Larry Klein
Mayor
Omar Din
Vice Mayor
Russ Melton
Councilmember
Alysa Cisneros
Councilmember
Richard Mehlinger
Councilmember
Murali Srinivasan
Councilmember
Linda Sell
Councilmember
September 12, 2023
T
he Honorable Anthony Portantino
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 412
Sacramento, CA 95814
R
E: ACA 13 (Ward): Voting thresholds – SUPPORT (as amended September 11, 2023)
D
ear Senator Portantino:
O
n behalf of the City of Sunnyvale, we strongly urge your Support of ACA 13 (Ward) when this measure is heard in your Senate Appropriations Committee.
A
CA 13 would require any constitutional amendment proposed by initiative that increases a voter approval threshold for future measures, be approved by the same proportion of votes cast as the measure would require. The measure would also preserve the right of cities, counties, and special districts to place advisory questions of the ballot to ask voters their opinion on issues.
U
nder current law, any ballot measure approved by a majority of voters can selectively require a future measure to pass with a supermajority of the vote. At the local level, this has made it unnecessarily difficult to pass revenue measures dedicated to critical services, such as homelessness and housing, fire, public safety, and roads. ACA 13 addresses this issue by simply requiring any initiative that increases a voter approval threshold to pass by that same voter threshold. ACA 13 is a fair proposal that protects the principles of democracy and majority rule.
C
urrent City of Sunnyvale policy supports efforts to amend the California Constitution to require a simple majority vote for adoption of any ballot measures (Council Policy
7.0F(5) and ensure local governments’ revenue sources are protected and predictable (Council Policy 7.0B(5).
Attachment 1
The Honorable Anthony Portantino, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee S
eptember 12, 2023
For these reasons, we would appreciate your support of ACA 13 (Ward). Thank you for your consideration of our position. Please do not hesitate to contact me or David Carnahan, City Clerk, [email protected] or 408-730-7918, if you have any questions.
S
incerely,
L
arry Klein
Mayor
cc:
The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Governor
The Honorable Chris Ward, State Assembly
The Honorable Aisha Wahab, State Senate
The Honorable Josh Becker, State Senate
City Council
Kent Steffens, City Manager
Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Seth Miller, League of California Cities, Peninsula Division Public Affairs Manager, [email protected]
Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, [email protected] Attachment 1