Contra Costa Taxpayers Association
VICE president's report
Last Minute Legislative Action
(See Ben Granholm’s September 22 CoCoTax Presentation for More Details)
Two additional Constitutional Amendments are heading to the 2024 November General election ballot, passed on final day of the California State Legislative session, two-thirds of each house concurring:
ACA-1 Lowers voter approval threshold on levies to 55% for affordable housing and infrastructure. This would emasculate Prop 13, which has protected taxpayers from special taxes and parcel taxes since 1978.
ACA-13 raises higher voter approval threshold for any measure that increases voter threshold, requiring that voter initiative to pass by at least the same percentage as the measure(s) sought to be changed. This will make it harder to require supermajority voting requirements. If provisions of two or more measures approved at the same election conflict, the measure receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
Passage of ACA-13 could adversely affect the passage of The Taxpayer Protection Act, which could require that Initiative to have a 2/3rds voter requirement for passage.
Also Eligible for Nov. General Election
The Taxpayer Protection Act (21-0042A1.) which the Attorney General titles a Constitutional Amendment Initiative that LIMITS ABILITY OF VOTERS AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO RAISE REVENUES FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES. The Act reinstates the 2/3rds voting requirement for all special taxes. It additionally provides that new or increased local general taxes cannot specify how the revenue will be spent. The Act expands definition of “taxes” to include certain regulatory fees unless those fees meet exempt charge requirements. (reasonable and supported by the minimum actual costs of the service.) The Act prevents non-elected officials of agencies from setting taxes or fees and requires that taxes have to be usage based and directly related to the service provided.
SCA 2, Public housing projects. The California Constitution prohibits the development, construction, or acquisition of a low-rent housing project, as defined, in any manner by any state public body until a majority of the qualified electors of the city, town, or county in which the development, construction, or acquisition of the low-rent housing project is proposed approve the project by vote. This measure would repeal local voting requirements.
Petitions
SCA 4, (23-0005). Repeal the Death Tax Petitions are out for signature to restore the ability to allow certain inter-generational transfers without property tax reassessment. SCA 4 REPEALS VOTER-ENACTED CHANGES with Prop 19 TO RESTORE PROPERTY TAX RULES FOR TRANSFERS BETWEEN FAMILY MEMBERS. This ballot measure would allow voters to reinstate prop 58 and Prop 193, restoring what Prop 19 took away. SCA 4 would reinstate the exclusion from reassessment when the parents’ primary residence of any value is transferred from parents to children or if parents are deceased, then grandparents to grandchildren. SCA 4 would restore a similar exclusion from reassessment of a transfer of other real property with an assessed value of up to $1 Million dollars, e.g., a rental or vacation home. You can DOWNOAD and sign a Petition at “Repeal the Death Tax. Com” and mail it in to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
The Government Transparency Act(23-0015A1) Petitions are out for circulation and signature. This Act will increase the public’s right to access to public records and information on investigations, expand disclosure of special interest events, donor lists, and accounting for fundraising events; The Act prohibits deletion or destruction of public records by expanding the retention period to 5 years for public records, provides response to requested pubic records within 30 calendar days of a request, subject to 90 days under extraordinary circumstances, provides access to copy machines, and allows legal actions with access to discovery.
How to Read Your Contra Costa Tax Bill