Chamber Positions on Select State Propositions

Yes, the ballot you recently received, or are about to receive is loaded with state and local ballot measures. The Oxnard Chamber sifted through the state propositions and took the following positions:

Prop 15 – OPPOSE STRONGLY
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Prop 15 will be the largest property tax increase in state history at $11.5 BILLION per year.
 
Unless defeated by voters, the measure shreds long-standing Prop 13 protections that have kept property taxes affordable and provided every taxpayer that buys a home or operates business with certainty that they can afford their property tax bills in the future. Prop 15 repeals these protections for business property by requiring reassessment at current market value at least every three years.
 
Prop 15’s higher property taxes will cause rents to skyrocket for small businesses and the cost of living to increase for all Californians. That’s why small businesses, farmers, social justice organizations, and taxpayer advocates across California oppose this massive tax increase.
 
Prop 19 – SUPPORT
 
Prop 19 Limits Property Tax Increases on Primary Residences for Seniors, People with Severe Disabilities, Families, and 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 for victims of wildfires to replace a damaged home and limit damage from wildfires on homes through dedicated funding for fire protection and emergency response.
• 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.

 
Prop 21 – OPPOSE
 
Prop 21 would repeal portions of the state’s existing rental housing laws (Costa Hawkins) and open the door for extreme forms of rent control to be enacted at the local level. It is nearly identical to 2018’s Prop 10, which voters rejected by nearly 20 points.

Prop 21 would allow for permanent price caps on all forms of housing, including single family homes and condos. Prop 21 contains:

• No funding for affordable housing or a requirement that it be built
• No specific provisions to reduce rent
• No specific protections for seniors, veterans, or the disabled

 
Independent academic experts from Stanford and UC Berkeley agree that policies like Prop 21 discourage new construction and reduce availability of affordable and middle-class housing, driving up rents for many Californians.

Furthermore, Prop 21 undermines a new, statewide rent control law, just months after the law went into effect. Governor Newsom and the Legislature, with the support of numerous stakeholders, recently passed some of the strongest statewide rent control and renter protections in the nation. Assembly Bill 1482, which became law on January 1, 2020, ensures renters will not face extreme rent hikes or be unfairly evicted from their homes. The new law also provides stability for property owners. It ensures the rental housing supply is not diminished and housing continues to be built.
 
Prop 23 – OPPOSE
 
Prop 23 would force community dialysis clinics to cut services and close – putting the lives of vulnerable dialysis patients at serious risk.

•  Approximately 80,000 Californians with failed kidneys receive dialysis treatment three days a week, four hours at a time to stay alive. Dialysis treatment does the job of the kidneys by removing toxins from the body. Missing a single treatment increases patient risk of death by 30%.
• Prop 23 would force dialysis clinics to have a physician administrator on site at all times, even though they would not be involved in patient care.
• This physician administrator would not be required to have specialty training in kidney care or dialysis.
• According to a study by the independent Berkeley Research Group, Prop 23 would increase dialysis treatment costs by $320 million every year.
• Nearly half of the 600 clinics in California would become financially unsustainable — resulting in clinic closures and cutbacks that would dangerously jeopardize access to dialysis care that these patients need to survive.