The Rev Dr. Rick SchlosserIMPACT’s Recommendation: SUPPORT
ACA 1 (Resolution Chapter 173, Statutes of 2023) Aguiar-Curry. Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure: voter approval.
ACA 10 (Resolution Chapter 134, Statutes of 2024) Aguiar-Curry. Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure: voter approval.
This Assembly resolution unites two separate Assembly Constitutional Amendments to improve access to voter approval for affordable housing. They seek an adjustment to the 1978 Proposition 13 tax structure confining tax increases to 1% of the property value as assessed in any given year. In 1996 voters passed Proposition 218 that required charter cities to submit new tax requirements to the voters that would pass if and only if two-thirds of the vote favored them. This Assembly resolution would lower the threshold for infrastructure and affordable housing financing to 55%. Thus, it becomes the fiscal cousin of the Senate Proposition eliminating the approval vote of local governmental officials.
There are provisions in ACA 1 to audit the use of any money raised by the lowered threshold and prevent its use for governmental salaries or expenses so that it will be directed entirely to the stated projects. Money raised by the lower vote requirement cannot be directed to those seeking to purchase a home.
The companion measure added recently is a “clean up” bill to provide details on what the Legislature can and cannot itself permit to be revised in terms of tax voting requirements. It simply affirms through our approval standard practices already in law.
CA Secretary of State site: Arguments for and against Prop 5: https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/5/index.htm