Madrone Audubon Society

Policy and Advocacy for Birds and their Habitats

November 3, 2026 Election

Measure H reads: Without raising taxes, to improve and protect Sonoma County’s regional and neighborhood parks; safeguard water supplies, streams, rivers; reduce future wildfire risk; preserve fish and wildlife habitat; conserve natural areas for future generations; expand walking, hiking, and biking trails.

A YES vote on Measure H supports continuing a one-eighth-cent special transaction and use tax (sales tax) countywide until ended by voters, providing approximately $15.5 million annually, with community oversight, public disclosure, and annual audits.. 2/3 needed to pass.

Prop 45 would amend the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).to limit the environmental and public review of projects currently required under CEQA and make it more difficult to enforce CEQA’s protections. Since it was legislated in 1970, CEQA has required that development and infrastructure projects reduce or mitigate impacts to communities and the environment, and that the public and decision makers are notified in a timely manner in advance of project approval.

Prop 45 would undermine CEQA’s protections by imposing unreasonable time constraints on public input, even for very large-scale infrastructure projects, eliminate key environmental analyses and reduces legal options available to members of the community to ensure developers comply with CEQA. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office, Prop 45 could also cost taxpayers as much as $100 million annually in pollution cleanup costs.

A NO vote on this measure means: Public and private projects would continue to use existing project review and court challenge procedures under CEQA.