ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO HONOR PROP. 13’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY

On July 2, the California Assembly’s Committee on Revenue and Taxation considered whether to support a special resolution in honor of the 40th anniversary of Proposition 13.

“We think every lawmaker should recognize the importance of keeping property taxes affordable and predictable in California so that people are not taxed out of their own homes,” said HJTA President Jon Coupal. “A resolution in honor of Proposition 13 is certainly something that the Legislature should support.”

But the committee voted 5–2 against it.

Although Assembly Members Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, and Randy Voepel, R-Santee, voted in favor of the resolution, they were outnumbered by “no” votes from committee chair Autumn Burke and fellow Democrats Kevin Mullin, Bill Quirk, Luz Rivas and Philip Ting.

“It’s unbelievable to me that we are not able to come together to reaffirm our support of a proposition that protects California’s homeowners and allows people to stay in their homes,” said Assembly Member Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, who introduced the resolution, ACR247. “Protecting our most vulnerable constituents from undue tax burdens should be a concept that transcends party lines.”

Acosta was not alone in that view. “In a world where the California Legislature was full of reasonable people who aren’t constantly looking for ways to siphon off more money from taxpayers, ACR247 would’ve passed with ease,” opined Sal Rodriguez, columnist and editorial writer for the Southern California News Group, which includes the Orange County Register, the Riverside Press-Enterprise and the Los Angeles Daily News. “One-party dominance in California has only reinforced the contempt Democratic politicians have for taxpayers, taxpayer protections and Proposition 13,” Rodriguez wrote.