Utility taxes in California

Ballotpedia covers all local ballot measures in California, including utility tax measures.

The majority of measures related to utility taxes are utility user taxes (UUTs). Cities and counties may impose UUTs on users' consumption of certain utility services.There were 158 cities and four counties with a utility user tax in California as of a January 2021 report by California City Finance. This accounted for 54 percent of the state's population. The report stated that the total revenues from UUTs amounted to nearly $2 billion.

Under Proposition 218, which was approved in 1996, utility user taxes must be approved by voters. UUTs may be special taxes or general taxes.

Other measures related to utility taxes include utility fund transfers.

UUT taxable utilities

Utility user taxes may be applied to the following services:

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Sewer
• Telephone (including cell phones and long distance services)
• Sanitation
• Cable television

Local utility tax elections (2008-2022)

The chart below depicts the number of utility tax measures on the ballot each year from 2008 to 2022.

2024

Ballot Measure	County	Jurisdiction	Outcome	Amount	Length	Purpose	Election date
Measure LB	Los Angeles	Long Beach	Approved				November 5, 2024
Measure U	Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz	Defeated				November 5, 2024

2023

There were no local utility tax measures in 2023.

2022

Ballot Measure	County	Jurisdiction	Outcome	Amount	Length	Purpose	Election date
Measure L	Humboldt	Arcata	Approved				November 8, 2022
Measure I	Riverside	Banning	Defeated	0.015			November 8, 2022
Measure N	Contra Costa	Hercules	Approved	8%		General services	November 8, 2022
Measure L	Santa Clara	Palo Alto	Approved				November 8, 2022
Proposition F	San Francisco	San Francisco	Approved				June 7, 2022
Measure G	Santa Clara	Santa Clara	Approved				November 8, 2022

2021

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Amount:	Length:	Election date
Measure U	Fresno	d			November 2, 2021
Measure U	Imperial	a			November 2, 2021
Measure C	Riverside	a			November 2, 2021

2020

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Amount:	Length:	Election date
Measure U	Los Angeles	a			November 3, 2020
Measure PA	Los Angeles	d			November 3, 2020
Measure R	Sonoma	d			November 3, 2020
Measure WW	Alameda	a			November 3, 2020
Measure PP	Alameda	a			November 3, 2020
Measure DD	Alameda	a			November 3, 2020
Measure T	Imperial	d			November 3, 2020
Measure R	Imperial	d			November 3, 2020

2019

No local utility tax measures were on the ballot in California in 2019

2018

There were eighteen measures related to utility taxes and fees on local California ballots in 2018. Ten measures were approved, and eight measures were defeated.

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Amount:	Length:	Election date
Measure A: Sierra Madre Reduced City Services upon Repeal of Utility Tax Advisory Measure	Los Angeles	d	Repeal tax	N/A	April 10, 2018
Measure D: Sierra Madre Utility Tax Repeal	Los Angeles	d	Repeal tax	N/A	April 10, 2018
Measure R: Vernon Utility User Tax	Los Angeles	a	6%	Never	April 10, 2018
Measure M: Long Beach Utility Funds Transfer Charter Amendment	Los Angeles	a	12% of utility gross revenues	Never	June 5, 2018
Measure T: Burbank Utility Funds Transfer Charter Amendment	Los Angeles	a	Up to 7% of BWP's gross annual sales	Never	June 5, 2018
Measure T: Portola Valley Utility User Tax Reduction	San Mateo	a	4.5%	5 years	June 5, 2018
Measure C: Parlier Utility User Tax Measure	Fresno	d	4 percent	Indefinite	June 5, 2018
Measure D: Parlier Advisory Measure for Tax Funding of Fire Services	Fresno	a			June 5, 2018
Measure M: Rialto Utility Users Tax Extension	San Bernardino	a	8%	Indefinite	June 5, 2018
Measure R-2018: Isla Vista Community Services District Utility User Tax	Santa Barbara	a	8%	Indefinite	June 5, 2018
Measure K: Parlier Utility User Tax	Fresno	d	4%	No expiration	November 6, 2018
Measure L: Parlier Advisory Question	Fresno	a			November 6, 2018
Measure C: Pinole Utility Users Tax Extension	Contra Costa	a	8%	No expiration	November 6, 2018
Measure N: South Pasadena Utility User Tax Repeal	Los Angeles	d	Repeal tax	N/A	November 6, 2018
Measure L: Arvin Utility Tax	Kern	d	7%	No expiration	November 6, 2018
Measure P: McFarland Utility Users Tax	Kern	d	5%	10 years	November 6, 2018
Measure P: Banning Authorization to Transfer Electric Utility Revenue to General Fund and Utility Fee Rate Increase Restriction	Riverside	d			November 6, 2018
Measure S: Canyon Lake Utility Tax Continuation	Riverside	a	3.95%	No expiration	November 6, 2018

2017

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Amount:	Length:	Election date
Measure CC: Covina Utility Tax Extension	Los Angeles	a	Renew 6%	10 years	March 7, 2017
Measure C: Desert Hot Springs Public Safety Utility Users Tax	Riverside	a	7%	Never	November 7, 2017
Measure W: Brawley Utility User Tax	Imperial	a	4%	5 years	November 7, 2017

2016

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Amount:	Length:	Election date
Dixon Sewer Utility Rate Initiative	Solano				November 8, 2016
Measure A: Arcadia Initiative to Repeal the Utility Users Tax	Los Angeles	d	Repeal tax	N/A	April 12, 2016
Measure UUT: Sierra Madre Utility Users Tax Measure	Los Angeles	a	Increase to 10%	Never	April 12, 2016
Measure D: Hayward Utility Tax Renewal	Alameda	a	5.5%	20 years	June 7, 2016
Measure C: Carson Utility Tax Extension	Los Angeles	a	2%	7 years	June 7, 2016
Measure N: Glendale Utility Users Tax Repeal	Los Angeles	d	Repeal tax	N/A	June 7, 2016
Measure W: Firebaugh Wireless Tax Measure	Fresno	d			November 8, 2016
Measure V: Dunsmuir Optional Refuse Collection and Disposal	Siskiyou	d	Optional fee	N/A	November 8, 2016
Measure N: Sunnyvale Application of Utility Users Tax to Wireless Telephone Services	Santa Clara	a	Two percent	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure Z: Brentwood Utility Tax	Contra Costa	d	6% by 2018	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure A: Revenue from Utility Tax Allocated to Public Safety Advisory Vote	Contra Costa	a			November 8, 2016
Measure E: Oakley Utility Users Tax	Contra Costa	d	3.5 percent	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure G: Oakley Utility Tax Revenue Allocated for Medical Services Advisory Vote	Contra Costa	a			November 8, 2016
Measure G: Monterey Telephone Users Tax	Monterey	a	Application to wireless/internet tech.	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure M: Oxnard Wastewater Rates Repeal	Ventura	a	Rate prior to March 2016	N/A	November 8, 2016
Measure K1: Alameda Annual Transfer and Utility Users Tax Charter Amendment	Alameda	a	Applying 7.5% to new technology	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure F: Arcata Utility Users Tax	Humboldt	a	3%	8 years	November 8, 2016
Measure F2016: Isla Vista Community Services District Utility Users Tax	Santa Barbara	d	8%	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure K: Watsonville Utility Users' Tax	Santa Cruz	a	Decrease from 6% to 5.5%	Never	November 8, 2016
Measure Q: Crescent City Sewer Rate Increase	Del Norte	d	Varies	Never	November 8, 2016

2015

Ballot Measure:	County:	Outcome:	Yes:	No:	Amount:	Expires:	Turnout:
City of Paramount Utility Users Tax Increase, Measure P (March 2015)	Los Angeles County	a	75.27%	24.73%	2.5% increase	Never	4.6%
City of Carson Utility Users Tax, Measure A (March 2015)	Los Angeles County	d	47.6%	52.4%	2% continuation	Never	18.7%
City of San Marino Utility User Tax Update and Extension, Measure U (November 2015)	Los Angeles County	a	71.79%	28.21%	Decrease to 5%	10 years	34.9%
City of Hercules Utility User Tax Continuation, Measure C (November 2015)	Contra Costa County	a	72.22%	27.78%	2% continuation	6 years	22.06%

2014

In 2014, 19 utility user tax and fee measures were decided by voters. Of the total, 13 were approved, and six were defeated.

November 4

See also: November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Details	Outcome
Adelanto (city of), Measure O	San Bernardino County	7.95% for 7 years	d
Alturas (city of), Measure Z	Modoc County	$1.50 per water meter	a
Anaheim (city of), Measure N	Orange County	4% utility revenue transfer	d
Artesia (city of), Measure Y	Los Angeles County	4.9% uut	d
Blue Lake (city of), Measure T	Humboldt County	4% uut	a
Canyon Lake (city of), Measure DD	Riverside County	3.95% uut for 6 years	a
Cloverdale (city of), Measure O	Sonoma County	3% uut for 8 years	a
Coalinga (city of), Measure P	Fresno County	5.5% uut, special (2/3 required)	a
Newark (city of), Measure Y	Alameda County	5-yr cont. & reduce from 3.5% to 3.25%	a
Norwalk (city of), Measure B	Los Angeles County	Modernize to include cell and internet technology	a
Palo Alto (city of), Measure C	Santa Clara County	Cont., reduce 5% to 4.75%, included cell, internet, etc.	a
Salinas (city of), Measure H	Monterey County	Reduce 6% to 5%, modernize to include wireless	a
San Jacinto (city of), Measure CC	Riverside County	6.5% uut for 10 years	d
Santa Ana (city of), Measure AA	Orange County	Cont., reduce 6% to 5.5%, modernize, removed tax cap	a
Santa Rosa (city of), Measure N	Sonoma County	Reduce 5% to 4.5%, modernize	d
Seal Beach (city of), Measure DD	Orange County	Reduce 11% to 10%, modernize	a
Sebastopol (city of), Measure R	Sonoma County	Reduce 4% to 3.75%, expand scope	a

June 3

See also: June 3, 2014 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Rate	Outcome
Davis (city of), Measure P	Yolo County	Reduce in water rates	a

April 8

See also: April 8, 2014 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Rate	Outcome
Sierra Madre (city of), Measure UUT	Los Angeles County	Continue and decrease	d

2013

November 5

See also: November 5, 2013 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Rate	Outcome
Portola (town of), Measure Q	San Mateo	Reduction	a
Pacifica (city of), Measure V	San Mateo	Expansion	d
Grand Terrace (city of), Measure C	San Bernardino	5% (6 years)	d

April 9

See also: April 9, 2013 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Vernon Utility Users Tax, Measure M	Los Angeles	a

March 5

See also March 5, 2013 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Monterey Park Utility Users Tax, Measure MP-DD	Los Angeles	a
City of Rialto Utility User Tax Extension, Measure W	San Bernardino	a

2012

November 6

See also November 6, 2012 election in California

Ten utility tax measures were on the November 6, 2012, ballot in nine different counties.

Measure	County	Outcome
Arcata (City of), Measure I	Humboldt	a
Bellflower (City of), Measure P	Los Angeles	a
Berkeley (City of), Measure Q	Alameda	a
Chico (City of), Measure J	Butte	d
Citrus Heights, Measure K	Sacramento	d
Downey (City of), Measure D	Los Angeles	a
Los Alamitos (City of), Measure DD	Orange	a
Needles (City of), Measure T	San Bernardino	a
Pinole (City of), Measure M	Contra Costa	a
San Luis Obispo (City of), Measure D	San Luis Obispo	a

September 18

See also September 18, 2012 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Vernon, Measure A	Los Angeles	a

June 5

See also June 5, 2012 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Foresthill PUD, Measure C	Placer	a
Parlier, Measure S	Fresno	d
Stanton, Measure J	Orange	d

April 10

See also April 10, 2012 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Bradbury, Measure A	Los Angeles	d
Sierra Madre, Measure 12-1	Los Angeles	d
Sierra Madre, Measure 12-2	Los Angeles	d

2011

November 8

See also November 8, 2011 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Brawley, Measure K	Imperial	a
Holtville, Measure M	Imperial	d
Holtville, Measure N	Imperial	d
Holtville, Measure O	Imperial	d
Modesto, Measure N	Stanislaus	a
South Pasadena, Measure UT	Los Angeles	a

June 7

See also June 7, 2011 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Rio Vista Rollback, Measure A	Solano	d

2010

November 2

See also November 2, 2010 election in California

Measure	County
Albany, Measure O	Alameda	a
Bellflower, Measure A	Los Angeles	d
Chula Vista, Measure H	San Diego	d
El Segundo, Measure O	Los Angeles	d
Elk Grove, Measure J	Sacramento	a
Guadalupe, Measure P	Santa Barbara	d
Huntington Beach, Measure P	Orange	a
Indio, Measure S	Riverside	a
La Palma, Measure U	Orange	a
Lincoln, Measure K	Placer	d
Mountain View, Measure T	Santa Clara	a
Newark, Measure U	Alameda	a
Oakland, Measure W	Alameda	d
Oroville, Measure A	Butte	a
Pinole, Measure S	Contra Costa	d
Placentia, Measure W	Orange	a
Pleasant Hill, Measure T	Contra Costa	d
Pomona, Measure SP	Los Angeles	d
Port Hueneme, Measure G	Ventura	a
Rancho Cordova, Measure E	Sacramento	a
Santa Cruz City, Measure H	Santa Cruz	a
Santa Fe Springs, Measure S	Los Angeles	a

June 8

See also June 8, 2010 election in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Coachella, Measure I	Riverside	a
Mammoth Lakes, Measure U	Mono	a
Winters, Measure W	Yolo	a

April 13

See also April 13, 2010 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
El Segundo, Measure M	Los Angeles	a

2009

November 3

See also November 3, 2009 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Coachella, Measure M	Riverside	d
Cupertino Measure B	Santa Clara	a
Dinuba Measure M	Tulare	a
Huntington Park Measure E	Los Angeles	a
Irwindale Measure U	Los Angeles	a
Newark, Measure L	Alameda	d
Palm Springs, Measure G	Riverside	a
Pico Rivera Measure TR	Los Angeles	a
Pomona Measure PC	Los Angeles	a
Portola Valley, Measure P	San Mateo	a
Redondo Beach UU	Los Angeles	d
Tulare Measure N	Tulare	a
Vallejo, Measure U	Solano	a

June 9

See also June 9, 2009 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Arcadia Utility Users Tax, Measure A (June 2009)	Los Angeles	a

May 19

See also May 19, 2009 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Hayward Utility Users Tax, Measure A (May 2009)	Alameda	a
City of Desert Hot Springs Utility Users Tax, Measure A (May 2009)	Riverside	a
City of Rancho Cordova Utility Users Tax, Measure B (May 2009)	Sacramento	d

March 3

See also March 3, 2009 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Bellflower Utility User Tax, Measure A (March 2009)	Los Angeles	a
City of Carson Utility User Tax, Measure C (March 2009)	Los Angeles	a
City of Gardena Utility User Tax, Measure A (March 2009)	Los Angeles	a
City of Redondo Beach Utility User Tax, Measure A (March 2009)	Los Angeles	a

2008

November 4

See also November 4, 2008 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Cathedral City Utility Users Tax, Measure L (November 2008)	Riverside	a
Eureka Sales Tax/Utility Tax Measure D	Humboldt	a
City of Hawthorne Utility Users Tax, Measure V (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Hemet Utility Users Tax, Measure O (November 2008)	Riverside	d
Holtville Measure C, 2008	Imperial	d
City of Indio Utility Users Tax, Measure K (November 2008)	Riverside	a
City of Inglewood Utility Users Tax, Measure UUT (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Lakewood Utility Users Tax, Measure L (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Long Beach Utility Users Tax, Measure G (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
Unincorporated Areas of the County of Los Angeles Utility Users Tax, Measure U (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Lynwood Utility Users Tax, Measures HH and II (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Moreno Valley Utility Users Tax, Measure P (November 2008)	Riverside	a
City of Morgan Hill Utility Users Tax, Measure G (November 2008)	Santa Clara	d
City of Pomona Utility Users Tax, Measure PC (November 2008)	Los Angeles	d
Rossmoor Incorporation and Utility Tax, Measures U-A, U-B and U-C (November 2008)	Orange	d
City of Sacramento Utility Users Tax, Measure O (November 2008)	Sacramento	a
San Francisco Telephone Tax, Proposition O (November 2008)	San Francisco	a
City of San Gabriel Utility Users Tax, Measure SG (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of San Jose Telecommunications Taxes, Measures J and K (November 2008)	Santa Clara	a
City of San Leandro Utility Users Tax, Measure RR (November 2008)	Alameda	a
City of Santa Barbara Utility Users Tax, Measure G (November 2008)	Santa Barbara	a
County of Santa Cruz Emergency Response Fees and Taxes, Measure B (November 2008)	Santa Cruz	d
City of Santa Monica Telecommunications Tax, Measure SM (November 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Seaside Utility Tax Repeal, Measure E (November 2008)	Monterey	d
Sebastopol Utility User Tax, Measure M (November 2008)	Sonoma	a
Stockton Utility User Tax, Measure U (November 2008)	San Joaquin	a
City of Watsonville Telephone Tax, Measure C (November 2008)	Santa Cruz	d

June 3

See also June 3, 2008 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
Alameda County Measure F (2008)	Alameda	a
City of Covina Utility Tax, Measure C (June 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Oakland Utility Users Tax, Measure J (June 2008)	Alameda	a
City of Torrance Utility Users Tax, Measure T (June 2008)	Los Angeles	a
City of Winters Utility Users Tax, Measure T (June 2008)	Yolo	a
City of McFarland Utility Users Tax, Measure E (June 2008)	Kern	d

April 8

Measure	County	Outcome
Culver City Utility Users Tax, Measure W (April 2008)	Los Angeles	a
Malibu Utility Users Tax, Measure D (April 2008)	Los Angeles	a
Sierra Madre Utility Users Tax, Measures U and UA (April 2008)	Los Angeles	a

February 5

See also February 5, 2008 ballot measures in California

Measure	County	Outcome
City of Richmond, Measure B	Contra Costa	a
City of Arcata, Measure A	Humboldt	a
City of Huntington Park, Measure B	Los Angeles	a
City of Pasadena, Measure D	Los Angeles	a
City of Los Angeles, Proposition S	Los Angeles	a
City of San Bernardino, Measure L	San Bernardino	a

2002-2008 highlights

From June 2002 through June 2008, 83 utility user tax measures were placed before voters by cities and counties. Two of these were county measures and 81 were city measures.

• Thirty proposals were for new or increased UUTs. Six of these proposals were approved.
• Nineteen of the 30 were for an increase in the UUT tax rate. Two of these passed.
• Nineteen measures asked to increase an existing UUT past a built-in sunset period. Sixteen of these measures passed.
• Twenty-three cities proposed changes to the UUT that would allow the tax to apply to wireless telecommunications, internet, and modern billing methods. Twenty-two of these requests were approved.
• Citizens placed 14 veto referendums on the ballot seeking to repeal or alter local UUTs.
  • Seven measures seeking total repeal failed.
• Four out of five measures seeking to reduce the UUT tax rate failed.
• In Greenfield, voters reduced their UUT from 6% to 3%.
• A referendum to restrict the use of UUT revenues to law enforcement services passed in Seaside (Monterey County) in November 2002.

See also

• Taxes on the ballot
• List of California ballot propositions
• Local ballot measures, California

External links

• California City Finance Utility User Tax Facts