Proposition 19 Update and How to Get Involved

The momentum for the C.A.R.-sponsored initiative, now known as Proposition 19, is growing.

As C.A.R. President Jeanne Radsick stated recently, the California State Legislature passed a strong bipartisan constitutional amendment co-sponsored by C.A.R. and the California Professional Firefighters. This ballot initiative will be on the November ballot as Proposition 19.                   

This measure builds on C.A.R.’s original initiative, incorporating the provisions C.A.R. cares most about and includes dedicated funding for fire protection and emergency response to help protect millions of homes and lives across the state from devastating wildfires.

Proposition 19 has already received broad support from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and many prominent leaders including: California Professional Firefighters (co-sponsor), League of California Cities, California Congress of Seniors, California Senior Advocates League, CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, California Black Chamber of Commerce, California Business Roundtable, California Building Industry Association, California Business Properties Association, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Congress of California Seniors, Latin Business Association, National Diversity Coalition, National Asian American Coalition, Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Sonoma Valley Unified School District, many local elected officials across the state and wildfire victims.

The main provisions of Proposition 19 are:

Limits Property Tax Increases on Primary Residences for Seniors, People with Severe Disabilities, Families, Wildfire and Natural Disaster Victims

• Limits property tax increases on primary residences for homeowners over 55 years old, people with severe disabilities, and victims of natural disasters or wildfires by removing unfair location restrictions for people who may need to move closer to family or medical care, downsize, or find a home that better fits their needs.
• Limits property tax increases on family homes used as a primary residence by protecting the right of parents and grandparents to pass on their family home to their children and grandchildren for continued use as a primary residence.
• Opens up tens of thousands of housing opportunities to make homes more readily available for first-time homeowners, families, and Californians throughout the state.

Supports Life-Saving Fire & Emergency Response

• Secures dedicated funding for fire response across California, protecting millions of homes and lives.
• Creates a historic Fire Response Fund providing needed revenue for fire protection and response including tens of millions of dollars in dedicated funding each year for historically underfunded fire districts in rural and urban communities.

Generates Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Annual Funding for Fire Protection, Local Government and School Districts

• Generates new revenues for fire protection, local government, and school districts that can be used for vital resident services such as emergency response, housing, homeless, or health care programs.
• Helps cities, counties and school districts balance budgets and provides a boost to our state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with long-term revenue of over $1 billion annually.
• Provides local revenue for counties, cities, and special districts, and establishes a county offset fund, providing additional revenue protection year in and year out.
• Protects family transfers for children and grandchildren who use the inherited home as a primary residence, which continue to be under attack and face potential elimination, while closing the loopholes that generate funding for fire protection, local governments and school districts.

Supports California’s Family Farms

• Provides added tax relief for California’s family owned farms and ranches. The additional tax savings for a farmer or rancher will help protect generational farming.

Interested in Getting Involved?

• Email your colleagues and clients.
  C.A.R. has created a member toolkit that has sample emails and fact sheets for you to use with your colleagues and clients to educate them on the benefits of the initiative.

   

• Share on social media.
  Social media content is available for you to use on your own social media platforms to educate your networks about the initiative. You can also follow C.A.R. on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

   

• Share your client stories.
  Do you have a client who can benefit from this initiative? Or know a senior who would like to move closer to family or a wildfire victim who wants to move closer to a new job? We are seeking stories to highlight on our website and social media.

Email us to learn how you can get involved or get more information and resources at [email protected]. For more information visit www.CARHOMECoalition.com.

###