Bills that threaten homeowners and small businesses are currently moving through the legislature!
The new Legislature is dominated by pro-tax politicians who have a two-thirds supermajority in Sacramento. Bills that undermine the taxpayer protections in Proposition 13 have been introduced and are being heard in committees. If approved, these bills could cost every property owner thousands of dollars annually.
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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 left 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 Scott Kaufman at scott@hjta.org.
Tell your representatives that you oppose these bills, which attack your Proposition 13 protections.
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| HJTA Position | Bill | Topic | Status | Author | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppose | ACA 1 | Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure: voter approval | Active Bill - Passed | Cecilia Aguiar-Curry | ACA 1 repeals one of the most important protections in Proposition 13 by lowering the existing two-thirds vote threshold for both local bonds and special taxes to 55 percent for a myriad of purposes. | Assembly |
| Oppose | ACA 3 | Wealth tax: appropriation limits. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Alex Lee | ACA 3 authorizes the Legislature to impose a tax on all forms of personal property or wealth, whether tangible or intangible, and classify any form of personal property or wealth for differential taxation or for exemption by a majority vote. Also effectively undos the Gann Limit. | Assembly |
| Oppose | ACA 11 | State tax agency. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Phil Ting | ACA 11 would abolish the elected State Board of Equalization and transfer the administration of property taxes to unelected bureaucrats in the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. | Assembly |
| Oppose | ACA 13 | Voting thresholds. | Active Bill - Passed | Chris Ward | ACA 13 is a measure aimed at thwarting the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, a ballot measure set for the November 2024 ballot which, among other things, would affirm that special taxes put before voters should be approved by a two-thirds vote. | Assembly |
| HJTA Position | Bill | Topic | Status | Author | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppose | AB 28 | Firearms and ammunition: excise tax. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Jesse Gabriel | AB 28 would impose an excise tax in the amount of 11% of the gross receipts from the retail sale in this state of a firearm, firearm precursor part, and ammunition. | Governor |
| Support | AB 46 | Personal income taxes: exclusion: Military Services Retirement and Surviving Spouse Benefit Payment Act. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | James Ramos | AB 46 would exclude from gross income retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for military service. It would also exclude from gross income annuity payments received from the Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan. | Senate |
| Support | AB 59 | Taxation: renter’s credit. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | James Gallagher | Increases the Renters’ Tax Credit to $2,000 for spouses filing joint returns, heads of households, and surviving spouses, and $1,000 for other individuals and would adjust gross income limits for inflation. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 126 | Vehicular air pollution: Clean Transportation Program: vehicle registration and identification plate service fees: smog abatement fee: extension. | Active Bill - Passed | Eloise Gómez Reyes | AB 241 extends, from 2024 to 2035, several existing “ temporary fees,” including vehicle registration and smog abatement fees to fund alternative energy programs while also expanding the program’s scope. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 241 | Air quality programs: funding. | Active Bill - In Floor Process | Eloise Gómez Reyes | AB 241 extends, from 2024 to 2035, several existing “ temporary fees,” including vehicle registration and smog abatement fees to fund alternative energy programs while also expanding the program’s scope. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 259 | Wealth Tax: False Claims Act. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Alex Lee | AB 259 imposes a 1 to 1.5 percent tax on the “worldwide net worth” of California’s wealthiest residents. However, ACA 3 contains no such limitation. Unconstrained by spending limits or a two-thirds vote requirement, the Legislature could move these brackets down to hit average taxpayers at any time. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 270 | Political Reform Act of 1974: public campaign financing. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Alex Lee | This bill would amend the Political Reform Act of 1974 to remove the prohibition on a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. | Senate |
| Support | AB 294 | Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: wildfires: exclusions. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Cottie Petrie-Norris | AB 294 would provide an exclusion from gross income for any qualified taxpayer, as defined, for amounts received for costs and losses associated with wildfires or natural disaster, as provided. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 362 | Real property taxation: land value taxation study. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Alex Lee | AB 362 would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to "study" abolishing Prop. 13 and replacing it with a land value tax. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 421 | Elections: referendum measures. | Chaptered by Secretary of State | Isaac Bryan | AB 421 makes changes to the referendum process that we believe can likely only be made with a constitutional amendment. | Secretary of State |
| Support (HJTA sponsored) | AB 445 | Property tax: tax-defaulted property sales. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Bill Essayli | AB 445 would close a loophole that allows for an unconstitutional taking without just compensation of seized tax-delinquent property when it is sold to other government agencies or public interest groups working on low-income housing. | Assembly |
| Support | AB 469 | California Public Records Act Ombudsperson. | Active Bill - Passed | Vince Fong | AB 469 creates a new ombudsman position within the office of the California State Auditor and brings additional transparency to the California Public Records Act (PRA) process. | Assembly |
| Support | AB 509 | Personal income taxes: gross income: exclusion: student loan assistance. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Vince Fong | AB 509 will exclude up to $5,250 per year in student loan repayments made by an employer from an employee’s gross state income. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 531 | The Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2023. | Active Bill - Passed Assembly | Jacqui Irwin | These bonds would add more than $5 billion in interest over 30 years for a total (principal and interest) cost of almost $10 billion. | Assembly |
| Support | AB 556 | Property taxation: transfer of base year value: disaster relief. | Active Bill - Enrolled | James Gallagher | AB 556 extends the five-year period for rebuilding properties that were substantially damaged or destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire by an additional three years. | Governor |
| Oppose | AB 721 | School districts: budgets: public hearings: notice. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Avelino Valencia | Publishing budget meeting notices on the district's website is good but that shouldn't preclude it from being noticed elsewhere. The more ways the taxpayer can be made aware of the goings on in their government, the better. | Governor |
| Oppose | AB 901 | Affordable housing financing districts. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Phil Ting | AB 901 would authorize the legislative body of a city or county to propose the establishment of an affordable housing financing authority district. It would be funded via tax increment financing and revenue bonds which don’t require voter approval. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 930 | Local government: Reinvestment in Infrastructure for a Sustainable and Equitable California (RISE) districts. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Laura Friedman | AB 930 would authorize the legislative bodies of two or more cities or counties to jointly form a Reinvestment in Infrastructure for a Sustainable and Equitable California district via tax increment financing and bonds that don’t require voter approval. | Assembly |
| Support | AB 939 | Santa Clara Valley Water District. | Chaptered by Secretary of State | Gail Pellerin | AB 939 brings some outdated language into compliance with Propositions 13 and 218. | Secretary of State |
| Oppose | AB 1052 | Sacramento Regional Transit District: taxes. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Kevin McCarty | AB 1052 would authorize the district to impose a property tax, retail transactions and use tax, or a special tax in the entirety of, or a portion of, the incorporated and unincorporated territory. | Governor |
| Oppose | AB 1256 | Transactions and use taxes: County of Humboldt. | Active Bill - Passed | Jim Wood | This bill raises the transactions and use tax cap in Humboldt County. The only reason to increase the cap is to set the table for another increase in regressive sales taxes. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 1259 | Dissolution of redevelopment agencies: enhanced infrastructure financing districts: City of Merced. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Esmeralda Soria | AB 1259 would authorize the City of Merced to initiate, participate in, govern, or finance an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD), acting as the successor agency to the former Merced County Redevelopment Agency. | Governor |
| Oppose unless amended | AB 1275 | Community colleges: student-run community college organizations: open meetings: teleconferences. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Joaquin Arambula | AB 1275 would enable the legislative body of a student organization to hold remote meetings without complying with the Brown Act. This would set the dangerous precedent of completely carving out categories of groups that have historically been subject to the Brown Act. | Senate |
| Oppose | AB 1319 | Bay Area Housing Finance Authority: housing revenue. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Buffy Wicks | AB 1319 would create a new government entity called the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area (HABA) which would have the authority to authorize new revenue proposals across its multi-county jurisdiction. | Governor |
| Oppose | AB 1476 | Community Redevelopment Law of 2023. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | David Alvarez | AB 1476 would restore the use of redevelopment via tax increment financing and revenue bonds which don’t require voter approval, and an unlimited ability to use eminent domain within a project area. | Assembly |
| Support | AB 1500 | Property taxation: application of base year value: disaster relief. | Active Bill - Passed | Jacqui Irwin | AB 1500 extends the five-year period for rebuilding properties that were substantially damaged or destroyed by the 2018 Woolsey Fire or by the 2018 Camp Fire by an additional three years. | Assembly |
| Oppose | AB 1657 | The Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2024. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Buffy Wicks | These bonds would add more than $11 billion in interest over 30 years for a total (principal and interest) cost of more than $21 billion. | Senate |
| Oppose | AB 1679 | Transactions and use taxes: County of Los Angeles: homelessness. | Active Bill - Passed | Miguel Santiago | This bill raises the transactions and use tax cap in Los Angeles County. The only reason to increase the cap is to set the table for another increase in regressive sales taxes. | Assembly |
| Oppose | SB 335 | Transactions and use taxes: County of Santa Clara. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Dave Cortese | This bill raises the transactions and use tax cap in Santa Clara County. The only reason to increase the cap is to set the table for another increase in regressive sales taxes. | Governor |
| Support | SB 370 | Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: wildfires: exclusions. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Mike McGuire | SB 370 provides an exclusion from gross income settlement payments associated with the 2019 Kincade Fire in the County of Sonoma for any qualified taxpayer. | Assembly |
| Oppose unless amended | SB 411 | Open meetings: teleconferences: neighborhood councils. | Active Bill - Enrolled | Anthony Portantino | SB 411 would permit neighborhood councils in Los Angeles to meet entirely virtually, depriving the press and public of a physical meeting space to directly engage the body. | Governor |
| Support (HJTA sponsored) | SB 520 | Property taxation: homeowners’ exemption. | Active Bill - Passed | Kelly Seyarto | SB 520 deems that if a person receiving the homeowners’ exemption from property tax is not occupying their home because they are confined to a hospital or other care facility, their residence is not vacant and the assessor cannot revoke their exemption. | Senate |
| Oppose unless amended | SB 537 | Open meetings: multijurisdictional, cross-county agencies: teleconferences. | Active Bill - In Floor Process | Josh Becker | SB 537 would permit government officials who serve on certain legislative bodies to conduct public business entirely virtually, without being present in a quorum at a physical location where the public and press can directly engage them. | Assembly |
| Oppose unless amended | SB 544 | Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act: teleconferencing. | Active Bill - Enrolled | John Laird | SB 544 would permit government officials doing consequential work on state boards and commissions to conduct public business virtually, without ever again being present at a physical location where the public and press can directly engage them. | Governor |
| Oppose | SB 593 | Redevelopment: successor agency debt: City and County of San Francisco. | Active Bill - Passed | Scott Wiener | Bond issuance without voter approval and special exemptions for San Francisco are inappropriate and unwarranted. | Senate |
| Oppose | SB 834 | Housing: California Family Home Construction and Homeownership Bond Act of 2023. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Anthony Portantino | These bonds would add more than $28 billion in interest over 30 years for a total (principal and interest) cost of more than $53 billion. | Assembly |
| Support | SB 858 | Initiative and referendum measures: title and summary. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Roger Niello | Makes changes to statute to implement SCA 3’s constitutional trasnfer of the duty to write the ballot title and summary for each statewide initiative measure from the Attorney General to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). | Senate |
| Oppose | SB 862 | Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District: transaction and use tax rates. | Active Bill - Enrolled | John Laird | This bill raises the transactions and use tax cap in Santa Cruz County. The only reason to increase the cap is to set the table for another increase in regressive sales taxes. | Governor |
| Oppose | SB 867 | Drought, Flood, and Water Resilience, Wildfire and Forest Resilience, Coastal Resilience, Extreme Heat Mitigation, Biodiversity and Nature-Based Climate Solutions, Climate Smart Agriculture, Park Creation and Outdoor Access, and Clean Energy Bond Act of 2024. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Ben Allen | These bonds would add more than $17 billion in interest over 30 years for a total (principal and interest) cost of more than $32 billion. | Assembly |
| Support | SB 871 | Property taxation: homeowners’, veterans’, and disabled veterans’ exemptions. | Active Bill - Pending Referral | Bob Archuleta | Makes changes to statute to implement SCA 6’s constitutional change to allow eligible taxpayers to also claim both the homeowners’ and either the disabled veterans’ or veterans’ exemption. | Assembly |
| Support | SCA 3 | Elections: initiatives and referenda. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Roger Niello | Current law provides that the Attorney General has the duty to write the ballot title and summary for each statewide initiative measure. SCA 3 would transfer this authority to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). | Senate |
| Support | SCA 4 | Property taxation: principal residence and family home transfers. | Active Bill - In Committee Process | Kelly Seyarto | SCA 4 would allow voters to reinstate Proposition 58 and Proposition 193, restoring what Proposition 19 took away: the constitutional exclusion from reassessment when certain property is transferred between parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren. | Senate |
| Support | SCA 6 | Property taxation: veterans’ exemption. | Active Bill - Pending Referral | Bob Archuleta | SCA 6 would amend the state Constitution to allow additional property tax benefits for taxpayers eligible for the disabled veterans’ or veterans’ exemptions from property tax. | Assembly |
| Position | Bill | Topic | Status | Author | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposed | AB 85 (2021-2022) | Budget Act of 2020 | Approved by the Governor. | Phil Ting | Retroactively changes the Budget Act of 2020 to allow a diversion of $35 million in state and federal money to a partisan and politically-connected consulting firm. | Secretary of State |
| Supported | AB 398 (2021-2022) | Department of Motor Vehicles: records | Approved by the Governor. | Vince Fong | Would prohibit the Department of Motor Vehicles from selling information from its records while also ensuring that the department cannot issue charges that exceed a service?s cost. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | AB 428 (2021-2022) | Local government: board of supervisors | Approved by the Governor. | Chad Mayes | Limits the ability of voters to impose term limits and set compensation levels for county supervisors. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | AB 1177 (2021-2022) | California Public Banking Option Act | Approved by the Governor. | Miguel Santiago | Establishes a taxypayer-funded public bank to offer access to zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally insured transaction account and debit card services at no cost to account holders. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 9 (2021-2022) | Housing development: approvals | Approved by the Governor. | Toni Atkins | While owner-occupied homes in single-family zones will likely not see reassessment from SB9, there?s a possibility that tenant-occupied homes, and owner-occupied homes not in single-family zones, could face a challenge to the valuation when sold. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 10 (2021-2022) | Planning and zoning: housing development: density. | Approved by the Governor. | Scott Wiener | Authorizes a local government to adopt an ordinance to zone any parcel for up to 10 units if certain considerations are met and overrides HOA agreements and voter initiatives that prohibited or limited such development. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 29 (2021-2022) | Elections: vote by mail ballots | Approved by the Governor. | Tom Umberg | Should be amended to require the technology be employed to assist in the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration records. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 85 (2021-2022) | Budget Act of 2020 | Approved by the Governor. | Nancy Skinner | Retroactively changes the Budget Act of 2020 to allow a diversion of $35 million in state and federal money meant to help counties cover the costs of holding an election during a pandemic to a partisan and politically-connected consulting firm. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 93 (2021-2022) | Employment: rehiring and retention: displaced workers: COVID-19 pandemic | Approved by the Governor. | Nancy Skinner | Beyond the inclusion of a $6 million appropriation from the Labor and Workforce Development Fund, a budget bill that has nothing to do with the budget. | Secretary of State |
| Supported | SB 219 (2021-2022) | Property taxation: delinquent penalties and costs: cancellation: public health orders | Approved by the Governor. | Mike McGuire | Would authorize the auditor or the tax collector to cancel any penalty, costs, or other charges resulting from a missed property tax payment due to a documented hardship caused by the shelter-in-place order if certain considerations are met. | Secretary of State |
| Supported | SB 274 (2021-2022) | Local government meetings: agenda and documents | Approved by the Governor. | Bob Wieckowski | Would require local agencies to make agendas and all the documents constituting the agenda packet available by email at the request of a member of the public. | Secretary of State |
| Supported | SB 303 (2021-2022) | Property taxation: transfer of base year value: disaster relief | Approved by the Governor. | Andreas Borgeas | Extends the five-year time period under existing tax law to transfer base year value to a comparable property following a disaster by a further two years due to the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic and government-imposed lockdown. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 323 (2021-2022) | Local government: water or sewer service: legal actions | Approved by the Governor. | Anna Caballero | A direct attack on Proposition 218 and seeks to destroy the rights hard-won for taxpayers in Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. City of La Habra. | Secretary of State |
| Opposed | SB 660 (2021-2022) | Initiative, referendum, and recall petitions: compensation for signatures | Vetoed by the Governor. | Josh Newman | All SB 660 would do is drive up the cost of getting measures on the ballot. This favors wealthy and entrenched interests. | Veto sustained. |
| Supported | SB 675 (2021-2022) | Property taxation: monthly installment payments. | Vetoed by the Governor. | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh | Authorizes a County Board of Supervisors, if they so choose, to allow property owners either over the age of 62, or those individuals on SSID regardless of age, to pay their property tax in monthly installments. | Veto sustained. |