California's November 2026 Ballot: A Plain-English Guide to the Housing and Tax Props

If you live in California, your ballot is probably sitting on the kitchen counter right now. Mine is. This year we are being asked to decide 14 statewide propositions, and several of them touch the two things I spend my days helping people think through: housing, and what it costs to live here.

I am not going to tell you how to vote. That is your decision, and it should be. What I can do is lay out what each housing and tax measure actually does, in plain English, along with the case each side is making. Facts not fear, and no spin in either direction.

Every summary below comes from the California Secretary of State's Official Voter Information Guide unless I link another source. For each prop you will find what a yes vote does, what a no vote does, what supporters say, what opponents say, and one thing worth knowing before you fill in the bubble.

The Housing Props

Prop 1: Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond

• Yes means: The state borrows $11.25 billion for affordable rentals, supportive housing, preserving existing affordable homes, down payment help, and CalVet home loans for veterans.
• No means: The state does not borrow this money for these programs.
• Supporters say: It builds homes for veterans, seniors, working families, and essential workers without a new tax.
• Opponents say: No official argument against it was filed.
• Worth knowing: Bonds are repaid with interest from the state budget. The official estimate is roughly $500 million to $600 million a year for about 25 years.

Prop 37: Middle-Income Homeownership Loan Program

• Yes means: The state can sell up to $25 billion in bonds to offer fixed-rate second mortgages covering up to 17 percent of the price of a newly built home. Buyers must live in the home, put at least 3 percent down, and earn under roughly double their county's typical income. Price caps run up to about $1.5 million in Los Angeles and Orange County.
• No means: The program is not created.
• Supporters say: It closes the down payment gap that keeps many middle-income renters from buying, and the homeowners' own loan payments repay the bonds, not taxpayers. Tying it to new construction is meant to add supply rather than bid up prices.
• Opponents say: No official argument against it was filed, but critics quoted by CalMatters point out that the bond interest rate is unknown, that a second loan could add roughly $1,000 a month to a payment at a 7 percent rate, and that the help may mostly reach buyers near the top of the income limits.
• Worth knowing: It only applies to new construction, so resale homes do not qualify. The California Association of Realtors helped develop this measure. I am a Realtor, so I would rather you hear that from me.

Prop 45: Faster Environmental Review for Essential Projects

• Yes means: Housing, water, schools, hospitals, transportation, clean energy, and wildfire projects get tighter deadlines for review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and lawsuits against them move faster with narrower court review.
• No means: Current CEQA review and lawsuit rules stay in place.
• Supporters say: Long reviews and lawsuits add cost and years of delay to housing and infrastructure, and that cost lands on everyone who lives here.
• Opponents say: It weakens public input and environmental protections and favors developers over community health.
• Worth knowing: The state estimates early costs to state and local governments in the high tens of millions of dollars a year, partly offset by fees. Long-term effects could go either way.

The Tax Props

Prop 3: Make the Top Income Tax Rates Permanent

• Yes means: The higher income tax rates on top earners, in place since 2012, become permanent. They apply to individual income above roughly $371,000, adjusted each year for inflation.
• No means: Those rates expire in 2031.
• Supporters say: It protects roughly $5 billion to $15 billion a year for schools and health care without raising anyone's current rate.
• Opponents say: Voters were told twice that these rates were temporary, California is already expensive, and the state should fix its spending before extending taxes.
• Worth knowing: This is the measure on the ballot that most directly affects high earners who are not billionaires.

Before You Vote on Props 40, 41, and 42

These three are tied together. Prop 40 creates a billionaire tax. Props 41 and 42 would each block it. According to CalMatters, if Prop 41 or Prop 42 passes with more yes votes than Prop 40, the billionaire tax does not take effect. Prop 40 only takes effect if it outpolls both. That means a yes on all three is not a neutral vote.

Prop 40: One-Time Billionaire Tax

• Yes means: A one-time 5 percent tax on the wealth of California residents and trusts worth more than $1 billion, based on residency as of January 1, 2026. Most of the money goes to health care. Real estate owned directly is generally excluded.
• No means: No wealth tax is collected.
• Supporters say: Roughly 200 billionaires would help replace health care funding lost to federal cuts. In their words, "It cannot be applied to anyone else."
• Opponents say: The wealthy may leave the state and take their income tax with them, the one-time money runs out, and the measure exempts itself from school funding protections and the state spending limit.
• Worth knowing: You may have seen ads saying this tax could later reach people who are not billionaires. CalMatters fact-checked that claim and rated it partially true. The Legislature could amend the measure with a two-thirds vote if the change furthers its purposes. Because the tax is written into the state constitution, experts said lowering the $1 billion line would likely take another statewide vote, and any fight over it would likely end up in court.

Prop 41: Audits for New Special Taxes

• Yes means: The State Auditor reviews the programs a new special tax would fund, before it goes on the ballot and regularly afterward. New taxes also could not be exempted from the voter-approved state spending limit.
• No means: Audit rules and the spending limit stay as they are.
• Supporters say: Billions have gone to programs like homelessness with little to show for it, and independent audits bring accountability.
• Opponents say: It is "a billionaire-funded trick designed to undo the California Billionaire Tax."
• Worth knowing: It also cancels state taxes passed after January 1, 2026 that claim that spending limit exemption, which includes Prop 40.

Prop 42: Ban on New Wealth Taxes and Retroactive Taxes

• Yes means: The state constitution would ban any new state tax on owning personal property, such as stocks, savings, retirement accounts, businesses, and art, and any new retroactive tax.
• No means: The state could still propose these kinds of taxes in the future.
• Supporters say: It prevents double taxation of savings and retirement money that was already taxed when it was earned, and it closes the door on wealth taxes for everyone, not just billionaires.
• Opponents say: Its main purpose is to undo the billionaire tax and the health care funding tied to it.
• Worth knowing: It does not apply to real estate. The official summary defines personal property as everything a person owns other than real estate, so it does not change how your home is taxed.

Prop 43: Two-Thirds Vote for Citizen-Proposed Local Special Taxes

• Yes means: Starting in 2027, local special taxes placed on the ballot by citizen petition, such as earmarked sales, utility, or real estate transfer taxes, would need two-thirds voter approval instead of a simple majority.
• No means: Citizen-proposed local special taxes can keep passing with a simple majority.
• Supporters say: Taxing is government's most serious power, and the same two-thirds rule should apply whether a tax comes from a city council or a petition.
• Opponents say: It lets one-third of voters block a tax most of their neighbors support, which makes funding fire protection, 911 response, schools, and roads harder.
• Worth knowing: It is not retroactive. Los Angeles's Measure ULA "mansion tax," which passed with 58 percent in 2022, stays in place. Future taxes like it would face the higher bar.

Vote, and Vote on Purpose

Whatever you decide, the most important thing is that you decide on purpose. These measures will shape what it costs to build, buy, and live in California for years, long after the ads stop running. Read the official guide, talk with someone who sees it differently than you do, and then make your choice. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

If you want to talk through how any of this could affect your own plans to buy, sell, or stay put, join the Dream Home Club or reach out and we will look at your real numbers together. No pressure, just clear answers.

Dream Homes Do Come True.

Be well,
David

For informational purposes only and not legal, tax, or financial advice. This post does not support or oppose any ballot measure. Summaries are drawn from the California Secretary of State's Official Voter Information Guide and the sources linked above, as of October 27, 2026. David Mercier, DRE #02096621.