Local government finance: special taxes: homeless housing and services.

(1) The California Constitution conditions the imposition, extension, or increase of a special tax by a local government upon the approval of 23 of the voters of the local government voting on that tax. Existing law, in accordance with this limitation, authorizes the legislative body of any city, county, or district, following notice and public hearing, to propose by ordinance or resolution the adoption of a special tax that complies with specified requirements, including that it be submitted to the voters of the city, county, or district and approved by 23 of the votes cast by voters voting on the proposition. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2001, requires a local special tax measure subject to voter approval to include specified accountability measures. This bill would authorize a local government to impose, extend, or increase a sales and use tax or transactions and use tax in accordance with specified law or a parcel tax, as defined, for the purposes of funding homeless housing and services, as defined, subject to a majority vote of the electorate of the local government voting on the proposition. The measure would require that the ordinance or resolution proposing the tax be approved by a 23 vote of the governing board of the local government, include specified additional accountability requirements, and otherwise comply with specified requirements relating to the imposition of special taxes. The bill would also make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law authorizes various specified cities, counties, and special districts, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law. A provision of the Transactions and Use Tax Law prohibits the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in a county from exceeding 2%. This bill would authorize a district, as defined, to impose a transactions and use tax for the support of homeless housing and services that, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, would exceed the above-described combined rate limit of 2% if the district adopts an ordinance proposing the tax and the ordinance is approved by the voters, as described above, and the ordinance otherwise conforms to the Transactions and Use Tax Law. (3) This bill would also make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes to related provisions and provide that its provisions would only become operative upon approval by the voters of Assembly Constitutional Amendment____of the 2019–20 Regular Session.