Why CA billionaire tax could fail even if majority votes for it
Billionaires really don’t want voters to pass Proposition 40.
Not only have they poured more than $187 million so far to try and defeat the measure, they’ve also placed two other measures — Prop. 41 and Prop. 42 — on the November ballot. If either of the two pass with more votes than Prop. 40, they would nullify the billionaire tax from taking effect — even if Prop. 40 passes.
It’s a confusing scenario that could get voters saying no to all three measures.
As CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang explains, Prop. 40 would levy a one-time 5% tax on California residents whose net worth exceeds $1 billion. Most of the money generated from the tax would fund healthcare, which proponents argue is needed to backfill federal healthcare cuts passed last year under President Donald Trump.
Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is the primary supporter and financial backer of the proposal. It has raised about $31 million to pass Prop. 40.
A smaller portion of the tax would go to education, a fact that has some other powerful California unions campaigning against the measure.
But the fiercest opposition against Prop. 40 is a political organization called Building a Better California. It’s bankrolled by billionaires including Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. To date, they have spent more than $56 million into just the “No on Prop. 40” committee alone.
But it’s also plowing millions more to support the other two measures. While Prop. 41 targets provisions of Prop. 40 directly, Prop. 42 is a more general anti-wealth tax proposal, and it could limit lawmakers’ ability to try to pass similar proposals in the future.
Join CalMatters and the UCR School of Public Policy today in Riverside for a conversation about our investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department seizure of mail ballots and what it means for future elections. Register here.
Other Stories You Should Know
New law to squabbling cities: Work together on homelessness
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill requiring Sacramento County to make a unified approach to homelessness by collaborating with its cities under a joint powers authority, writes CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall.
The law is meant to resolve the finger-pointing that often emerges in local debates over homelessness. Cities often get blamed for the crisis, but counties usually have much more resources to lift someone out of homelessness. Currently, the Sacramento region’s various agencies have eight boards and nearly 90 board members — all working separately on homelessness without coordination.
But opponents of the measure, including Sacramento County and the city of Folsom, argue that local governments shouldn’t have to be forced to work together.
- Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento County supervisor: “It’s an unnecessary cost. It’s an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, it’s an unnecessary burden that’s just going to slow down processes.”
We’re bringing our voter guide to you
CalMatters is hitting the road, bringing our voter guide to life with our VotingMatters events, where we gather together voters to discuss the issues that matter most.
CalMatters’ director of partnerships, Dan Hu, will be in Riverside today at The Cheech. Then on Sept. 28 he’ll be in Redlands at the Redlands Public Market with Community Forward Redlands, followed by an event in Montecito on Sept. 29 with Noozhawk.
You can also catch CalMatters Managing Editor John D’Anna, Sunday in Belmont at St. Mark Catholic Church.
And lastly: Where CSU faculty are underpaid
A new report found that while faculty at the California State University earn salaries that are comparable with those working at similar public universities nationwide, about a third are paid below national averages — particularly CSU faculty working in the Bay Area where there is a higher cost of living. Read more from CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Attorney General Rob Bonta’s concessions allowing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger to go through echo past incidents in which California officials confront big corporate interests, loudly promise to make business executives change their ways and then cave in.
With jail deaths occurring at record-highs in recent years, largely under the watch of California’s elected sheriffs, Newsom should sign a bill that would provide county leaders the option to confirm appointments of top jail officials, writes Paul R. Parker, a former police officer, death investigator and chief deputy coroner.
Other things worth your time:
Canada’s boycott forces the sale of a CA winery // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
Unusual ocean creatures showing up in SoCal // LAist (free)
These Gen Z workers outearn their millennial elders, study shows // SFGATE (free)
LAFD closes investigation into Lineage warehouse fire without determining a cause // LAist (free)
A CA bill sought to shore up Newsom’s abortion access plan. He vetoed it // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
Stanford violated its AI policy by turning Hispanic student into fake Black woman in ad // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
The Silicon Valley tech elite is funding an alternative to college // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)
CA files another lawsuit against Trump administration over offshore wind // The San Diego Union-Tribune (gift link)
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