Endorsement: No on Proposition 5, a path to higher property taxes and more wasteful spending

Under California’s state constitution, local governments may incur bond indebtedness or levy taxes for a specific purpose only with the approval of two-thirds of voters.

The wisdom of this standard is straightforward. First, it’s a guardrail against excessive indebtedness across California’s hundreds of cities, dozens of counties and thousands of special districts. Second, it requires advocates of local bonds and taxes to truly build broad consensus that, yes, new bonds and taxes are worth the burden they impose on taxpayers.