☆ Why the Merc & tax groups say “No” to Measure D, the parcel tax for Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
On this Tax-Free Tuesday (5.25) Opp Now editor Will Sherman explores the Merc’s important opposition to Measure D and how a little-known loophole makes it fantastically easy to raise your parcel tax, despite what you may have thought were Prop 13 protections. An Opp Now exclusive.
It should be hard to raise taxes. In California, special taxes require two-thirds of the vote. But state courts carved a way around this. The “Upland loophole” makes it easy, allowing for approval by only a simple majority. This is done through the “citizens’ initiative” process that, despite its name, has “government” written all over it.
The Merc decries heavy government involvement to circumvent the two-thirds threshold
“Measure D’s route to the ballot has been unconventional and troubling. The authority devised the structure of the tax. But when a special district places a tax on the ballot in California, it requires approval from two-thirds of voters, a threshold that authority-commissioned polling showed it could not meet.
“So, the political arm of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which helps acquire land that the open space authority often manages, qualified the measure for the ballot through an initiative signature-gathering drive. That route enables passage with only a simple majority.
“Clearly, this is a coordinated effort between the authority and the trust to circumvent the two-thirds voter approval threshold.
“When the authority last sought taxing approval in 2020, that measure received 81% voter support. This time, rather than trying to game the system, the authority should come back with a more-tempered measure that can again win such widespread support.” ~The Mercury News Editorial
Read more here.
The game is up?
“Measure D is a "citizens' initiative tax increase," a parcel tax (extra property tax) for a special purpose. The California Constitution requires the approval of two-thirds of voters for special taxes, but courts have carved a loophole that says fewer votes are needed to pass a "citizens' initiative tax increase."
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's "Save Proposition 13" ballot measure, which will be on the November ballot, will repeal (in two years) all property-related special taxes that passed with less than a two-thirds vote. Measure D could go away in two years if it passes with only a simple majority.” ~Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Read more here.
No, voters don’t want the loophole
Quite the contrary.
Marc Joffe on X recommends a tidy one-two: vote down D in the summer, close the Upland loophole in the fall. To which a commenter responded, “Loophole? It’s what the voters of California intended.”
Marc comments:
“No, not really. Prop 218 implemented a 2/3rds majority for special taxes. The courts created an exception by allowing ‘citizen initiative’ tax measures to pass by a simple majority. It is well known that the citizen groups work with the government to put these taxes on the ballot.” ~Marc Joffe, President, Contra Costa Taxpayers Association
Read more here.
For example…
“Proposition C in San Diego was a tax increase for the convention center, and the campaign was run by someone on the board of the convention center. This so-called citizens’ initiative was connected to the government entity that was going to get the money.
“In Los Angeles, we have Measure A on the ballot, which is doubling the existing sales tax increase for homelessness programs. It’s a citizens’ initiative, but it is so enmeshed with the government that the Board of Supervisors had to lobby in Sacramento and sponsor a bill to make this exempt from the cap on local sales taxes.” ~Susan Shelley, Columnist, Los Angeles Daily News
Read more here.
By the people, for the government
“There’s a philosophical conundrum, right? Even if you had a two-thirds majority, what are you going to tell the one-third?
“It’s one thing to get voted down. It's another thing to get voted down and taxed. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
“Anything less than 100% causes you to ask the 99%, ‘Who do you think you are?’”~Mike ter Maat, Editor, Broken
Read more here.
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