California County Tax for Public Safety Valid With Majority Vote

A sales tax approved by Yuba County, Calif. voters in 2018 was a general tax that needed only a majority vote, not a special tax that required two-thirds approval, a state appellate court said Thursday.

The measure’s purpose to fund public safety and essential services didn’t create an earmark for specific projects that would have made it a special tax, the court said.

More: The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association challenged the measure’s validity, arguing that because the tax revenue is dedicated to specific purposes related to public safety—not to the county’s general fund—it is a special tax.