ballot propositions

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On Fathers’ Day, Blame it on Dad

Byuclafaculty

Hiram Johnson It’s a bit of an historical stretch to blame California’s dysfunctions on Dad. And it may seem funny to do it after the legislature passed a budget on time as per our earlier post.  However, commentator Joe Mathews does blame Gov. Hiram Johnson’s father for the dysfunctions of the state’s initiative system. Hiram Johnson was the reform governor elected in 1910 who brought in “direct democracy,” the initiative, referendum, and recall (along with women’s suffrage and workers’ compensation insurance). From Mathews (excerpt): Why is California so hard to govern? One reason is that we’re suffering from daddy issues,…

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Oil Tax for Higher Ed Initiative

Byuclafaculty

As we have noted many times, it is very hard to get an initiative on the ballot without hiring signature-gathering firms (which will cost $1-$2 million).  And if the initiative gets on the ballot, millions more will be needed for TV ads, etc., if there is opposition.  An oil severance tax to fund higher ed would clearly have such opposition – from the oil industry.  All that said, there is such an effort underway (as noted in prior posts): …Conceived by UC-Berkeley students, the California Modernization and Economic Development Act places a 9.5 percent tax on oil and gas extracted…

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Tobacco Tax Initiative for UC/CSU Student Aid Advances

Byuclafaculty

As prior posts have noted, an initiative was filed featuring a tobacco tax to be used mainly for student aid at UC and CSU.  Unlike many initiatives that are filed, there seems to be serious money behind it since it is being handled by a professional law firm that deals with electoral matters. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has now come up with an analysis of the initiative, a step towards petition circulation. According to the LAO, about $730 million, net, would be raised by this initiative annually. Once the initiative is approved for circulation, we will see whether someone…

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Seven

Byuclafaculty

There are seven years in a sabbatical.  Snow White had seven dwarfs.  There are seven deadly sins.  And Prop 30 – the governor’s now-enacted tax initiative – raised taxes for seven years. So legislative Republicans are pushing for a seven-year freeze on public university tuitions.  Now it is true that the Republicans are in a diminished situation with Democrats holding a supermajority in the state legislature.  But the idea of a tuition freeze will have an appeal beyond Republican ranks. The PolitiCal blog of the LA Times has the story (excerpt): Legislative Republicans on Monday proposed a seven-year freeze on…

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Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Student Aid Initiative Filed

Byuclafaculty

Note: We posted this story yesterday although blogger now shows it as today for reasons unknown. An initiative has been filed that would raise tobacco taxes to fund student aid at UC and CSU.  The usual caveats apply.  It takes $1-$2 million to pay signature gathering firms to get such a petition on the ballot (as opposed to $200 to file it).  A tobacco tax initiative brings out big money opposition from tobacco companies.  Recall the tobacco tax that failed last June.  So a sponsor – if serious – would have to have deep pockets to carry out an effective…

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Proponents of Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Scholarships May Not Just Be Blowing Smoke

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday (although blogger now shows it as today and later than this posting for reasons unknown), we noted an initiative had been filed that would tax tobacco to provide scholarship aid for UC and CSU students.  We noted in particular that the initiative was professionally drafted, unlike many that are filed and, so, might have serious backers that could really fund a campaign. The San Francisco Chronicle picks up the story today and notes the Lt. Governor Newsom seems linked to the initiative.  The initiative’s spokesperson is someone named in an earlier item in the Chronicle as a key aide…

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Lawsuit against Prop 13’s 2/3 requirement reported rejected

Byuclafaculty

Charles Young The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) has reported this afternoon via its email service that the lawsuit filed by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young to overturn the 2/3 tax increase requirement in Prop 13 of 1978 has been rejected by the California Supreme Court.  So far, no other news source has so reported: The California Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to significant aspects of Proposition 13, prosecuted by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young…  Earlier this year, the 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with attorneys representing the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association that Young’s suit challenging…

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Why Prop 30 Will Not Be a Windfall for UC

Byuclafaculty

The chart above from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that the state’s “social welfare” functions will take a growing share of the budget. [Click on the chart to enlarge and make clearer.] Those functions were very limited at the time of the Master Plan’s adoption.  Since that time, they have tended to crowd out UC’s share of the state budget.  Ultimately, that is why the governor cautioned UC about its wishlist budget at the most recent Regents meeting. You can find the report from which the chart above was taken at:http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3860

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More Prop 30 Election Post Mortem

Byuclafaculty

There has been much discussion as to whether it was the youth vote that ultimately passed Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative.  Prop 30 had done marginally in the pre-election polls and appeared to be slipping.  Yet it ultimately passed with 54% of the vote.  So did this result stem from a surge in youth voters? It appears that the answer is yes and no.  The Field Poll now reports that it underestimated the youth vote when it made its calculation of likely voters.  Pollsters routinely adjust their samples to try and get at who will actually show up on…

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Prop 30 Election Post Mortem

Byuclafaculty

We know that Prop 30 – the governor’s tax initiative – passed with about 54% of the vote.  But the polls always showed it in a marginal position and losing support towards the end.  One possible explanation is that Prop 30 always had a plurality of “yes” votes and that undecided voters ended up voting yes in sufficient numbers to enact it. However, the political number crunchers are now raising questions about whether the pollsters’ estimates of “likely voters” were biased towards older folks who were less positive than younger voters about Prop 30. From Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee columnist:…