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California Property Tax Transfers Initiative (2020)
| California Property Tax Transfers Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Taxes and Housing | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Property Tax Transfers Initiative (#19-0004) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The ballot measure would have amended Proposition 13 (1978) to change how tax assessments are transferred between properties for homebuyers who are age 55 or older, severely disabled, victims of natural disasters, or victims of hazardous waste contamination.[1]
Alexander Creel also filed the California Property Tax Transfers and Exemptions Initiative (#19-0003), which a campaign was collecting signatures for.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Changes Requirements For Transferring Property Tax Base To Replacement Property. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] |
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Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Removes the following requirements to transfer property tax base to replacement residence for homeowners over 55 or severely disabled: that replacement property be of equal or lesser value; that replacement property be in eligible county; and that transfer occur only once. Allows three such transfers. Removes location and replacement-value requirements for transfers of contaminated or disaster-destroyed property. Adjusts replacement property’s tax base, based on market value. Eliminates tax benefits for certain transfers between family members.[3] |
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Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Local governments could gain tens of millions of dollars of property tax revenue per year, likely growing over time to several hundred million dollars per year. Schools could receive similar property tax revenue gains. Other local and state revenues each could increase by tens of millions of dollars per year. County property tax administration costs likely would increase by tens of millions of dollars per year.[3] |
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Full text
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 997,139 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was June 25, 2020. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months. The recommended deadlines were March 3, 2020, for an initiative requiring a full check of signatures and April 21, 2020, for an initiative requring a random sample of signatures.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Stages of this initiative
Alexander Creel filed the ballot initiative on July 3, 2019.[1] On September 6, 2019, Scretary of State Alex Padilla (D) published petition language for the ballot initiative, allowing proponents to begin collecting signatures. The deadline to file signatures was March 4, 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative 19-0004," July 4, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed June 25, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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