The California Constitution prohibits the state or any of its political subdivisions from levying or collecting a sales or use tax on the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, food products for human consumption that were exempt from tax on January 1, 1993. Proposition 163, which was approved by the voters at the November 3, 1992, statewide general election to add that prohibition to the California Constitution, also amended a statute, to take effect December 1, 1992, to provide that certain items, including candy and snack foods, were food products the sale of, or the storage, use, or consumption of, which were thereby exempted from tax.

This measure, on and after April July 1, 2019, would instead require that any sales or use tax levied by the State of California or any of its political subdivisions apply to the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, certain food products for human consumption. The measure would authorize the Legislature to exempt the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, any food product from sales and use tax by a statute that becomes operative on or after November 7, 2018. The measure would be submitted to the voters only if AB 274 of the 2017–18 Regular Session is enacted.