Currently, most local bond proposals require a two-thirds vote of the public to approve. If voters pass Proposition 5, the threshold for bonds used to support low-income housing, road and transportation expansion, parks, wildfire resiliency and other public infrastructure projects would be lowered to 55%.
The existing supermajority requirement for local bond approval dates back to a series of tax restrictions in the California Constitution that were enacted after the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978.
Due to a previous ballot measure, the approval threshold for local school construction bonds has been lowered to 55%.
If Proposition 5 passes, it will affect all future local bond campaigns covered by the measure, including simultaneous November ballot campaigns.
Most notably, Bay Area officials asked voters in November to approve a $20 billion bond to fund various affordable housing projects in the region, the largest housing bond in state history. Approval of Proposition 5 means the Bay Area measure would need only 55 percent support from voters to pass, rather than two-thirds.
