Prop 13 Reform Initiative Makes History, Submits for Spot on 2020 Ballot
This Tuesday we announced the submission of signatures for the Schools and Communities First initiative, the first step in securing a spot on California’s 2020 ballot!
The Schools and Communities First Act would close the corporate property tax loophole created by Proposition 13 in 1978, restoring $10b per year to California’s budget. That $10b, which amounts to over $800m per year to San Francisco County and $550m per year to Alameda County, would provide desperately needed funds for public education and local services such as homelessness prevention, child care for low-income families, and affordable housing. It would also create incentives for property owners to develop land that is currently underutilized, which would drive more housing and economic development.
In the past 5 months, more than 5,000 volunteers and 90 organizations, including the TechEquity Collaborative, gathered more than 860,000 signatures, far exceeding the 585,407 required to get on the ballot.
This is the first commercial property tax reform ever to gain enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, making this submission a historic moment.
To commemorate the event, the Schools and Communities First coalition held five simultaneous press conferences across California, in Berkeley, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego. Coalition representatives, local officials, and community members spoke at the conferences as hundreds of supporters looked on.
Community leaders shared their experiences working and living with the damaging impact of Prop 13’s revenue cuts over the past four decades, and how this reform will make strides to adequately fund public education, childcare, and other community services.
“We’re excited by this reform because it’s a structural change,” said Ben Grieff, campaign director of Evolve CA and executive committee member of SCF, at the Berkeley press conference. “It’s a bold reform, but it’s just common sense.”
What’s next?
Once the signatures are verified and the measure is certified (expected to be completed by September), we need to get started on the next big step: public education. The vast majority of California voters don’t know what Prop 13 does, and large corporations and real estate stakeholders will do their best to cloud public perception around the initiative. We’ll need to develop a strong voter contact campaign to make sure voters are correctly informed.
One way we’ve started this important work is by helping our members host house parties in which friends can get together and discuss topical issues, such as the Prop 13 reform. If you’re interested in hosting a house party, sign up here.
We have our work cut out for us leading up to 2020, so be sure to stay tuned on ways you can help pass this historic reform by signing up for our newsletter!
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