Potential 2022 Ballot Measures

There are many conversations happening around potential November 2022 ballot measures that impact housing. Four proposed measures that could have a significant impact on housing are highlighted here. These three initiatives have been cleared by the Attorney General for signature gathering.

California Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative—This initiative would legalize sports betting in California and use 85% of the funds raised for homelessness prevention and mental health programs and services. Four California mayors have come forward to endorse the initiative, including the mayors of Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, and Long Beach. The signature deadline for this initiative is May 3, 2022.

California Local Land Use and Zoning to Supersede Conflicting State Law Initiative (formerly the Californians for Community Planning and Stop the Sacramento Land Grab Initiative)—This initiative would allow city laws on land use policy, zoning, and development standards to override any conflicting state law as defined to exclude the State controlled coastal zone, and the siting of power plants and other communication or transportation infrastructure. According to its supporters, this initiative will “supersede any previously enacted state laws that strip zoning authority from local jurisdictions, including recently passed SB 9 and SB 10.” The signature deadline for this initiative is May 2, 2022.

The Housing Affordability and Tax Cut Act of 2022—This initiative, a remake of 2020’s Split Roll initiative, would make changes to Proposition 13 to assess high value properties (assessed at more than $5 million) and use those funds to create higher property tax exemptions for homeowners as well as tax credits for renters. For homeowners, their property tax exemption would increase from $7,000 to $200,000. For renters, the tax credit will increase from $60 for individuals and $120 for joint filers to $1,000 or $2,000, respectively. Additionally, the initiative seeks to streamline local approvals of housing developments affordable to middle and working-class families as well as sites designated for “regionally needed housing.” The signature deadline for this initiative is May 23, 2022.

The following initiative has been filed with the Attorney General and is awaiting clearance to gather signatures.

The Affordable Housing and Financial Accountability Act of 2022—This initiative will authorize local jurisdictions to issue bonds to create funding for affordable housing, tailored to meet local needs, with a voter threshold of 50% + 1 (currently it requires a two-thirds vote). This initiative was submitted to the Attorney General on November 12, 2021, and is currently open for comment (through December 13, 2021). If it gains approval, the sponsors can begin gathering signatures on January 18, 2022.

Supporters of these measures have 180 days to gather needed signatures. Because these are constitutional amendments, 997,139 valid signatures must be obtained in order to be placed on the ballot, not an insignificant number to gather. None of these measures is guaranteed to make it on to the ballot or to be approved by the voters. The cost of gathering signatures can be in the millions, even before a real campaign can begin.