Proposition 1A is the most important ballot measure that Californians will vote on when they go to the polls today. Though it has been touted as a way to impose limits on appropriations that will finally halt California’s persistent budget shortfalls, it will actually do little either to limit government growth in the state or to solve California’s persistent fiscal woes. Furthermore, it would result in yet another sizable tax increase for Californians.
Proposition 1A was placed on the ballot for the May 19 special election as part of the compromise budget passed in California this year. To their credit, Republican members of the state legislature held their ground through much of the winter and refused to support tax increases that were being promoted by Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature’s Democrats. However, in February a few Republicans bolted, creating the supermajority needed to pass a compromise measure that increased taxes by $12.8 billion. This measure included temporary increases in both the sales tax and the income tax.
The compromise included placing an appropriations limit on the May ballot. Those Assembly Republicans who defected should have used their leverage more wisely. Proposition 1A ties the appropriations limit to an additional $16-billion tax increase. If Proposition 1A is enacted, the one-cent sales-tax increase will be extended for one year, and the 0.25 percent increase in the income-tax rate will be extended for two years, through 2012. These tax hikes are among the highest in California history.