New Bill Would Move ACA 13 to 2026 Ballot

On June 27, Assembly Bill 440 was gutted-and-amended for the purpose of moving Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 from the November 5, 2024 ballot to the November 2026 General Election ballot. AB 440 will be heard in a special hearing of the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee on Monday, July 1.

California Election Code Section 9040 requires a constitutional amendment submitted to the people by the Legislature to appear on the ballot of the first statewide election occurring at least 131 days after the adoption of the proposal.

ACA 13 was adopted at the end of the 2023 Legislative Session and is scheduled to appear on the ballot of the statewide general election on November 5, 2024. ACA 13 was a response to the “Taxpayer Protection Act” which was struck from the November ballot by the California Supreme Court. ACA 13 would provide that any initiative measure amending the state Constitution to increase a voter approval threshold would have to be approved by the same threshold in order to be approved by the voters.

Section 1 of AB 440 would call a statewide special election for November 3, 2026. This special election would be consolidated with the statewide general election being held the same day.

Section 2 of the bill would essentially waive Election Code Section 9040 and require the California Secretary of State to submit ACA 13 to the People at the November 3, 2026 general election.

Section 3 of the bill provides that the act would call an election within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.

As a bill calling an election, only a majority vote of both houses is required for passage and the bill is not subject to a referendum.