While a record breaking number of local measures seeking to dedicate revenue to children and youth are on the ballot this November, voters also will decide the fate of multiple statewide measures that threaten existing funding or the ability of other communities to pass dedicated funding measures in the future. If passed, ballot measures in Utah and California would make it more difficult for communities in those states to put measures to fund children and youth on their local ballots. Meanwhile, Washington voters will decide whether to repeal a new state income tax that dedicates a portion of its revenue to early childhood care and education. Additionally, Amendment 3 in Florida would reduce property tax revenue across the state, drastically reducing dedicated funding for child and youth services. On the surface, the effects of these policies may not be obvious, but they share a common downstream effect: fewer dollars going to child and youth programs, now and in the future.

Florida

Ballot Measure: Amendment 3
Ballot Language
Ballotpedia
No on 3 Campaign Website
Save Our Services Campaign Website
What It Would Do: Increase the property tax homestead exemption for nonschool tax levies to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

Amendment 3 is a constitutional amendment that would drastically reduce the amount of funding that could be dedicated to children and youth across the state. A “yes” vote on the amendment would increase the existing property tax homestead exemption (the amount of property tax value that is not taxed), which would reduce the amount of property tax revenue that Florida cities, counties, and special taxing districts collect, without changing the tax rates. Opponents of Amendment 3 say that if it passes, this legislation stands to drastically reduce the amount of local funding for cradle-to-career programs in Florida (despite school levies being exempt from the legislation). The amendment would also have a broader impact on city and county budgets, reducing available property tax revenue by $46 billion statewide over five years that would otherwise fund local public safety, roads and bridges, libraries, emergency services, parks, and more. In counties like Flagler, Clay, Pasco, St. Lucie, and Gulf, among others, the lost revenue would be equivalent to more than half the county’s public safety budget. 

Florida has state legislation that allows for the creation of children’s services councils and trusts, independent governmental entities that are able to levy property taxes and direct that funding to child and youth services. According to the Florida Policy Institute, if Amendment 3 passes, children’s services councils collectively stand to lose nearly $100 million during the first year (fiscal year 2027-2028) and $275 million over the next two fiscal years. The revenue loss would put the wide range of services they provide, including literacy and early learning programs, child care, school health clinics, maternal and child health services, developmental screenings and referrals, family supports, youth employment and internship programs, prevention services, and after-school and summer programing, at risk. The Children’s Services Council of Broward County alone supports 200 local programs and stands to lose $15 million the first year if the amendment is approved.

Amendment 3 requires a 60% majority to pass. Floridians for Shared Prosperity and Vote No on 3 Florida, Inc. received campaign contributions from our partner advocacy organization Children’s Funding Accelerator.

California

Ballot Measure: Proposition 43
Ballot Language
Ballotpedia
No on 43 Campaign Website
What It Would Do: Require a two-thirds majority to pass local special purpose tax measures placed on the ballot via citizen petition.

Currently in California, a local special purpose tax (a tax whose revenue is dedicated to a specific purpose, like child care) requires a simple majority to pass if the measure is placed on the ballot via citizen petition (a citizen-led campaign that collects signatures from qualified voters to get on the ballot). Special purpose taxes that are placed on the ballot by a government entity, like a city or county council, require a two-thirds majority to pass. Proposition 43 would amend the California Constitution and require that all future local special purpose taxes, regardless of how they are placed on the ballot, earn a two-thirds majority yes vote to pass. The proposition threatens the ability of communities to create voter-approved children’s funds in the future by requiring these ballot measures to get more than 66% of the vote.

This builds on a long history of changes to the state constitution to define the authority, requirements, procedures, and restrictions of cities to increase taxes for all purposes. From 1978-1996, multiple propositions amended the constitution, determining that a simple majority was required to pass a local general tax, while a two-thirds majority was required to pass a special purpose tax. Lawsuits and court cases between 2017-2021 changed requirements again, determining that special purpose taxes only required a two-thirds majority if they were placed on the ballot by referral from a government body. Measures placed on the ballot by citizen initiative could again pass with a simple majority. 

The lower approval threshold has opened a window of opportunity for many communities whose voter-approved children’s funds previously failed at the ballot under the old rules, despite securing over 60% of the vote. In 2016, the Marin Board of Supervisors placed a sales tax on the ballot to fund preschool, children’s health, and after-school programs. The measure received 63.3% of the vote, just shy of the two-thirds majority required to pass. Since court cases between 2017-2021 reduced the requirement for measures placed on the ballot via citizen-driven initiative, advocates in Marin County collected signatures to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that will only need 50% + 1 to pass. Proposition 43 would create an often insurmountable barrier to the passage of future, similar measures in California localities, even when voters are overwhelmingly supportive.

On the surface, the effects of these policies may not be obvious, but they share a common downstream effect: fewer dollars going to child and youth programs, now and in the future.

Utah

Ballot Measure: Amendment B
Ballot Language
Ballotpedia
What It Would Do: Require 60% approval to pass citizen-initiated measures to create a new tax or increase or change tax rates.

In Utah, the state legislature placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would restrict the ability of citizens to influence how much, and for what purposes, they are taxed. Amendment B would raise the threshold required to pass citizen-led ballot measures involving taxes to 60%. This includes measures that levy new taxes, adjust tax rates, or expand the scope and allowable uses of tax revenue. Currently a 50% +1 majority is required to pass citizen-led measures that are referred to the ballot by signature petition and those placed on the ballot by a governing body. As with Proposition 43 in California, Measure B makes it more difficult to pass local ballot measures and poses a threat to communities who would like to dedicate public revenue to children and youth.

Washington

Ballot Measure: Initiative 645
Ballot Language
Ballotpedia
What It Would Do: Repeal Senate Bill 6346, which enacted a 9.9% income tax on income over $1 million beginning in 2028.

In March 2026, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 6346 into law, establishing a 9.9% income tax on annual adjusted gross income over $1 million. The state has no general personal income tax, and it’s expected that the new “millionaires’ tax” will only apply to 0.5% of state residents. The tax is scheduled to take effect in 2028 and would generate over $3 billion annually, with the revenue supporting state services including K-12 education, free school breakfast and lunch, healthcare, and higher education as well as providing tax offsets and expanding tax credits for low-income residents. The income tax will also support child care programs, with 5% of revenue (an estimated $150 million annually), dedicated to the Fair Start for Kids Account. The account is a dedicated state fund to expand access to quality early care and education, cap family costs, and support child care providers, established by the Fair Start for Kids Act. Initiative 645 would repeal Senate Bill 6346 and prevent the income tax from taking effect. It would also prohibit taxes on individual income at any level of government going forward. 

Threats like these aren’t anomalies. Specifically, the authority to raise local tax revenue or use direct democracy to govern at the ballot is consistently threatened by state legislatures that want greater control over local policy, and by groups that oppose taxes and government spending more broadly. In addition to supporting campaigns to counter proposed ballot measure restrictions like those in Utah and California, advocates also can push their state leaders to pass proactive legislation that increases opportunity to use the ballot and generate funding for a community’s priorities for children and youth. Legislation to increase or grant citizens the authority to tax themselves to fund local priorities allows communities to build systems that address the greatest needs of their citizens, regardless of funding fluctuations between state and federal budget cycles. You can learn more about how states across the country, including Washington and Florida, have created this type of enabling legislation in our updated report State Legislation to Expand Local Options to Fund Children and Youth.

Olivia Allen is co-founder and vice president, strategy and advocacy; Dan Whitaker is senior manager, voter-approved children’s funds; and Hannah Groetsch is policy associate, voter-approved children’s funds at Children’s Funding Project.