PRESS RELEASE

PR26-85
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2026
Contact: sospress@sos.ca.gov 
 

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Announces New Measure Eligible for November 2026 General Election Ballot. 

Imposes one-time tax on certain individuals and trusts. Initiative constitutional amendment and statute. 
 

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. announced that an initiative became eligible for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot on June 17, 2026.  

In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 874,641 valid petition signatures, which is equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election.  

A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 962,106 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.  

On June 25, 2026, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).  

The Attorney General's official title and summary of the measure is as follows:  

IMPOSES ONE-TIME TAX ON CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AND TRUSTS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Imposes one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion; covered assets include businesses, securities, art, collectibles, and intellectual property, but exclude real property and some pensions and retirement accounts. Allocates 90% of these tax revenues for health care, 10% for food assistance or education-related programs; prohibits using revenues to replace existing funding for these purposes. Exempts such tax revenues from constitutional requirements for school funding, budget reserves, and state spending limit. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Temporary increase in state revenues from a new tax on the wealth of billionaires. These wealth tax revenues probably would add up to tens of billions of dollars spread over several years. Likely ongoing decrease in state income tax revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars or more per year. (25-0024A1.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 2001 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0024A1. 

The proponent of the measure is Suzanne Jimenez. The address for the proponent is c/o George M. Yin, Kaufman Legal Group, 445 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 2400, Los Angeles, CA 90071. The proponent may also be contacted at (213) 452-6565 and gyin@kaufmanlegalgroup.com. 

For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/. 

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