The taxpayers’ association’s Shelley said increased bond taxes could ripple through the economy and affect many people.

“You would see those higher taxes get passed on as higher rents, higher consumer prices, even a small donut shop in a mall will have a higher operating cost because the property owner will pass those higher taxes on on the property directly into the rental,” she said.

Californians have already made an exception once, voting in 2000 to amend the constitution for school bonds, lowering the voter threshold to 55 percent.

“That really opened it up and made it a lot easier for schools to get through these measures. And that’s basically what Prop. would do. 5 – brings cities and counties and special districts to the same kind of skill level,” Coleman said.

Coleman tracks general bond votes for his work advising California cities. According to him, about half of general obligation bonds pass. Of those who fail, about half of them receive more than 55% of the vote but cannot clear a two-thirds margin. If Prop. 5 is approved, he expects to see a 70 to 80 percent passage rate for general obligation bonds.

“There’s a lot of need out there,” Coleman said. “I think we’re going to see more local governments saying, ‘Hey, now there’s a real chance we can pass this — that the will of the community can be carried out at the ballot box.’

California Community Hospitals Ask for Earthquake Bonds

Over the years, many housing and infrastructure bonds have failed by thin margins. Those campaigning for Prop. 5 referred to some close situations. In 2023, a fire protection obligation in Santa Cruz County failed despite receiving 66% of the vote. A 2022 affordable housing bonds in berkeley failed with 59% of the vote. In Whittier, a 2017 Library link failed with 66%.

Those misses also include attempts by the Antelope Valley Healthcare District, which has tried and failed three times to pass a bond for its community hospital in North Los Angeles, according to the California Association of Health Districts. In 2022, it failed with 57% of the vote.

The district is one of 77 health care districts, a type of “special district,” in California. They were formed in the 1940s to bring critical services such as hospitals, ambulance providers and skilled nursing facilities to rural and underserved communities.

“The difficulty, though, is that they’re community-owned and they’re public entities, they’re very limited in how they can finance large-scale or even medium- and small-scale infrastructure projects,” said Sarah Bridge, a vice. chair of advocacy and strategy at the California Association of Health Districts. “We have very small margins.”

The 33 health care districts that operate community hospitals fall under a state mandate retrofitting their buildings for earthquake safety by 2035. But until now, the Antelope Valley Healthcare District and many others are still working to secure the funds to make those changes. If they don’t meet the state mandate, they will have to close.

At least two health care districts have bonds on the November ballot, including one in Redondo Beach.

From his office window, Tom Bakaly, executive director of the Beach Cities Health District, looks out over a sea of ​​asphalt. But that would change if there are three voters Los Angeles cities approve $30 million bondat an estimated cost of $3 per $100,000 of assessed value to property owners.

The asphalt would turn into two acres of open space for community health and wellness programs like yoga and Zumba. In an adjacent corner of the health campus, a youth mental health facility that has seen nearly 9,000 visits in the past two years would expand. And the hospital from 1960 will be demolished due to seismic problems.

“The vision is to create a place where people can come and be well,” Bakaly said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for voters to decide what they want.”

In the small coastal town of Cambria, the town’s community health care district proposed a $5.9 million obligation to build an ambulance station.

“We consider (our ambulances) our lifeline,” said Cambria Community Healthcare District board member Laurie Mileur.

She said the ambulance crew operates out of a 70-year-old building that is not designed for 24-hour use. The new building would include an ambulance garage, decontamination space and more storage.

According to Mileur, the bond would cost property owners about $50 a year on average.

“It’s a cup of coffee a month,” she said. “We think it’s time for the community to step up and share this commitment to our service.”

It is their second attempt. Two years ago, the health care district’s bond for a new ambulance station failed 61.4 percent, a shortfall of about 200 votes.

“For a small agency that really doesn’t have the cash reserves that could pay for infrastructure, we really rely on bonds. And setting such a high threshold makes everything very difficult,” she said. “We are confident that we will get over 60% again. It’s whether or not we can get to 66.7%. It would be heartbreaking if we lost by one vote.”

Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News contributor.