Senate committee rejects Prop. 13 reform and $348 million for essential services

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Governance and Finance Committee rejected Senate Bill 706 by Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) May 6 on a partisan vote that would have corrected an outdated interpretation of property “change of ownership” that has been part of the long running debate around commercial property and Proposition 13 (the 1978 initiative that limited property tax increases).

“Politics has once again prevailed over common sense,” said Senator Bates. “It is clear that tax-and-spend interests are not interested in fixing a problem with Prop. 13. They would rather use the problem as a p...