SACRAMENTO, CA – California Secretary of State Alex Padilla today released the official Title and Summary for initiatives that will appear on the November 2020 ballot, including Proposition 15, which will gut Prop 13 and raise up to $11.5 billion annually in higher property taxes.
The No on Prop 15 campaign released the following statement:
“We are not surprised that Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has once again written a biased Title and Summary, would deliberately mislead voters about Prop 15, the initiative that would undo much of Prop 13’s property tax protections and institute the largest property tax increase in California history.
“The attorney general contorts the English language to avoid using the word ‘tax.’ Unfortunately, he can’t call Prop 15 a revenue increase, since, as the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst points out, some rural governments could lose money if Prop 15 passes.
“Left with limited ways to disguise the largest property tax increase in state history, the attorney general falsely claims the measure ‘increases funding sources,’ deceiving voters into thinking these ‘sources’—small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and day care centers—aren’t already paying property taxes. Ultimately, every Californian will pay for the $11.5 billion-a-year property tax hike through higher costs for the goods and services they buy every day.
“Thankfully, voters know that Prop 15 is nothing less than a direct assault on Prop 13’s taxpayer protections that will hurt small business owners, farmers and ranchers, pick winners and losers among local governments and, ultimately, increase prices for consumers across the state. We are confident that California voters will overwhelmingly reject Prop 15 come November.”
This is not the first time Attorney General Becerra has been accused of abusing the power of his office to draft what are supposed to be impartial analyses of ballot initiatives.
- “When Will We Finally Take Title and Summary Away from Attorneys General?,” By Joe Mathews, Fox and Hounds, October 29, 2019.
- “Slanting ballot measure titles,” By Dan Walters, CALmatters, October 28, 2019.
- “California’s loaded ballot language an insult to voters,” By John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle, October 26, 2019.
- “Editorial: Don’t tell California voters that a huge tax hike is a ‘change,'” By The Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, October 24, 2019.
- “Editorial: Xavier Becerra rigs ballot with biased split roll summary,” By The Editorial Board, Southern California News Group, October 21, 2019. (Ran in all 11 newspapers)
- “Editorial: On gas tax initiative, attorney general tries to deceive voters,” By the Editorial Board, The Mercury News
- “Misleading title hamstrings gas-tax repeal measure,” By Dan Walters, CALmatters, October 1, 2018
###
ABOUT NO ON PROP 15 – STOP HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES AND SAVE PROP 13
No on Prop 15 – Stop Higher Property Taxes and Save Prop 13, a bipartisan coalition of homeowners, taxpayers, and businesses, has been fighting to protect Prop 13 and oppose a split-roll property tax for more than a decade. For more information, please visit www.NOonProp15.org.