blog 2018 04 04 spinning ab2848 out of control
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Spinning AB-2848 Out of Control
April 4, 2018

On last week's coaching call, I asked site members to get behind an effort to block AB-2848. The following day, I wrote an analysis of the implementation of the current law and the bill designed to reverse it.

Your efforts have brought some results as David Wolfe, Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Associations' (HJTA) Legislative Director, who refused to respond to my inquires about AB-195 for a month, sent me a copy of a letter to Jay 'hides-under-desk' Obernolte allegedly speaking for 200,000 HJTA supporters. In the transmittal message Wolfe claims that the "current law is absolutely impossible to implement." Neither the transmittal message nor the letter identify anything specific that supports that statement. The vague reference to "interests in the education community who informed us that there are serious compliance difficulties" identified no compliance difficulties. The "education community" is code for the school bonds cartel. It doesn't like losing a few voter-tested, taxpayer-funded survey words and phrases.

Wolfe's letter goes on and on about the differences between parcel taxes (2/3 vote) and school bonds (55% vote). Wolfe even admits that it's all explained in the tax rate statement, which voters don't even know exists, let alone understand. Let's ask Wolfe, specifically, who "informed" HJTA that it's "absolutely impossible." How does he explain the 40 bond measures on the June ballot performing this "absolutely impossible" feat by complying with the law, as discussed in last week's analysis.

Both Wolfe and Obernolte's legislative director have refused to speak with me. It's easy to shunt you off to one dead end or the other. It's easy to write talking points. It's a whole different story to defend a completely unsupportable in a live conversation.

And what are those "supplemental transparency provisions" in Proposition 39 to which Wolfe refers in the letter? There are none. He knows it. Clearly, this is just more spin.

Remember, this is the third attempt in less than three years to revise Elections Code 13119. AB-809 (2016) and AB-197 (2017) were both Republican bills passed by a super-majority Democratic legislature and signed by a Democratic governor. Think about how difficult that is. Why is it that these geniuses couldn't get it right the first time?

Give me a break! Why is HJTA supporting the chipping away at Proposition 13? Is there some secret quid pro quo going on in the back rooms of Sacramento? Are you going to let Obernolte and HJTA get away with this? Keep up the pressure!

AB-2848 is in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee. You may begin contacting the committee at the brand-new CA Leg page.

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