Matt Kern, November 9, 2020

2020 Election: California Sales Tax Measure Results

76 sales tax decisions for 2021

We all know that cannabis taxes in California are some of the highest in the US—and general sales taxes are a part of that equation.

It's critical that cannabis retailers across the state stay informed about sales tax changes not just in their own city, town or county, but also in any neighboring jurisdictions, too. That's because California has some complex rules when it comes to sales tax calculation when the destination is different than the origin.

In tax parlance this is known as "sourcing" and it's been in the news a lot over the last few years thanks to something known as the Wayfair decision. That was the US Supreme Court's decision in the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. case that made sales and use taxes super complicated for ecommerce retailers because suddenly they had to start accounting for sales taxes in some states they were shipping to. And it was all centered on this notion of sourcing.

States typically have either "origin" or "destination" based sourcing, meaning that the tax rates that apply to a transaction are either based on the place where the sale originated or the physical location where the goods changed hands.

It's no surprise that California does things differently than most states.

California uses a hybrid system. State sales and use taxes are origin based while local district sales and use taxes are destination based. What does that mean? It means that if you're delivering outside your own city or county limits you need to know what the tax rate is at the destination. So all these changes to local sales and use tax rates can affect you even if your business isn't physically located in one of the affected municipalities.

We put this list together to help keep you up to speed.

Keep in mind that sales tax rates can only go into effect on the first day of each quarter. So for those tax measures that passed below, the soonest you can expect for them to be live is January 1, 2021, though they may not start until later.

If you're interested in more details about each of the ballot initiatives listed, have a look at our second post in this series where you'll find links to each measure on Ballotpedia.

A final note: Keep in mind that no results are official until certified by December 11 in California.

(California voted on dozens of cannabis specific tax related measures, too. A comprehensive list of the results is available in the third part of this series.)

City and County Measure Results

Last updated: November 9, 2020 5:00pm Pacific Time

Alameda County Measure V
Yes	N/A	0%
No	N/A	0%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Alameda County Measure W
Yes	N/A	0%
No	N/A	0%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Williams, California, Measure B
Yes	534	42.82%
No	713	57.18%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Concord, California, Measure V
Yes	17,405	51.08%
No	16,666	48.92%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Contra Costa County, California, Measure X
Yes	198,964	58.7%
No	140,011	41.3%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Orinda, California, Measure R
Yes	5,410	60.1%
No	3,592	39.9%
Precincts reporting: 100%

San Pablo, California, Measure S
Yes	3,795	78.85%
No	1,008	21.15%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Crescent City, California, Measure S,
Yes	879	64.21%
No	490	35.79%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Del Norte County, California, Measure R
Yes	4,420	50.03%
No	4,415	49.97%
Precincts reporting: 100%

South Lake Tahoe, California, Measure S
Yes	5,574	63.59%
No	3,192	36.41%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Willows, California, Measure H, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Sales Tax
Yes	668	57.74%
No	489	42.26%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Eureka, California, Measure H
Yes	5,116	67.27%
No	2,489	32.73%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Fortuna, California, Measure G
Yes	2,230	69.67%
No	971	30.33%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Trinidad, California, Measure E
Yes	124	73.81%
No	44	26.19%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Bishop, California, Measure P
Yes	1,122	68.46%
No	517	31.54%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Lemoore, California, Measure K
Yes	4,116	48.13%
No	4,435	51.87%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Bellflower, California, Measure M
Yes	14,785	66.46%
No	7,463	33.54%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Bell Gardens, California, Measure A
Yes	4,691	62.98%
No	2,757	37.02%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Beverly Hills, California, Measure RP
Yes	10,214	73.18%
No	3,744	26.82%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Carson, California, Measure K
Yes	18,913	53.63%
No	16,354	46.37%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Commerce, California, Measure VS
Yes	2,620	70.6%
No	1,091	29.4%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Diamond Bar, California, Measure DB
Yes	7,232	33.31%
No	14,655	66.69%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Lancaster, California, Measure LC
Yes	27,295	53.93%
No	23,313	46.07%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Lomita, California, Measure L
Yes	4,701	59.87%
No	3,131	40.13%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Palmdale, California, Measure AV
Yes	28,922	59.45%
No	19,728	40.55%
Precincts reporting: 100%

San Fernando, California, Measure SF
Yes	3,797	57.15%
No	2,487	42.85%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Signal Hill, California, Measure R
Yes	2,253	51.64%
No	2,110	48.36%
Precincts reporting: 100%

South El Monte, California, Measure ES
Yes	3,214	70.42%
No	1,350	29.58%
Precincts reporting: 100%

West Hollywood, California, Measure E
Yes	13,464	72.74%
No	5,045	27.26%
Precincts reporting: 100%

San Rafael, California, Measure R
Yes	14,437	61.82%
No	8,917	38.18%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Mariposa County, California, Measure N
Yes	5,973	64.39%
No	3,303	35.61%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Willits, California, Measure K
Yes	809	68.1%
No	379	31.9%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Gonzales, California, Measure X
Yes	919	53.96%
No	784	46.04%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Greenfield, California, Measure T
Yes	1,564	61.53%
No	978	38.47%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Pacific Grove, California, Measure L
Yes	4,780	61.57%
No	2,984	38.43%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Sand City, California, Measure U
Yes	69	45.16%
No	84	54.84%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Soledad, California, Measure S,
Yes	2,392	61.04%
No	1,527	38.96%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Nevada City, California, Measure M
Yes	822	86.07%
No	133	13.93%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Fullerton, California, Measure S
Yes	22,377	42.11%
No	30,758	57.89%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Los Alamitos, California, Measure Y
Yes	2,581	50.92%
No	2,488	49.08%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Auburn, California, Measure S
Yes	2,862	47.26%
No	3,194	52.74%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Corona, California, Measure X
Yes	13,031	51.12%
No	12,462	48.88%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Lake Elsinore, California, Measure Z
Yes	7,035	64.85%
No	3,813	35.15%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Menifee, California, Measure M
Yes	7,704	36.54%
No	13,382	63.46%
Precincts reporting: 100%

San Jacinto, California, Measure V
Yes	5,170	69.16%
No	2,305	30.84%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Citrus Heights, California, Measure M
Yes	9,309	50.87%
No	8,991	49.13%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Isleton, California, Measure L
Yes	107	66.46%
No	54	33.54%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Rancho Cordova, California, Measure R
Yes	8,906	55%
No	7,287	45%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Apple Valley, California, Measure O
Yes	6,627	33.89%
No	12,926	66.11%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Montclair, California, Measure L
Yes	4,554	69.63%
No	1,986	30.37%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Redlands, California, Measure T
Yes	13,040	57.98%
No	9,451	42.02%
Precincts reporting: 100%

San Bernardino, California, Measure S
Yes	20,126	57.38%
No	14,950	42.62%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Victorville, California, Measure P
Yes	10,842	50.62%
No	10,578	49.38%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Manteca, California, Measure Z
Yes	8,186	49.37%
No	8,934	50.63%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Caltrain, California, Proposition RR, Rail Service Tax
Yes	766,418	70.28%
No	324,041	29.72%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Daly City, California, Measure Q
Yes	18,958	72.27%
No	7,275	27.73%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Milpitas, California, Measure F
Yes	10,656	60.83%
No	6,862	39.17%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Dunsmuir, California, Measure H
Yes	263	40.97%
No	379	59.03%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Weed, California, Measure M
Yes	379	50.13%
No	377	49.87%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Rio Vista, California, Measure O
Yes	3,444	62.44%
No	2,072	37.56%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Vallejo, California, Measure G
Yes	21,293	48.87%
No	22,282	51.13%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Cotati, California, Measure S
Yes	2,227	75.06%
No	740	24.94%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Healdsburg, California, Measure T
Yes	3,067	62.02%
No	1,878	37.98%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Petaluma, California, Measure U
Yes	15,362	61.61%
No	9,470	38.39%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Santa Rosa, California, Measure Q
Yes	45,713	72.55%
No	17,294	27.45%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Sonoma, California, Measure V
Yes	3,745	70.94%
No	1,534	29.06%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Sonoma County, California, Measure DD
Yes	139,487	71.97%
No	54,335	28.03%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Sonoma County, California, Measure O, Mental Health, Addiction and Homeless Services Sales Tax
Yes	133,966	68.98%
No	60,240	31.02%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Turlock, California, Measure A
Yes	11,153	57.57%
No	8,221	42.43%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Trinity County, California, Measure K, Law Enforcement Sales Tax
Yes	2,977	49.79%
No	3,002	50.21%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Exeter, California, Measure P
Yes	2,186	70.15%
No	930	29.85%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Oxnard, California, Measure E
Yes	25,813	53.48%
No	22,454	46.52%
Precincts reporting: 86%

Oxnard, California, Measure N, Termination of Sales Tax
Yes	23,681	50.76%
No	22,973	49.24%
Precincts reporting: 86%

Woodland, California, Measure R
Yes	9,098	65.41%
No	4,812	34.59%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Wheatland, California, Measure O
Yes	713	78.27%
No	198	21.73%
Precincts reporting: N/A

Imperial Beach, California, Measure I
Yes	5,607	70.06%
No	2,396	29.94%
Precincts reporting: 100%

Don't go this alone
Keeping up with the rapid changes in the cannabis tax landscape requires constant attention. Pact offers a variety of products with one aim: to let you focus on your business, not taxes. If your Point of Sale system has you configuring and managing your tax rates yourself using complicated tables and compound tax ordering rules, insist they level up and power their tax lookups by Pact.

2020 Election: California Sales Tax Measure Results

76 sales tax decisions for 2021

City and County Measure Results

Cannabis Tax Rate Lookup (It's free!)

For Retailers