CALIFORNIA — Four new ballot measures were certified in California over a two-week period ending July 7, 2026. These certifications bring the total to 139 statewide measures certified across 39 states as of that date.

One of the certified measures is the California Budget Stabilization Account Cap Increase and Gann Limit Changes Amendment. This amendment would raise the cap of the Budget Stabilization Account from 10% to 20% of general fund revenue and exclude deposits into this account from the state's spending limit.

Another measure is the California Prohibit New Taxes on Retirement Holdings, Personal Assets, and Savings and Limit Retroactive Taxes Initiative. This initiative seeks to prevent new taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026, on retirement holdings, individually owned assets, or other personal savings. It would also prohibit retroactive taxes that impose liability based on conduct, activities, or status occurring before the tax's effective date.

The California Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Local Special Tax Initiatives and Property Tax Initiative Prohibition Amendment was also certified. This measure would require a two-thirds vote by the electorate to enact, extend, or increase local special tax initiatives and prohibit the enactment of property taxes through the initiative process.

The fourth new measure is the California Veteran and Income-Qualified Housing Bond Measure, which would authorize the state to issue $11.25 billion in bonds to fund income-qualified housing programs.

Separately, six ballot measures were withdrawn in California after compromises were reached between campaigns and legislators. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association agreed to withdraw the Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Special Taxes Initiative in exchange for the Legislature withdrawing the Vote Requirements for Initiatives Requiring Supermajority Votes Amendment.

As a result of these discussions, the California Legislature referred a compromise constitutional amendment to the ballot requiring a two-thirds vote of the electorate for local special taxes proposed through the initiative process and prohibiting initiatives from enacting property taxes.

Other compromises included SEIU-UHW West and the California Association of Hospitals withdrawing their sponsored initiatives. The SEIU-UHW West initiative would have established a compensation limit for executives and managers of private hospitals. The California Association of Hospitals initiative would have required healthcare unions to disclose political spending to members and obtain a two-thirds membership quorum approval for ballot measure spending.

Uber and the Consumer Attorneys of California also withdrew their initiatives following an agreement. The Uber-sponsored initiative would have limited attorney and medical costs in car accident cases and required victims to receive at least 75% of recovered damages. The Consumer Attorneys of California initiative would have classified rideshare companies as common carriers and required annual fingerprint background checks for drivers.

As of July 7, 2026, signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for 18 citizen-initiated measures in 10 states. The most recent signature deadline for ballot initiatives was July 6, 2026, in Michigan and North Dakota, with no additional campaigns submitting signatures by that day. Earlier in the year, signatures for two Michigan initiatives were submitted and are awaiting verification, while one North Dakota initiative has already been certified. The next deadline for ballot initiatives is August 3, 2026, in Colorado.

From 2014 through 2024, an average of 122 statewide measures were certified by this point in even-numbered years, with an average total of 153 measures certified in an even-numbered year.