Prop C To Help Homeless Passes But Stuck In Legal Challenge

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Proposition C which was passed by a wide margin will collect taxes but won't be able to spend up to $300 million to combat homelessness due to a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the measure. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and a coalition of commercial property owners are suing the city and stopping the flow of funds

For more than two decades, since voters approved Proposition 218, passing a new tax measure where the proceeds are used for specific purposes has required a two-thirds majority. But last year, a memo from the city attorney’s office interpreting a recent state Supreme Court rulingargued that proposed tax measures put on the ballot by citizens — and not government officials — required only a simple majority to pass. On Tuesday’s ballot, Prop. C required 50 percent plus one vote to pass.

The San Francisco Department of Elections had about 139,000 ballots left to count as of Wednesday morning. Prop. C, which was at 60 percent yes votes, would need to pick up nearly seven more percentage points to be insulated from a similar legal challenge. That appeared unlikely.

To date, the city attorney’s rationale around the simple-majority voter thresholds has been applied to the child-care and homelessness measures and Proposition G, another initiative from the June election that would generate $50 million a year to boost teachers’ salaries by levying a $298 parcel tax.