Local California ballot measures year-end summary (2014)

December 11, 2014

By Josh Altic

Local California measures
Measure type:	Approved		Defeated
School bonds	128 (82%)	29 (18%)
City & district bonds	9 (82%)	2 (18%)
Parcel taxes	57 (76%)	18 (24%)
Hotel taxes	7 (44%)	9 (56%)
Sales taxes	50 (72%)	19 (28%)
Marijuana taxes	7 (88%)	1 (12%)
Marijuana regulation	8 (62%)	5 (38%)
Utility tax & fees	13 (68%)	6 (32%)
Fracking	2 (67%)	1 (33%)
Minimum wage	2 (67%)	1 (33%)
GMOs	1 (100%)	0 (0%)
Public pensions	6 (100%)	0 (0%)
Property use & development	18 (55%)	15 (45%)
Administration of government	61 (72%)	24 (28%)
Boundaries and incorporation	6 (86%)	1 (14%)
Charter amendments	41 (71%)	17 (29%)
Term limits	5 (56%)	4 (44%)
Totals:	411 (74%)		148 (26%)

Out of a total of 559 local ballot measures decided by voters in 2014, 411 - nearly 74 percent - were approved, and 148 were defeated. These measures included key decisions on property use and development, marijuana, administration of government, fracking, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), minimum wage, school bonds and more. The sections below provide highlights and summaries of election results for each notable topic.

Local school bonds

See also: School bond elections in California

The single category occupied by the most local measures in 2014 was school bond issues. Of the total 559 local measures on 2014 ballots, 157 - amounting to 28 percent - were school bond measures. School bond debt payments represent a huge portion of property taxes in California, while nearly all school districts in the state depend on bond money to operate. Thus, these issues affect both public finances and education. Even though a 55 percent supermajority vote is required for the approval of bond issues, school bond issues had the very high approval rate of 81.53 percent in 2014, with 128 approved and 29 defeated. This is a higher approval rate than in 2012, when 80.75 percent of school bond issues were approved. It is also higher than the average of approval rates by year from 2009-2014, which amounts to 72.25 percent.

In 2014, $14.754 billion was requested in school bond money, and over $12.5 billion - 85.5 percent - of it was approved.

2014 school bond question election overview
Status	Number	Win/Loss %	Dollars	Dollar %
a Approved	128	82.15%	$12,614,740,000	85.50%
d Defeated	29	17.85%	$2,139,480,000	14.50%
Totals:	157	100%	$14.754 Billion	100%

City & district bonds

Although only 11 cities and districts requested bond money from voters, with nine measures approved and two defeated, the amount requested was over $1.4 billion, nearly all of which was approved. Most of the money was requested by the city of San Francisco, which asked for $400 million in June to fund earthquake safety and $500 million in November to fund transportation system and road improvements. Both bond measures were overwhelmingly approved.

See also: City bonds on the ballot & District bonds on the ballot

2014 city & special district bond issue overview
Status	Number	Win/Loss %	Dollars	Dollar %
a Approved	9	81.82%	$1,394,900,000	99.57%
d Defeated	2	18.18%	$6,000,000	0.43%
Totals:	11	100%	$1,400,900,000	100%

Voting on taxes
Ballot measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot
Local City taxes County taxes School taxes Property taxes Sales taxes Income taxes Other taxes

Parcel taxes

See also: Parcel tax elections in California

Throughout 2014, 75 ballot measures requesting parcel tax renewals, increases or continuations were decided by voters. Of the total, 57 were approved, and 18 were defeated - which yields an approval rating of 76 percent. Voters were very supportive of school parcel taxes, approving all 21 that were requested.

Hotel taxes

See also: Hotel taxes in California

Unlike in 2012, when voters approved over 77 percent of hotel tax requests, only seven hotel tax measures were approved in 2014, while nine were defeated. This amounts to an approval rate of only 43.75 percent.

The highest hotel tax rate requested in 2014 - 13 percent - was in the city of Indio in Riverside County, where voters overwhelmingly approved it.

Sales tax

See also: Sales tax in California

In 2014, 69 sales tax measures were put before city and county voters, with 50 approved and 19 defeated, amounting to an approval rate of 72.46 percent. The sales tax measures requested increases, renewals or extensions of sales tax rates ranging from 0.125 percent to 1 percent. These sales tax rates were designed to be in addition to the minimum state-mandated sales tax rate of 7.5 percent.

In California, sales taxes can be either general taxes - with revenue going to the general fund of the city, county or district to be used for any governmental purpose - or special taxes - with revenue earmarked for a specific purpose. General sales taxes require the conventional simple majority for approval on election day, 50 percent plus one vote. Special taxes, however, require a two-thirds (66.67%) vote for approval, making them more difficult to pass. In 2014, 13 of the decided sales taxes were special taxes requiring a two-thirds (66.67%) vote, 8 were defeated, and only 5 were approved, yielding the much lower approval rate of 38.46 percent.

Voting on Marijuana
Ballot Measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot
Local Local marijuana Local marijuana tax

Marijuana taxes

See also: Local marijuana tax on the ballot

Seven cities and one county asked voters to approve taxes on medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivators and collectives. Voters in only one city - the city of Blythe - rejected the proposed marijuana tax, yielding an approval rate of 87.5 percent.

In the city of Blythe, where the tax was defeated, the proposal would have imposed a license tax of $10,000 per year on medical cannabis businesses, a sales tax of 15 percent on all medical cannabis proceeds, and an additional tax of $10 per square foot of marijuana grown. This defeated measure was the only proposal that included an annual business license tax. The other taxes, which were approved, consisted of extra sales taxes, flat charges per square foot of cultivating or operating space, or combinations of the two.

Marijuana regulation

See also: Local marijuana on the ballot

There were 13 local measures on ballots across California in 2014 that dealt with regulations on the cultivation of medical marijuana and the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives. Eight were approved. Some measures were put on the ballot through citizen initiatives - usually by proponents of more liberal medical marijuana laws. Some were put on the ballot by city or county governments. These usually proposed more stringent and conservative rules. In three instances, pairs of competing measures - an initiative and a referred measure - were seen by voters. In another instance, voters decided a veto referendum on a county ordinance restricting marijuana cultivation. For details, you can find links to Ballotpedia's specific articles on these measures here.

Voting on Fracking
Policy
Fracking policy
Ballot Measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot Local Local fracking

Fracking

See also: Fracking on the ballot

Fracking bans had a prominent place on the ballot in California in 2014, with two of the three measures passing. Voters in Santa Barbara County decisively rejected Measure P. Perhaps the 20 to 1 advantage in campaign spending helped expedite this defeat; Measure P opponents spent over $7 million, while supporters barely broke a quarter million in spending. The slightly lower-profile measures in Mendocino County and San Benito County were approved by voters.

Minimum wage

See also: Local wages and pay on the ballot

Minimum wage increase measures also had a two out of three success rate, with measures in San Francisco and Oakland, California, winning voter approval. One initiative measure, however, seeking a $12 per hour minimum wage in a small city called Eureka in northern California was rejected by a margin of 62 to 38 percent.

Genetically modified organisms

See also: Local GMO on the ballot

One initiative concerning genetically modified organisms in Humboldt County, California, was approved, banning the cultivation of GMOs entirely.

Public pensions

See also: Local pensions on the ballot

Six pension-related ballot measures reached the voters in 2014. All six were approved. Although an initiative - which called for drastic pension reform, moving new hires from a defined benefit plan to a 401 (k)-style, defined contribution plan - qualified for the ballot in Ventura County, a court ruling declared it illegal before voters could have their say.

The measures that did reach the ballot did not propose as significant of changes. One measure that was approved by voters in Piedmont authorized the city to issue $7.8 million in general obligation bonds to refinance pension debt owed to CalPERS at a lower interest rate. Two measures, one in the city of Yorba Linda and one in Orange County, removed certain pension benefits for elected officials.

Voting on Property
Ballot Measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot
Local Local property Zoning and land use Property tax

Property use & development

See also: Local zoning, land use and development on the ballot

Every year, some of the most high profile and important local measures concern property use and development. In 2014, there were 33 measures decided by local voters on key issues affecting zoning rules, property use and value and, in general, dictating the direction in which each community moves with regard to development. Often these races pique the interest of wealthy development companies, as well as city politicians, labor-unions, environmental activists and the average citizen, making for many tight races with well-funded campaigns.

One of the most important and high-profile decisions of this kind occurred in San Francisco, where voters approved Proposition B in June, requiring voter approval for any future significant development on the San Francisco waterfront, one of the more valuable real estate areas on the West Coast. Later in November, per the Prop. B requirements, voters approved an initiative seeking to allow the development of Pier 70. A separate set of dueling measures concerned the future of Golden Gate Park. Click here for details on these races, as well as all of the other property-related ballot measures on 2014 ballots.

Administration of government

See also: County governance on the ballot & City governance on the ballot

This year, 85 of the local measures on 2014 ballots concerned administration of government, with 60 approved and 25 defeated. Most of these were proposed by the relevant city councils or county boards of supervisors, and they included many of the 58 proposed charter amendments, questions on term limits and various routine updates of statutes and ordinances. Quite a few measures in 2014 asked voters to approve the transition of the offices of city treasurer and city clerk from elected positions to appointed positions.

One contentious measure - Measure L - seeking to implement the strong mayor form of government in the state's capital, giving the mayor much more power over city government, was defeated by Sacramento voters.

Four measures, in Arroyo Grande, Costa Mesa, Emeryville and Escondido, sought to change each respective city from a general law city to a home-rule city with its own charter and more autonomy and independence from the state. Voters in Emeryville were the only ones to approve the switch.