California voters will decide whether voter-initiated special taxes should undergo consistent audits and be prohibited from state spending limit exemptions.
Read more What is Proposition 42 before California voters in the 2026 election?
Proposition 41 would require a pre-election audit of programs that would receive funding from a voter-approved special tax. It would also require recurring audits on taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026.
The measure — dubbed the “Improving Transparency, Effectiveness, and Efficiency in California Government Act of 2026” — would prevent special taxes from being exempt from the state spending cap.
In 1979, California voters approved an appropriations limit on the state to keep real, inflation-adjusted, per-person government spending under 1978-79 levels. Proposition 41 would ensure that this cap — the Gann Limit — is upheld when it comes to special taxes.
of the measure is to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being lost to inefficiency, waste, or abuse by determining if extra funding is actually needed.
The pre-election and recurring audits would be completed by the California state auditor. The estimated cost of this measure depends on how many initiatives for special taxes are introduced each election.
Read more What is Proposition 43 before California voters in the 2026 election?
Proposition 41 is sponsored by Building a Better California, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on California’s affordability crisis, alongside Proposition 42, which will prevent the state from levying retroactive taxes.
Building a Better California is primarily backed by the co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin.
The two ballot measures supported by the organization are an effort to curb the impact that Proposition 40, the billionaire tax, would have if passed.
Proposition 41 will apply to any special tax approved after Jan. 1, 2026, including the measures that appear on the November 2026 ballot.
Read more What is Proposition 44 before California voters in the 2026 election?