FCL NEWSLETTER -- October, 1998

FCL's Stand on 1998 California November Ballot Measures

The November Ballot Propositions

FCL's Gambling Policy - Approved, 1998

Two Activists Honored  Robert Vogel, Mack Warner

Meetings Around the State  (Thru Nov. 7, 1998)

Inventory of Violence Prevention Programs - FCL Education Fund

What Ever Happened To?

Articles in Prior Newsletters

FCL's Stand on 1998 California November Ballot Measures

Proposition 1 - (Contaminated Property) - NO POSITION

Proposition 1A - (Educational Facilities Bonds) SUPPORT

Proposition 2 - (Transportation Funds) - NO POSITION

Proposition 3 - (Presidential Primary Elections) - NO POSITION

Proposition 4 - (Wildlife Traps and Poisons) - NO POSITION

Proposition 5 - (Indian Casino Gambling) - NO POSITION

Proposition 6 - (Horse Slaughter) - NO POSITION

Proposition 7 - (Air Quality Tax Credits) - NO POSITION

Proposition 8 - (Class Size Reduction/Education Reform) - OPPOSE

Proposition 9 - (Electric Utility Rates) - SUPPORT

Proposition 10 - (Tobacco Tax/Early Childhood Programs) - NO POSITION

Proposition 11 - (Sales Tax Revenue Sharing) - NO POSITION

The November Ballot Propositions

[FCL N/L 10/98]

California voters will face twelve ballot propositions on November 3.

Here are the recommendations of FCL Executive Committee, with analysis by staff. In cases where FCL takes no position, the Committee found that the proposition fell outside FCL policy guidelines or they failed to reach consensus.

Proposition 1 - Contaminated Property

Amends the state constitution to allow owners of environmentally contaminated property to transfer their current property tax assessment value to a new or repaired structure on the contaminated site or to a similar structure on a different site. Intended to provide property tax relief to innocent owners of sites with toxic or hazardous materials, this constitutional amendment was motivated by unhappy experiences of four Orange County homeowners. The property in question was declared a Superfund site in 1992 because of fuel dumped nearby in the 1930s. Under Proposition 13 property owners must pay higher taxes if they move or rebuild, even if they are forced to do so as the result of environmental contamination.

Current law provides property tax relief to victims of natural disaster; the initiative's proponents argue that the same kind of relief should be available to those whose property is rendered uninhabitable or unusable due to toxic or hazardous material. Supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration, Sierra Club, and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

No known organized opposition. However, three state senators voted against it on the the floor, arguing that the proposition serves the special interests of a few homeowners and should not be incorporated into the state constitution. Tax revenue loss to the state estimated by the Legislative Analyst at less than $1 million; however, if additional properties were found to qualify, tax losses could increase dramatically.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

****

Proposition 1A - Public School, College, and University Bonds

Obligates the state to sell $9.2 billion in bonds for construction and renovation of public schools and higher education facilities. Local school districts must match state dollars for new construction and pay 20% for most improvement projects. Developer fees would be capped at the present $1.93 per square foot and school districts would lose for eight years their power to turn down developments because of inadequate financing for schools. The proposition would also replace or subsidize developer fees for low- income home buyers and renters. Debt payments would total about $600 million for 25 years and housing assistance would cost about $40 million for four years.

Opponents argue that this proposition gives developers a sweetheart deal and the two-thirds majority vote requirement for matching funds will make it difficult to get bonds passed in low-income communities.

In spite of these flaws, there is a desperate need -- and no currently available options -- for capital improvements in California's schools and universities and for low-income housing assistance.

FCL SUPPORTS.

****

Proposition 2 - Transportation Funds

Imposes restrictions on diversion of state transportation funds, in particular loans for general use by state government and for local government. Also prohibits elimination of special county transportation funds generated from sales taxes. This constitutional amendment closes loopholes that led to risky loans to bail out Orange County and Los Angeles County. Also prevents sales tax shifts from transit-related purposes to general local government uses.

Proponents argue that the proposition will improve highway safety and maintenance and relieve traffic congestion by ensuring that funds raised for road building and mass transit will be used as intended. Supported by the California League of Cities, California State Association of Counties, transportation unions, transit equipment manufacturers, Planning and Conservation League, Sierra Club, California Chamber of Commerce, many local transportation agencies, and others.

No known opposition. But some legislators have expressed concern about the proposition's effect on the ability of the state to redistribute limited revenues in times of financial crisis.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

****

Proposition 3 - Presidential Primary Elections

Stops independent and crossover voting for presidential nominating convention delegates. California's Open Primary Act, approved by the voters in 1996, jeopardizes the state's role in nominating the next U.S. President by putting the state out of compliance with party rules, which allow nonrecognition of a delegation selected by open primary.

As a result, proponents say, California's delegates might be selected via backroom politics. This constitutional amendment was approved unanimously by both houses of the state legislature.

Since that vote, though, Assemblymember Jack Scott (D., Altadena) has become the lonely voice of opposition, declaring that "the national political party bosses are not going to frustrate the voters of California by refusing to honor their vote" and that "we have just begun this change (to an open primary system), and we should give it a chance to work."

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

****

Proposition 4 - Wildlife Traps and Poisons

Prohibits use of body-gripping traps for commercial or recreational purposes and bans steel-jawed leg-hold traps and two slow-acting poisons.

Supporters claim that the state's 250 licensed fur trappers kill over 20,000 animals a year, mostly by inhumane methods, and that thousands of pets and members of endangered species are killed annually by the methods they propose to eliminate.

Opponents say that coyotes and other predators are likely to multiply if this proposition is passed and that rodents would proliferate, leading to damage to California's flood control and irrigation systems.

Proponents include Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals. Opponents include the California Farm Bureau, statewide wool, cattle, and poultry associations, and local water districts.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

****

Proposition 5 - Indian Casino Gambling

Allows slot-like video machines and players' pool card games in tribal gambling facilities. Provides for contributions from gambling revenues to non-gambling tribes, state-wide emergency services, community programs, and local government costs associated with casino operations. Requires each gambling tribe to set up a self regulation agency and limits state and local government involvement to an advisory role. Lowers minimum age for gambling from 21 to 18 years of age, consistent with the current minimum age to play the State Lottery. Requires the governor to negotiate for compacts that differ from this measure if so requested by a tribe.

A response to Governor Wilson's "model" compact with the Pala Band of Mission Indians, this initiative is sponsored by a majority of the state's 104 tribal governments who argue that their sovereignty will be violated and their livelihood undermined if they accept the terms of the Pala agreement.

Opponents include Nevada casinos and hotel owners and labor unions as well as the California Chamber of Commerce and California Manufacturers Association. The opposition points out that this proposition, in contrast to the Pala agreement, does not provide for worker protections or unionization nor does it bind gambling tribes to environmental, health, and safety laws. Law enforcement fears the initiative will leave Indian gambling open to infiltration by organized crime. And some religious and citizen groups fear expansion of gambling will undermine public morality and increase gambling addiction, while card rooms, race tracks, and Nevada business and labor interests fear it will diminish their incomes.

See FCL policy statement on gambling.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

****

Proposition 6 - Horse Slaughter

Proposition 6 ): Stops the sale and slaughter of California horses for food. Proponents, including veterinarians, horse rescue groups, championship riders, race tracks and the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs, say 3,000 to 10,000 horses are shipped to other states and Canada each year and cruelly killed for shipment to France, Belgium, and Japan as gourmet food. Opponents, primarily from the Libertarian Party of California, say that horses should not be treated in the same way as household pets and that this proposition is an unnecessary and possibly unconstitutional restraint on trade and personal choice. FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

Proposition 7 - Air Quality Tax Credits

Authorizes $218 million in tax credits annually from 1999 to 2011 as an incentive to reduce polluting emissions, especially diesel fuels, which reportedly contribute to approximately 15,000 deaths annually in California. Proponents, including Planning and Conservation League, Sierra Club, American Lung Association, and various utilities and agricultural interests, argue that financial inducements are needed to convince businesses to clean up the air. Opponents, including tax payer and tax reform groups, professional associations of scientists and firefighters, and labor unions maintain that these massive tax breaks will deplete funds for higher education and environmental programs and reward corporations for doing what they should be doing anyway. In addition, they say the proposition lacks adequate oversight provisions and funding. FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

Proposition 8 - Education Reform

Creates a Chief Inspector of Public Schools to oversee school performance. Establishes school- site governing councils, composed of two-thirds parents and one- third teachers, to control curriculum and budget in consultation with the principal. Provides special funding to reduce class size in kindergarten through third grade to schools with councils. The measure also mandates statewide standards for lesson plans, student suspension and expulsion, and teacher credentialing and evaluation. To pay for this new state operation, annual funding for the State Department of Education would be reduced by an amount equal to annual budget of the Chief Inspector. Sponsored by Governor Pete Wilson, this initiative is intended to encourage schools to perform better. Opponents, including the State Superintendent of Schools and the California Federation of Teachers, point out that top-down, one-size-fits-all educational reform is anti-democratic and will not work. Furthermore, they note that the Chief Inspector would be appointed by the governor and serve a 10-year term, posing serious questions of accountability and nepotism. And, to meet the proposition's requirements, school districts would need to raise millions of additional dollars, a difficult if not impossible task, especially for low-income communities. FCL OPPOSES.

Proposition 9 - Electric Utility Rates

Stops privately-owned power companies from making customers assume the companies' debts, primarily from nuclear power plants, and mandates a minimum 20 percent cut in electric bills. Also prohibits sale of utility customer data to direct sales firms. Sponsors, including The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Public Media Center, Consumers Union, and Sierra Club argue that consumers should not bail out utilities from $28 billion in bad investments and that a 20 percent reduction is fair in light of the illusory 10 percent reduction (which was made possible by ratepayer-financed state-issued bonds) mandated in the 1996 state utility restructuring act. Opponents, including the California Teachers Association, California State Chamber of Commerce, the state's three major private power companies (Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric) and the Natural Resources Defense Council, say that canceling the rate reduction bonds will cost the state at least $6 billion and that the initiative's financial restrictions will jeopardize investment in alternative energy resources. FCL SUPPORTS.

Proposition 10 - Tobacco Tax Increase for Anti-Smoking Education and Early Childhood Programs

Enacts new cigarette taxes to pay for state and local early childhood development and smoking prevention programs.

Supporters, including American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and various educational organizations, say the initiative will save billions in future government expenses for remedial programs, treatment services, social services, and criminal justice.

In addition to self-interested opposition from tobacco companies, tax payer and tax reform groups have pointed out that the tobacco tax is regressive and that the programs financed by this initiative should be paid for directly by tobacco companies and by increased taxation of wealthy individuals and corporations. The proposition, say its critics, is a clumsy and wasteful way to deliver services, creating commissions in all 58 counties for planning, funding and oversight.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

Proposition 11 - Authorizes local governments to share sales tax revenues without a vote of the people.

Tax sharing would require a two-thirds vote of the city councils and/or boards of supervisors involved, instead of approval by a majority of voters in each jurisdiction, as currently required by the state constitution.

Proponents say the proposition will remedy imbalances between communities that collect sales tax revenues from large retailers and neighboring communities that are stuck with the burdens of infrastructure, traffic, and public services. Furthermore, according to proponents, local governments would be discouraged from offering sales tax refunds to large retailers, diverting revenues originally intended for essential public services.

Opponents say that the people should not relinquish their power to elected officials in matters of tax collection and use.

FCL TAKES NO POSITION.

-Ken Larsen

For more information, contact the California Secretary of State at (916) 653-7244 or ; Friends Committee on Legislation of California at (916) 443-3734;or League of Women Voters of California at (916) 442-9210. Sources: California Journal,, California State Legislature, Capitol Weekly, League of Women Voters of California, Legislative Analyst's Office, Sacramento News and Review , and proponents and opponents of the propositions.

Two Activists Honored

[FCL N/L 10/98]

Robert Vogel, a member of Orange Grove Friends Meeting and former Executive Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, Southwest Region, has been inducted posthumously into the Peacemaker Hall of Fame by the Community NonViolence Resource Center of Pasadena. Mack Warner, a member of the Delta Friends Meeting, had the new office of the director of public policy for the California Council of Churches dedicated to his memory as a way of honoring his lifelong work as an advocate for social justice.

Meetings Around the State

[FCL N/L 10/98]

October 1-31 - Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Statewide - - 880-END-ABUSE

October 8-10 - Changing Hearts and Minds: California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty

San Francisco - - (415) 243-0143

October 10 - Human Rights Day

Statewide - - (202) 242-3002

October 10-11 - The Last Front: Corporatization and the End of Public Education

San Francisco - - (415) 826-2850

October 12 - Food and You (sponsored by Alliance for Democracy)

San Francisco - - (415) 567-5348

October 15 - Ending Male Violence in a Culture of Violence: What Will It Really Take?

Salinas - - (408) 649-0834

October 19 - A Day Without the Pentagon

Statewide - - (800) 975-9688

October 22 - Ordinary People, Extraordinary Hope: An Evening of Video Viewing and Discussion (with AFSC representatives Kitty Barragato and Robert Martinez) sponsored by Orange County Friends Meeting

Irvine - - (949) 786-7691 or (949) 551-8070

October 22 - Radiation and Your Health

Livermore - - (925) 443-7148

October 25 - United Nations Day

Statewide

October 28-30 - California Association of Nonprofits

Los Angeles - - (213) 347-2070

For information about other events of interest, contact the "Progressive Calendar"(for Northern California) Eric Moon, AFSC, (415) 565-0204 (fax) or calendar@afsc-pmr.org and "Change Links" (for Southern California) (818) 982-1412 (phone/fax) or change@pacbell.net

Inventory of Violence Prevention Programs

[FCL N/L 7/98]

The FCL Education Fund is publishing an inventory of violence prevention programs in California to acquaint the public with effective methods of preventing crime. The initial release of the inventory profiles six programs that address domestic violence, seven programs located in preschools, schools, or neighborhoods, ten community-based programs, and seven programs that focus on people in the criminal justice system.

FCL staff circulated the initial 12 page inventory of 30 programs during the month of August to participants in workshops and other forums, and provided it to interested members of the Legislature. To request hard copy of this preliminary inventory, write to FCL Education Fund, 926 J Street, #707, Sacramento, 95814. Suggested donation: $5.

Information on nearly 200 additional programs is on hand, and it is expected that an inventory of 100 exemplary programs will be available soon.