California Billionaire Tax Clears Signature Threshold, Heads to November Ballot. Proponents Have Until June 25 to Pull It.

Where This Story Stands

Since the California Billionaire Tax Act began gathering signatures earlier this year, it has become what former Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin — now executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State LA — called "Sacramento's biggest political hot potato." As of June 21, 2026, the measure has cleared its ballot qualification hurdle, but the political fight over whether it will reach voters remains unresolved.

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced on June 17, 2026 that the initiative exceeded the threshold for ballot eligibility via random sampling. The measure needed 874,641 valid petition signatures — 8% of total votes cast for governor in the 2022 general election. To qualify by random sampling, the projected valid count had to exceed 962,106. It cleared that bar. Supporters told CBS News they had filed more than 1.55 million signatures in April.

Weber's formal certification is scheduled for June 25, 2026, unless the proponent — listed in the Secretary of State's official press release as Suzanne Jimenez, represented by Kaufman Legal Group — withdraws the measure before that date.

What the Tax Would Actually Do

The California Billionaire Tax Act is a constitutional amendment and statute. According to the Attorney General's official summary, it imposes a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion. Covered assets include businesses, securities, art, collectibles, and intellectual property. Real property and some retirement accounts are excluded.

Ninety percent of revenues would go to health care. The remaining 10% would fund food assistance or education-related programs. The measure prohibits using revenues to replace existing funding, so the money has to be additive. The Legislative Analyst's Office and Director of Finance estimate the tax would generate "tens of billions of dollars spread over several years," with a likely ongoing decrease in state income tax revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars or more per year as a consequence of behavioral changes.

The SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which led the signature drive, frames the measure as a direct response to federal healthcare cuts passed by the Republican-led Congress under President Donald Trump, according to CBS News.

Bipartisan Opposition — and a Back-Channel Offer

The strongest argument against this measure isn't coming from just one side. Governor Gavin Newsom opposes it. So do Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, the two projected candidates in the November governor's race, per CBS News. CalMatters political reporter Dan Walters summed up the core concern plainly: if California chases its billionaires out, the state loses their income taxes, which make up a substantial share of state revenue.

Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told The Center Square that passage would produce "a budget deficit in perpetuity" and that billionaires would simply relocate, taking investment capital and jobs with them. The Legislative Analyst's projection of an ongoing income-tax revenue decline backs the structural logic of that concern, even if the magnitude is uncertain.

CBS News also reported that multiple progressive labor unions are quietly opposed because they fear the measure won't benefit their constituencies and that a damaging backlash could follow. Mike Bonin told CBS this pits "one of the more powerful unions in the state" against other organized labor interests.

The Guardian reported that Sergey Brin has spent at least $82 million fighting the tax and has relocated to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. Peter Thiel, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu have also donated millions in opposition.

The Compromise Offer on the Table

Late Thursday, the Billionaire Tax Now Coalition sent Newsom a letter proposing a modified 2% wealth tax in place of the original 5%. "A 2% one-time tax on that accumulated wealth is modest by any objective measure, especially if it means keeping emergency rooms open and saving patient lives," the letter states, according to The Guardian. The coalition framed it as appropriate given that "every other Californian is being asked by Sacramento to sacrifice."

The offer carries real political weight. Whether Newsom engages with it before the June 25 certification deadline will be crucial. CBS News reported that an "intense pressure campaign" is already underway to get organizers to pull the measure entirely.

Not Every Billionaire Is Running

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose net worth has surged with the AI boom, said at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in April that he is fine with the proposed tax. "I say to everybody: 'Move to California. Don't leave.' It's the highest taxes in the world, but it's OK," Huang said, according to The Guardian. California has more than 200 billionaires, more than any other state.

What Happens Next

The California Legislative Analyst's Office currently projects a $16.9 billion budget deficit, according to ZeroHedge's reporting citing the LAO figure. That structural shortfall is part of why the SEIU framed this tax as urgently necessary and why opponents argue the state can't afford to gamble on revenue that may never materialize if its wealthiest residents leave.

The proponent can withdraw the measure by June 25. If it isn't pulled, Weber certifies it, and the question goes to voters on November 3, 2026. The LAO's own estimate flags the paradox built into the proposal: the one-time revenue "probably" totals tens of billions, but the ongoing income-tax revenue loss from behavioral flight could run hundreds of millions per year indefinitely. Whether California voters weigh that trade-off carefully remains an open question.