Signature gathering was underway for an initiative that would make permanent the temporary income tax increase approved by voters as Proposition 30 in 2012 to provide funding for education, health care and child care programs.
What authors Cass Trinidad Gualvez and Dietmar Grellman have dubbed “The Invest in California’s Children Act” also establishes a new personal income tax on annual earnings over $1 million.
Half the funds generated by provisions of the initiative would go to kindergarten through 12th grade education, community colleges and state universities.
Forty percent would go to health care for low-income individuals and the remaining 10 percent to child care and child development programs.
The initiative would also establish a reserve fund, capped at 20 percent of the annual revenues, for use during state budget emergencies.
Passage of the initiative would result in increased state revenues beginning in 2019 — likely in the $7 billion to $15 billion range initially — with amounts varying based on the stock market and economic trends, according to an analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and Director of Finance Michael Cohen.
Backers of the initiative must submit petitions with valid signatures from 585,407 registered voters — 8 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2014 general election — by May 23 to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
An initiative that would extend Proposition 30’s income tax increases for 12 years is also in circulation.
—City News Service