Fighting for Taxpayers in the Capitol: Against the Odds
One of the most famous quotes from the American Revolution was uttered
by Sam Adams: "It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an
irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the
minds of men." As fiscal conservatives in a fiscally irresponsible
state, we at Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association often find ourselves
in the minority when trying to advance pro-taxpayer principles in the
legislature – especially with our current crop of politicians.
While HJTA may be better known for our initiatives and victories in the
courtroom, some might overlook the fact that we also maintain a
fulltime lobbying presence in Sacramento. Our top legislative priority
every year, of course, is stopping the direct attacks on Prop 13.
As
part of the California Constitution, however, Prop 13 cannot be amended
or repealed by statute – only by a proposed constitutional amendment
emanating from the legislature with a two-thirds vote of each house.
While fiscal conservatives in the Legislature don’t come close to a
majority, they do constitute (barely) more than a third. Because of
that, and because hundreds of thousands of our members sign petitions
to their legislators demanding that Prop 13 be protected, we have
successfully stopped these efforts to weaken or repeal California’s
most popular law.