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REPORT FROM THE CAPITOL

By David Wolfe, HJTA Legislative Director

As one of the largest grassroots anti-tax organizations in the nation, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association relies on the support of our Members, which allows us to influence legislation and protect taxpayers. Please use "Contact Your Representative" to the right of this page to urge your representative to support taxpayers when voting on the following important bills.

NOTE TO HJTA MEMBERS: For an updated status on any of these bills, please go to http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html and type in the bill number in the space provided. For questions regarding a position on a bill, please contact HJTA Legislative Director David Wolfe at david@hjta.org.

Urgent Action Required | Active Bills | Taxpayer Victories and Defeats


HJTA PositionBill NumberTopicStatus
OpposeAB 404Local government: lobbyists: county assessors.Senate Governance And Finance Committee
Requires various tax professionals who do business before the county property tax assessment appeals board to register as lobbyists. This bill might make it more difficult for homeowners to appeal property tax assessments

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Mike Gatto

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OpposeAB 723Energy: public goods charge.Senate Floor
Extends a utility ratepayer increase of $350 million to fund various renewable energy programs. Also a tax increase under Prop 26 requiring a two-thirds vote

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Steven Bradford

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OpposeAB 1126Transaction and use tax: rate.Senate Governance And Finance Committee
Makes it easier for local government to place on the ballot additional sales and use taxes

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Charles Calderon

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OpposeAB 1436Voter registration.Senate Appropriations
Allows for same day voter registration in California. We believe this places an excessive burden on County Registrars of Voters and could lead to concerns regarding cost and fraud. 14 days before an election is plenty of time to register, and ensures the integrity of the ballot process

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Mike Feuer

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OpposeAB 1446Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: transactions and use taxSenate Floor
Authorizes Los Angeles County to extend indefinitely an existing sales and use tax in order to fund transportation projects

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Mike Feuer

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OpposeAB 1500Corporation taxes: apportionment: single sales factor: Middle Class Scholarship Fund.Assembly Floor
Removes tax breaks for businesses to fund higher education programs. Results in a billion dollar tax increase

Author(s) & Committee(s):
John Perez

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OpposeAB 1648Political Reform Act of 1974: advertisements: disclosure.Assembly Floor
Requires a number of restrictive requirements on political campaigns, especially relating to print and media advertising. HJTA opposes because it would make it harder and more expensive to get our messages out, and is also a potential First Amendment violation

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Julia Brownley

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OpposeAB 1852Vital records: fees: domestic violence.Senate Floor
Authorizes a County Board of Supervisors to increase marriage and birth certificate fees by up to $5, indexed for inflation, to fund domestic violence prevention programs. This is a special tax that requires a two-thirds vote of county residents under Proposition 13

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Nora Campos

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OpposeAB 2144Local government: infrastructure and revitalization financing districts.Senate Appropriations
Lowers the two-thirds vote to approve an infrastructure finance district bond (IFD) to 55%. As a matter of policy, any bond debt that will be passed on to other generations over decades should be subject to a two-thirds vote of local residents.

Author(s) & Committee(s):
John Perez

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OpposeAB 2551Infrastructure financing districts: renewable energy zones.Senate Appropriations
Eliminates entirely two-thirds vote to approve the formation of an infrastructure finance district (IFD) Currently, all aspects of the process, ranging from formation to issuing bond debt require a two-thirds vote. We see no compelling reason to lower this threshold.

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Ben Hueso

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SupportSB 153State boards: salaries prohibition.SEN G.O.
Would terminate salaries for various Boards and Commissions including the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Tony Strickland

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OpposeSB 214Infrastructure financing districts: voter approval: repeal.ASM Floor
Eliminates two-thirds voter approval for infrastructure finance districts to form and approve bond debt. HJTA believes the approval of all long-term debt should be subject to a two-thirds vote.

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Lois Wolk

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OpposeSB 874School districts: community college districts: parcel taxes: exemptions.Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Expands the exemption of those who don't need to pay parcel and local special taxes to include those on Social Security Disability Insurance. HJTA opposes on the grounds that too many exemptions will make it easier to pass parcel taxes and undercut Proposition 13

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Loni Hancock

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OpposeSB 1001Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists and committees: fees.Assembly Appropriations
Increases the amount that registered lobbyists and ballot measure committees pay to $50 in order to fund an upgrade to the Secretary of State's computer system

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Leland Yee

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OpposeSB 1156Sustainable Communities Investment Authority.Assembly Appropriations
Allows for the re-establishment of redevelopment areas (RDA's) that were previously eliminated by the California Supreme Court. However, the bill fails to provide necessary reforms that should be in place if RDA's are to return including eminent domain protections and carefully defining the definition of blight

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Darrell Steinberg

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OpposeSB 1234Retirement savings plans.Assembly Appropriations
Requires eligible private sector employees to enroll in CalPers, and fines employers if this does not occur. Given California's $500 billion unfunded pension liability, extending this benefit to private sector employees will only serve to increase California's fiscal malaise.

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Kevin De Leon

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SupportSB 1296Elections: ballot materials.Senate Elections
Requires ballot titles and summaries to be written by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office instead of the Attorney General

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Jean Fuller

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OpposeSB 1492Voter-approved local assessment: vehicles.Assembly Floor
Allows a County Board of Supervisors to authorize up to a 1.35 percent increase in the vehicle license fee (VLF) for general revenue purposes

Author(s) & Committee(s):
Mark Leno

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