California Proposition 218 (1996) Local Initiative Power

Proposition 218 was an adopted initiative constitutional amendment in the state of California on the November 5, 1996 statewide election ballot. Proposition 218 revolutionized local and regional government finance in California. Called the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act,” Proposition 218 was sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association as a constitutional follow-up to the historic Proposition 13 property tax revolt initiative constitutional amendment approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. Proposition 218 was drafted and masterminded by constitutional attorneys Jonathan Coupal and Jack Cohen.

One of the most significant provisions of Proposition 218 constitutionally reserves to local voters the exercise of the initiative power to reduce or repeal any local tax, assessment, fee, or charge. This includes a significantly reduced signature requirement to qualify such initiatives for the ballot. Proposition 218 was the first successful initiative measure in California history to alter the scope of the constitutional initiative power.

The local initiative power under Proposition 218 is a powerful tool available to voters, particularly when local elected officials are not responsive to their constituents in matters relating to local taxes, assessments, fees, and charges. As the California Supreme Court stated in the landmark case upholding the constitutionality of Proposition 13, the initiative power is “in essence a legislative battering ram which may be used to tear through the exasperating tangle of the traditional legislative procedure and strike directly toward the desired end.” The author of an article in a League of California Cities publication wrote the following about Proposition 218: “Voters now hold the power to direct or withdraw monetary resources for government functions. Motivated by distrust, the voters’ objective was to replace reliance on elected representatives with direct voter control over local government finances.” The local initiative power under Proposition 218 constitutionally empowers voters to accomplish the preceding.

The initiative is the power of the voters to propose laws and thereafter to adopt or reject them. The initiative power is a reserved power under California law. This means that the local initiative power is not a right granted the people by the State Legislature or by local governments, but rather is a power reserved by the people under the California Constitution. As a result, legal authority to exercise the local initiative power under Proposition 218 is not required either by a state statute or by a local charter provision. Rather, the power to exercise the local initiative power under Proposition 218 is derived directly from the constitutional provision itself. Under the express constitutional language, the Proposition 218 local initiative power cannot be prohibited or otherwise limited by either state or local government officials, and because it is a constitutional provision, it can only be amended by California voters.

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