41

Why Thrive LA supports 41

Proposition 41 does two things. First, it requires the State Auditor to conduct independent financial and performance audits of any program funded by a new special tax, both before voters approve the tax and every four years after. Second, it closes a loophole that has allowed Sacramento to route special tax revenues around the constitutional spending limit (the Gann Limit), effectively letting the state grow its tax burden without triggering the mandatory rebates voters approved decades ago. California voters deserve to know what their money is buying before they approve a new tax at the ballot box. Right now, initiative sponsors can promise anything. There is no independent check on whether a proposed program will actually cost what proponents claim, whether it duplicates existing services, or whether the private sector could deliver the same results for less. Proposition 41 fixes that. Every pre-election audit must evaluate cost efficiency, identify fraud and waste risks, compare costs to private-sector alternatives, and recommend at least 10% in annual savings. That is not bureaucratic busywork. That is the basic due diligence any taxpayer would expect. The spending-limit provision is equally important. The Gann Limit exists because voters decided state spending should not grow faster than inflation and population growth. When revenues exceed the cap, the surplus goes back to taxpayers. But the Legislature and ballot proponents have learned to write special taxes that exempt their revenues from the limit entirely, draining the cap of its meaning. Proposition 41 says any new state tax enacted after January 1, 2026 that tries this end-run is unenforceable. The spending limit voters approved will actually apply. Every new tax reduces economic activity. It discourages investment, drives mobile capital to other states, and raises costs for the businesses and workers who remain. Proposition 41 does not eliminate the ability to levy new taxes, but it ensures that voters get honest information before they vote and that the constitutional guardrails they already approved cannot be quietly circumvented. Vote yes on Proposition 41.