For nearly 25 years, tax proposals on local ballots have needed
a two-thirds majority to pass, thanks to Proposition 13.
For nearly 25 years, tax proposals on local ballots have needed a two-thirds majority to pass, thanks to Proposition 13.
That could change if a group of Democratic lawmakers have their way.
There are no fewer than eight new measures floating around the California Legislature that would lower the two-thirds majority required to 55 percent, and in some cases, 50 percent.
They are no doubt inspired by passage of Proposition 39 in 2000, which dropped the percentage of votes required for school bonds to 55 percent.
Current proposals would extend the same consideration to transit and highways, police and sheriff’s departments and local infrastructure from sewers to parks to subsidies for cheaper housing.
Supporters, including developers and growth advocates, say the proposals would help a state in desperate times continue to grow in positive ways. Opponents fear it would create a tax-initiative frenzy and would undermine the very spirit of Proposition 13.
There’s no doubt that lowering the threshold has altered outcomes. Since Proposition 39 passed, school districts in California have raised $14 billion by passing 83 percent of their bond measures. With a two-thirds majority requirement, more than half would have failed.
We were vocal advocates for lowering the threshold for school bonds, and we continue to take the same position on transit issues, given the grave state of gridlock on California’s highways. But we wonder where to draw the line.
All of the measures cite worthy causes. Who can argue against police departments or fire safety? But we think to capriciously lower what was a major tenet of Proposition 13 would be a mistake.
