Earlier this month, I argued that some of the cost of Proposition 1A’s defeat could be the state directing property taxes to cover state obligations and giving the authority to local government to raise new taxes.
Now, Assembly Budget Committee Chairwoman Noreen Evans is pushing a bill, AB 1342, to allow counties to tax income and cars on the local level with voter approval. While Evans argues the move is to help local governments shore up their finances, it is just a short step for the state to see a way toward balancing a big hole in its budget by throwing off responsibility and tax battles onto local governments.
As I suggested before, defeat of Prop 1A doesn’t mean that government will melt down and suddenly arise like a phoenix healed of its ill-spending ways. There will be much maneuvering to raise revenue through permanent fees and new taxing authority.
You can read more about the Evans’ bill, which has already passed its first committee, in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat article here.