For the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ annual conference, “Impact 2018: Building Momentum for Equity and Opportunity,” Director of Strategic Communications Steven Bliss presented on how to use digital tools to connect policymakers, advocates, community leaders, and other stakeholders with state policy analysis for the workshop “Digital Advocacy 101.”
Voters are often asked to decide on a range of policy questions through propositions on the ballot — sometimes resulting in significant impacts on how the state raises and spends tax revenues. The Budget Center’s analysis of ballot measures helps foster a greater understanding of the implications propositions may have on the state budget, and the effects on people and communities.
Featured Resources
Proposition 6: Rough Roads Ahead If California Repeals Its Gas Tax
Proposition 6, on the November ballot, would repeal SB1, eliminating $5.1 billion in annual funding for road repair and mass transit, and halting thousands of projects, several of which have already begun. It would also require that any future change to gas and vehicle taxes go before voters, taking that tool away from legislators. At stake, beyond fixing roads and funding reliable bus service, is the very nature of governance itself in the Golden State. “We wouldn’t be having this discussion if we had a more normal system,” said Chris Hoene of the California Budget & Policy Center.
Realtors Say Proposition 5 Would ‘Unlock the Housing Market,’ Freeing up More Inventory. Experts Don’t Agree
Jonathan Kaplan, a senior policy analyst with the California Budget & Policy Center, said that Proposition 5 is a double whammy for younger, lower-income Californians. Not only could they face higher home prices, he said, but they’d also share the burden of reduced revenues, through a reduction in services or a shift of the tax burden. The estimated revenue loss to schools would cost the state less than 1% of the state budget, but that is enough to provide 110,000 children with child care, Kaplan said.
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Video: What Would Proposition 6 Mean for Our State’s Transportation Infrastructure?
In 2017, lawmakers approved a major transportation funding package that will provide $5 billion a year in much needed funds for roads, highways, public transit, and bike and pedestrian improvements. Proposition 6, which will appear on the November 6, 2018 statewide ballot, would eliminate this recently enacted funding for California’s transportation infrastructure.
The Budget Center has produced a short video that highlights some of the basic facts about Prop. 6. Executive Director Chris Hoene, drawing from our Issue Brief on Prop. » Read more about: Video: What Would Proposition 6 Mean for Our State’s Transportation Infrastructure? »