Measure H on Sonoma County's Nov. 3, 2026 ballot asks voters to keep the countywide one-eighth-cent (0.125%) sales tax that pays for regional and city parks. The tax was first approved as Measure M in November 2018 and expires on March 31, 2029. Measure H would continue it at the same rate from April 1, 2029, with no end date unless voters repeal it. Because it is a special tax, it needs two-thirds of the vote.

The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to put the measure on the ballot, adopting the ordinance on July 7, 2026, according to the county's ballot materials.

What a yes or no vote means

A yes vote lets the county extend the one-eighth-cent tax on each dollar of taxable sales countywide. Shoppers would see no change in the sales tax rate when Measure M ends and Measure H begins; the ordinance says the two taxes would not be collected at the same time.

A no vote blocks the extension, so the parks tax would end when Measure M expires in March 2029.

How much money and where it goes

The ballot question estimates about $15.5 million a year. The county auditor's fiscal statement projects about $17.1 million in the first full fiscal year, 2029-30, and splits it this way:

  • 33.3% (about $5.7 million) to the incorporated cities for local parks and recreation, divided by population.
  • 25% (about $4.3 million) for maintenance, safety and recreation programs in Sonoma County Regional Parks.
  • 23.4% (about $4.0 million) for public access and trails, including the Sonoma Coast, the Russian and Petaluma rivers, and the Bay Area Ridge and San Francisco Bay trails.
  • 18.3% (about $3.1 million) for natural resources and fire safety, such as cutting fuel loads and invasive plants and improving creeks and wildlife habitat.

The money goes into a special fund that is audited every year. A seven-member community oversight committee would review spending and report to the supervisors and city councils. The measure also says the tax should add to, not replace, the general fund money the county and cities already spend on parks, except during a defined financial downturn.

Who is for and against it

The ballot argument in favor is signed by Ben Nicholls of Fire Safe Sonoma, State Sen. Mike McGuire, Carmen Snyder of Sonoma County Farm Trails, nonprofit leader Lisa G. Carreño and Melissa Kelley of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation. They say Measure H renews existing funding "without raising taxes" and keeps money flowing to parks in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Cloverdale, Cotati, Sebastopol and the unincorporated county. No argument against Measure H was submitted, according to the county's ballot pamphlet.

How Measure M did

Measure M passed in 2018 with 72.6% of the vote and took effect in April 2019, according to Sonoma County Regional Parks. The county and each city publish an annual report on how they spent the money. In spring 2026 the parks department surveyed residents on their priorities before the supervisors placed the renewal on the ballot.

More North Bay ballot guides: Santa Rosa Measure L and Marin County Measure P. Every local measure we have covered is on the Bay Area Brief Election 2026 hub.