The San Jose City Council will consider taking an opposing position against the ballot measure \u2014 known as initiative No. 1983 because it hasn\u2019t yet received an official proposition number \u2014 during its meeting Tuesday. Several officials have signaled they are ready to take such a step, which would put San Jose in line with the League of California Cities and other statewide organizations that have already mobilized against the proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEliminating (Measure E) would significantly undermine the City\u2019s ability to address some of its most urgent challenges that voters explicitly approved,\u201d Councilmembers Pamela Campos, David Cohen, Rosemary Kamei and Anthony Tordillos said in a joint memo. \u201cOur work to address homelessness and build affordable housing would be decimated if the initiative were to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposition seeks to limit local government\u2019s ability to impose new taxes in two ways. First, it would mean local tax initiatives earmarked for specific purposes and placed on the ballot by voters would need a two-thirds majority for approval, rather than a simple majority. Second, it also blocks voters from approving transfer taxes above the 0.11% limit imposed by Proposition 13, landmark anti-tax legislation approved by state voters in 1978.<\/p>\n Supporters of the change argue the law simply closes loopholes, opened up by various court rulings, that have allowed cities to skirt the clear intent of several voter-approved laws limiting new taxes, such as Proposition 13.<\/p>\n \u201cThis statewide initiative will not only restore taxpayer rights, but it will also provide clarity in the law upholding the two-thirds vote protection,\u201d Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association President Jon Coupal wrote in the Tahoe Daily Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the the first time California tax hawks have attempted to pass a ballot initiative intended to make it harder to approve new taxes. In 2024, a similar measure, which also included other restrictions \u2014 such as a requirement that California voters sign off on all new tax hikes from the state legislature \u2014 made it on the ballot, but it was axed<\/a> by a ruling from the California Supreme Court.<\/p>\n San Jose\u2019s Measure E imposes a tax on property transfers over $2.3 million. Previous estimates place the revenue from the tax at roughly $55 million each year.<\/p>\n The measure became the subject of intense political wrangling<\/a> in 2024 when Mayor Matt Mahan led a successful push<\/a> to divert most of the tax fund away from affordable housing and toward the city\u2019s shelter programs. Still, San Jose\u2019s affordable housing advocates<\/a> continue to see it as an indispensable bulwark of the city\u2019s housing efforts.<\/p>\n \u201c(The proposed ballot measure) will end new affordable housing for working class families in California, and take all the people San Jose has moved indoors in the last few years and put them back out in the streets,\u201d Sandy Perry, board president for the South Bay Community Land Trust, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cNot a good look for the richest place on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n