A proposed constitutional amendment that would end the use of temporary congressional district maps after the 2026 election has officially entered circulation, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced that “the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on Jan. 12, 2026,” allowing supporters to start gathering voter signatures statewide.

The measure responds to mid-decade redistricting actions taken in Texas and California voters’ subsequent approval of temporary maps in 2025.

The initiative, formally titled “Prohibits Use After 2026 of Temporary Congressional District Maps Adopted by Voters in 2025 in Response to Texas’ Partisan Redistricting,”would reverse part of Proposition 50, which required California to use new temporary congressional maps through 2030.

According to the Attorney General’s official summary, the measure “would instead allow use of the Proposition 50 voter-approved maps only in the 2026 congressional election,” and would require that the 2028 and 2030 elections use the maps adopted in 2021 by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Under California law, the Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that appears on initiative petitions. Once finalized, “the initiative may be circulated for signatures,” and the Secretary of State provides deadlines to proponents and county elections officials, the Secretary of State’s office said.

Fiscal impacts are expected to be limited. The Legislative Analyst and the Director of Finance estimate “likely minimal one-time costs to counties of less than a few hundred thousand dollars statewide” to revert to the commission’s 2021 maps beginning in 2028.

The proponent, James V. Lacy, must collect 874,641 valid signatures –equal to eight percent of the votes cast for governor in 2022 — by July 13, 2026, for the measure to qualify for the statewide ballot.

By: Bo Tefu, California Black Media