Coupal

Prop 13 Changes on the Table in New California Legislature

Ben Adler — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:41:55 +0000

It’s only the first week of the new California legislative session. But three Democrats have already signaled they’re ready to adjust the “third rail” of California politics – the landmark property tax measure known as Proposition 13.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is the latest Democratic lawmaker to call for a change to Prop 13. He wants to stop large companies from disguising changes in ownership that would normally trigger reassessments – something homeowners can’t do.

California Lawmaker Proposes Changes to Proposition 13

Amy Quinton — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:19:48 +0000

California Democratic state Senator Mark Leno plans to introduce a constitutional amendment on Monday that will make it easier to pass local taxes for schools.

The amendment would allow voters to pass school parcel taxes with a 55-percent vote instead of the two-thirds vote required by Proposition 13.

Jon Coupal with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association says the legislation isn’t surprising given that Democrats now hold a supermajority in the legislature.

Strong Success for Tax Measures May Not Be New Trend

Ben Adler — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Before last week, California voters had rejected every statewide tax measure since 2004. This election, they approved two of them. They also said yes to more than 70 percent of the local tax and bond measures on last week’s ballot. But as Ben Adler reports from Sacramento, this may not be the start of a new trend.