021, there were 58 local ballot measures in 19 counties in California. The number of measures ranged from zero in 39 counties (of 58 counties) to seven in Los Angeles County. In 2019, there were 78 local ballot measures in 22 counties.
Measures by topic
Of the 48 local ballot measures, 39 measures were related to taxes; six were related to city governance, budget, and elections; one measure related to property and housing; and two measures addressed other miscellaneous topics.
Taxes
Taxes made up 81% of the measures on local ballots in California in 2021. The 39 measures that were related to taxes concerned one of the following types:
- Parcel taxes (29 measures)
- Sales taxes (3 measures)
- Utility taxes and fees (3 measures)
- Hotel taxes (2 measures)
- Marijuana taxes (1 measure)
- Real estate transfer taxes (1 measure)
Parcel taxes
- See also: Parcel tax elections in California
Twenty-nine (29) of the 39 tax measures on local California ballots in 2021 were parcel taxes.
Parcel taxes are a form of special property tax, which must be paid by the owners of parcels, or units, of real estate. However, unlike standard property taxes, which are based on the value of the property, a parcel tax is an assessment based on the characteristics of the parcel. These assessments can include taxing a parcel based on square footage or by dwelling unit, or the tax may be a flat rate per parcel. Parcel taxes are all special taxes, meaning that they are designed to fund specific purposes. Special taxes proposed by local governments require a two-thirds (66.67%) vote for approval in California.
Sales taxes
There were three sales tax measures on local ballots in California in 2021. All three were approved.
In 2021, the state sales tax rate in California was 7.25%. Local jurisdictions in the state are permitted to implement additional sales taxes for either general purposes or specific uses. While general sales tax measures require a simple majority vote, sales tax measures proposed by local governments for specific uses require a two-thirds (66.67%) supermajority vote.
Measure E in Indio and Measure G in Moreno Valley authorized 1% sales taxes for general city services. Measure B in Isleton authorized a 0.5% sales tax with revenue dedicated to fire protection services, which required a two-thirds (66.67%) supermajority vote to pass.
Hotel taxes
Two local jurisdictions voted on two hotel tax measures in 2021. One measure was defeated, and one was approved.
In March, voters in West County defeated Measure B, which would have authorized an additional 4% hotel tax in West County for hotels and short-term rentals with revenue dedicated to emergency services and education.
In November, voters in Inglewood approved Measure H authorizing an additional hotel tax of 1.5%, thereby increasing the total hotel tax rate in Inglewood from 14% to 15.5%.
Real estate taxes
In November, voters in Inglewood defeated Measure I, which would have increased a real estate tax and dedicated revenues to public safety.
Local spending limits
In March, voters in Eastvale approved Measure A increasing the city's appropriations limit for four years to $33 million annually from the existing $25.6 million annual appropriations limit in order to allow for increased budgeting of city revenues for general governmental purposes.
In May, voters in Copperopolis Fire Protection District approved Measure B renewing for four years the district's increased appropriations limit so it can continue to spend all the revenue it collects up to $550,000.
In September, Lompoc voters approved Measure Q enacting a tax of between 0.5% and 2.5% on the annual revenue of marijuana businesses generating an estimated $1.2 million in revenue annually.
In November, voters in Santa Cruz approved Measure A amending the Santa Cruz City Charter to allocate 20% of the revenue from the city's marijuana business tax to youth and early childhood development programs and services.
Measures by election date
There were nine separate dates in 2021 on which voters in California decided 48 local ballot measures. Nineteen of the measures were on the ballot on November 2, 2021.
March
- March 2 - Four measures were approved and five were defeated
May
- May 4 - 10 measures were approved and one was defeated
June
August
- August 31 - One measure was defeated
September
- September 14 - Three measures were approved
November
- November 2 - 16 measures were approved and three were defeated
December
- December 14 - one measure was approved
- December 21 - one measure was defeated
Comparing 2021 to prior odd-numbered years
With 48 measures, 2021 featured 55.56% fewer local measures than the average number of measures during the last three odd-year election cycles. In 2019, there were 78 local ballot measures in California. This was a drop from 135 measures in 2017. In 2015, there were 111 local ballot measures in California.
See also
- 2021 ballot measures
- California 2021 local ballot measures
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2021
- Ballot measure signature costs, 2021
- Ballot measure campaign finance, 2021
- Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2021
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2021
- List of ballot measure lawsuits in 2021
- 2021 ballot measure polls
- 2021 ballot measure media endorsements
- Hotel taxes in California
- Business taxes in California
- Utility taxes in California
- Sales tax in California
- Parcel tax elections in California
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