Frequently Asked Questions

Humboldt County prides itself on fiscal responsibility, and protecting your public safety, environment and quality of life.  As the state continually takes funding from local counties – nearly $400 million from Humboldt County alone – local voters have acted previously to ensure local essential services are maintained and community priorities are met. In 2022, there are two existing, previously-approved voter measures need to be renewed/updated.

Measure J is the Humboldt County Hotel Tax Update Measure. Measure J is paid only by hotel/motel guests and RV campers, and is NOT a tax on local homeowners or property owners.

As a General Purpose Measure, Measure J funds are included in the county’s general fund which supports services that tourists and visitors also use such as:

• 9-1-1 emergency response times 
• Rural fire protection services
• Rural ambulance service 
• Ensuring there are sheriff’s deputies on-duty 24 hours a day and
• Repairing our deteriorating county roads

The county has agreements with several tourist and visitors bureaus to automatically share a percentage of TOT Funds with them to support the local tourism economy (such as generating hospitality jobs, and supporting local art and theater). The county also uses general revenue funds to maintain clean, safe parks, playgrounds, campgrounds and trails, and to help people transition from temporary to permanent housing.

State law requires Humboldt County voters to renew its modest, annual vehicle registration fee that’s used to remove and dispose of abandoned vehicles every ten years. Measure K is the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program Renewal Measure.

Measure K is a special purpose measure and by law, funds can only be used to remove and dispose of abandoned vehicles in Humboldt County. No funds can be used for any other purpose.

Funds from these measures will be subject to strict accountability provisions, including annual independent audits and public review of all expenditures. By law, all Measure K and J funds must be spent locally, and none can be taken by the state.

Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ballots will be mailed out one month in advance. If you aren’t registered to vote, visit our Voter Registration web page.