State budget deal should include parcel tax reform
Share this pageIf Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republicans lawmakers are going to insist on slashing education funding by refusing to increase taxes, then the least they can do is make it easier for school districts to undo the harm. Any budget solution that emerges between the governor and legislative leaders should include giving voters a fighting change to pass a parcel tax.
SCA 6 would do that. Sen. Joe Simitian’s constitutional amendment would lower the threshold for passing a parcel tax from two-thirds to a 55 percent majority — the same proportion needed to pass a school construction bond. It would re-establish the principle of majority rule.
Simitian, a Democrat from Palo Alto, has been trying for years to get SCA 6 on the ballot. This year, he has 21 co-sponsors in the Senate, all Democrats. But like the state budget itself, a constitutional amendment needs two-thirds approval. And no Republican has shown an inclination to buck anti-tax groups and put the issue before voters.
Full story on the Mercury News website