November 28, 2019
By California Black Media
About 65 percent of Californians are happy with Prop 13, according to CalMatters.
It is a 1978 ballot measure that limits the amount of tax that can be applied to a home or commercial space to 2 percent of the property value a year and 1 percent of the same amount when it is sold.
But recently, there has been rising support among people around the state for revising parts of Prop 13 to allow larger tax increases on commercial properties, but not on homes.
If the more than 400 civic and political groups – as well as elected officials, activists and ordinary citizens - backing the proposal get their way, and the initiative gets placed on the 2020 ballot, it could play out to be one of the biggest political fights in the state next year.
Supporters of the “Schools and Community First” initiative say new tax revenues from commercial properties would generate around $12 billion in much-needed funding for public services and education around the state.