SACRAMENTO — Just as a ballot initiative that would dramatically expand Proposition 13 tax benefits for longtime homeowners was deemed eligible for the November ballot on Thursday, its proponents said they were negotiating with the Legislature on a compromise to avoid a bruising and costly initiative battle.
“We’re prepared to proceed,” said Christopher Carlisle, a lobbyist for the California Association of Realtors. “We’d just like to see if we can work out a deal with the Legislature where everyone goes home happy with much lower costs.”
The initiative would broaden the reach of a voter-approved, 1978 constitutional amendment that prevents a homeowner’s property taxes from increasing sharply, even as their homes double or triple in value. It would allow homeowners over 55 and those who are severely disabled to keep those lower tax obligations for life, regardless of where in California they move or how many times.
The change, realtors say, will allow empty-nesters to move out of single-family homes they no longer want but stay in mainly because of their low property taxes, freeing up the houses for families with children who have been shut out of the market.
Opponents of the initiative, including some legislative Democrats, counter that it will drain sorely needed property tax revenue for schools and social services while doing nothing to address the state’s housing shortage. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates it will ultimately cost schools and local governments billions of dollars, a conclusion the realtors have disputed.
“It’s a distorted expansion beyond what the voters were trying to do with Proposition 13, an experiment that has failed,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who heads the Assembly housing committee.
The realtors’ association has until June 28 to pull the initiative from the November ballot. Until then, Carlisle said, it will push for legislation that would place an alternative measure directly on the March 2020 primary ballot.
Only the Legislature has the authority to put initiatives before voters in lower-turnout primary elections, so the list of competing measures would be much shorter, making the campaign less costly.
But campaign finance records submitted to the California Secretary of State suggest that the association has been gearing up for a major campaign. The realtors’ political action committee supporting the initiative raised $15 million within the first four months of the year and had more than $20.5 million in cash as of late April.
Chiu said the association had yet to contact him about a potential compromise. But, he added, “I’m willing to talk.”
