An anti-tax, right wing group is trying to defund our schools & communities.

The California Business Roundtable, which spent over $40 million to defeat Prop. 13 reform in 2020, has qualified a ballot measure for this November. Their initiative is a radical attack on state and local governments’ ability to raise revenue to fund schools and public services. This will devastate our schools and communities.

This could be this generation’s Prop. 13.

Donate Today to Protect our Schools

This initiative will undermine education funding for decades to come.

It will do this by:

Adopting new and stricter rules for raising state & local taxes and fees
Creating easier ways for any person or business to challenge revenue measures and sue to stop the collection of taxes
Retroactively reversing voter-approved measures that passed within the last year, totaling at least $2 billion

This Initiative will Harm Students.

While making it nearly impossible for most public entities, fees will still be allowed to be increased at UCs and CSUs without a vote. By keeping the burden on students, this initiative is clearly not about lowering costs for everyday people. This is really just a give away to wealthy corporate interests at the expense of the next generation of Californians.

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A Closer Look

With this draconian initiative, the California Business Roundtable has exposed its far-right ideology. They are against ALL regulation, ALL taxes, and want to defund our public schools and community services as a way to increase profits for big oil and other wealthy corporations.

The most radical part of this initiative would force any tax increase, closure of any loophole, and adjustment of any fee to be placed on the ballot and voted on by everyone. Every tax measure, even if it receives overwhelming support in the legislature, would require its own ballot measure.

In November 2020, there were twelve statewide ballot measures. Under this fatally flawed initiative, countless other measures for small and tax adjustments will be placed on every primary and general election ballot. Special interest groups would be able to fund campaigns in order to confuse voters on complex tax issues. Should the vote not result in their desired outcome the special interest group could sue, and the tax would become subject to endless litigation.

For example environmental protection fees, gas taxes, and tobacco taxes are continually adjusted based on their level of success and the need for funding. If this extreme ballot measure passes, we will see the consequences in every future election. We must do everything we can to make sure this does not pass.

Testimonials

“A look at the funders backing this ballot measure — multi-billion dollar real estate, energy, and Pharma interests — makes it easy to see that their true agenda isn’t to empower the public. Instead, these multi-billion dollar corporations want to reduce their own accountability for the costs they impose on communities.

Firefighters know preventing a disaster is far better than responding to it. As the professionals responsible for disaster response in our communities, we have a responsibility to speak up against this dangerous measure.”

- California Professional Firefighters’ President, Brian K. Rice

“These provisions discourage new government efforts no matter how urgent the problem to be addressed,… [and] hang like a shadow over budgets to be adopted in summer 2025”

- League of California Cities, et al

“The ‘Taxpayer Protection [Deception] Act’ will make things worse. California voters will still want their services and amenities, but funding them will be much harder, so they’ll deteriorate. Voters will get angrier, but where will they turn and who will they blame?”

- Michael Hiltzik, LA Times