City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: July 14, 2026
Agenda Item: 11.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson Warren, Interim City Clerk, Records and Election Services Department
Heidi Von Tongeln, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office Subject: Certification of Qualified an Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected by the City of Santa Monica for Funding for the Santa MonicaMalibu Unified School District and Adoption of Resolution to place Measure on the November 3, 2026 Ballot
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding that the resolution below is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act;
2. Receive and file the attached Certification of Qualification regarding an Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected by the City of Santa Monica for Funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District by adding, Chapter
2.74 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code and establish an annual parcel tax of $495 per parcel of taxable real property located within the City of Santa Monica (“City”); and,
3. Adopt the attached resolution requesting and directing the actions necessary to place the measure on the November 3, 2026, General Municipal Ballot.
Executive Summary
On May 29, 2026, an Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected by the City of Santa Monica for funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District was submitted to the Office of the City Clerk and forwarded to the County RegistrarRecorder (“the County) for signature verification. On June 27, 2026, the County notified the City Clerk’s Office that the measure was being certified as containing the required number of signatures for placement on the ballot.
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Accordingly, staff recommends that Council receive and file the certification and adopt the attached resolution, which requests and directs the actions necessary to place the initiative on the November 3, 2026, ballot.
Discussion
California Elections Code section 9215 requires the governing body of a city to take action on a qualified proposed initiative ballot measure after certification of the petitions on the ballot. Staff recommends that the City Council submit the measure to the voters, and the measure shall be submitted to the voters at an established statewide general election occurring in not less than 88 days, on November 3, 2026. Section 9215 establishes that the action of placing the certified petition on the ballot is ministerial, not discretionary. Thus, if the County certifies the petition, the State law requires the City Council to send the measure to the voters. Although Elections Code section 9215(a) generally permits a city council to, as an alternative, adopt a qualified initiative measure without alteration, that option is not recommended here. Direct adoption could be characterized as the City Council imposing a special parcel tax without the voter approval generally required by the California Constitution for special taxes imposed by local governments. Cal. Const., art. XIII C, § 2(d). Submitting the measure to the voters provides certainty and is the more appropriate course given the constitutional distinction between local-government-imposed taxes and voter-initiated taxes. Cal. Const., art. II, § 11(a); California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland (2017) 3 Cal.5th 924.
On February 9, 2026, proponents of the measure notified the City Clerk’s Office of their intent to circulate an initiative petition. On February 11, 2026, the City Attorney prepared a ballot title and summary, as required by law, which describes the measure as an Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected by the City of Santa Monica for Funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Thereafter, the proponents gathered signatures and filed their signed petition with the City Clerk’s Office on May 28, 2026.
Upon submittal of the petition, the City Clerk requested the Los Angeles County Clerk/Registrar Recorder (“County Clerk”) verify the signatures submittal therein. In 3 of 4
order to qualify the measure for the November 2026 election, the petition needed a minimum of 10% of the registered voters of the city. The registered voter population at the time of publishing was 70,375, and based on that number, 7,038 valid signatures were needed for qualification. The County Clerk’s Office has verified that the petitions contain the minimum number of valid signatures required to place the proposed ordinance on the ballot for a public vote.
On June 27, 2026, the County notified the City Clerk that the measure had received the required number of signatures, which is 10% of the voters or 7,038. The County found that 9,083 signatures were filed, two signatures were withdrawn, 9,083 signatures were verified, 7,711 were found sufficient, 1,372 were not found sufficient, and 132 signatures were found not sufficient because the signatures were duplicates. See Exhibit to Attachment B.
The next statewide general election will occur on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. This measure could appear as an additional item on the ballot, which will include other contests, including federal, state, county, and local races and several other local measures. Thus, staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to place the measure on that ballot.
Next Steps
Next steps are specified as requests and directives in the attached resolution, including a selection of Councilmember(s) who may wish to draft an argument against the measure, if any. Because this measure was submitted by voter initiative, it is subject to the Elections Code Section 9282(a), which provides that the persons filing the initiative petition may file a written argument in favor, and the legislative body may submit an argument against. In summary, once the Council adopts the resolution, arguments for and against the measure will be prepared, the City Attorney will prepare an impartial analysis, and the City Clerk will transmit the materials to the County, which will prepare the ballot. The County will prepare and distribute the voter sample ballot.
Environmental Review
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The resolution for the ballot measure is not a “project” subject to CEQA. The proposed action is informative and administrative in nature. Pursuant to CEQA Section 21065, the proposed ballot measure does not meet the definition of a “project” subject to CEQA as it will not “cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.” Additionally, per Section 15378(b) of the CEQA Guidelines, a “project” does not include continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as general policy and procedure making. Therefore, the resolution for the ballot measure is not subject to CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future. Costs related to implementation of the measure are unknown at this time.
Funding is available in the FY 2026-27 Adopted Budget in account number 01110002.552010 (Professional Services) under the Elections Division of the Records & Election Services/City Clerk's Department.
Prepared By: Denise Anderson Warren, Interim City Clerk Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Full Text for Measure
B. Proposed Resolution and Exhibit
C. Written Comments