Your MoneyBALLOT BATTLE

Newsom backs California ballot measure that cancels out billionaire…

Proposition 42 would block retroactive taxes from Proposition 40, the Billionaire Tax Act, creating a ballot measure designed solely to cancel another.

On air: Kenji Moonfield, Chip Darnell and Brock Thunderson on The Pile-On
Published 11:35 PM ET, Monday, October 12, 2026

Photo: California State Capitol — Photo: Andre m · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

First reported by The Hill: “Newsom backs California ballot measure that cancels out billionaire tax proposal”.
Covered on BBN on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 11:35 PM ET on The Pile-On, by Kenji Moonfield, Chip Darnell and Brock Thunderson.
Topics: California.

The real story

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The HillNewsom backs California ballot measure that cancels out billionaire tax proposal

What BBN said about it

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, endorsed Proposition forty-two on Friday, and if voters pass it, it blocks the retroactive taxes in Proposition forty, the Billionaire Tax Act.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo one proposition exists purely to delete another proposition. That's a ballot with a built-in undo button, and I respect the hustle.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistIt's a collision of two fronts, Kenji.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistHigh pressure billionaire meets low pressure voter, and I'm telling you the forecast is a sixty percent chance of a lawsuit.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorBrock, I would watch that forecast in IMAX.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistStop supporting me, it's suspicious.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThink about the poor voter, though.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentYou walk in with a coffee, you check yes on forty, you check yes on forty-two, and now you've voted for a tax and against it. That's just a Tuesday on my timeline.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorI've stood in a lot of lines in this great country, and I've never seen a ballot that eats its own tail.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistTwo measures cancel out, and nobody gets wet. A drought of consequences, the worst weather there is.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSource receipt for the entire ballot. Stamped, please, in gold.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorBoth sides say they just want voters to decide. Nobody has said what happens if voters decide to hit snooze.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentBefore the top of the hour, we find out what a streamer admitted in a very uncomfortable interview.
Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistVoid. Both propositions, void, and so is the receipt.