2020 Election Information - Sacramento Association of REALTORS®

Where to Vote/Drop Ballot Sacramento County | Yolo County

California Propositions

Prop 19: Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions, and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties Amendment

C.A.R. Position: YES | YesOn19.vote

Allows homeowners who are over 55, disabled or wildfire/disaster victims to transfer primary residence’s tax base to a replacement residence. Changes taxation of family-property transfers and expands tax benefits for transfers of family farms. Local Governments could gain millions of dollars in additional property taxes over time to support local schools and new state funds would support an additional fire protection services fund.

More about Prop 19

This Initiative Helps By:
• Limiting 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.

• Generating new revenues for fire protection, local government, and school districts that can be used for vital resident services such as emergency response, housing, homeless, or health care programs.

• Limiting property tax increases for victims of wildfires to replace a damaged home and limiting damage from wildfires on homes with dedicated funding for fire protection and emergency response.

• Limiting 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.

• Opening up tens of thousands of housing opportunities to make homes more readily available for first-time homeowners, families, and Californians throughout the state.

• Helping cities, counties and school districts balance budgets and providing a boost to our state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with long-term revenue of over $1 billion annually.

• Providing local revenue for counties, cities, and special districts, and establishing a county offset fund, providing additional revenue protection year in and year out.

Prop 15: Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative

C.A.R. Position: NO | NoOnProp15.org

Most commercial and industrial properties would be taxed based on current full market value, instead of the purchase price, as currently done. The measure exempts residential and agricultural land, and an owner who owns less than a combined total of $3 million of commercial land in California. The measure would exponentially increase staffing and costs for county assessor offices.

More about Prop 15

Prop 15 Hurts:
• Most commercial and industrial properties would be taxed based on current full market value, instead of the purchase price, as currently done. The measure exempts residential and agricultural land, and an owner who owns less than a combined total of $3 million of commercial land in California. The measure would exponentially increase staffing and costs for county assessor offices.

• Renters and makes California’s housing crisis worse because local governments will want to maximize revenue by approving higher-taxed commercial and industrial developments over affordable housing.Local Government Budgets and would be a nightmare for local governments to implement. It will create more than a billion dollars in new administrative expenses over three years for county assessors, which must be repaid before any tax revenue goes towards the measure’s stated goals.

• Farmers because most food items will face the adding on of higher property taxes not just once, but several times, as they travel from the farm to processing, packaging, distribution, and the grocery store ultimately driving up the cost of living for all Californians!

Prop 21: Local Rent Control Initiative

C.A.R. Position: NO | NoOnProp21.org

More about Prop 21

Allows Regulation of Single-Family Homes
• This flawed proposition allows local governments to impose rent control on apartments and privately-owned single-family homes without a vote of the people. Prop 21 may even open the door to permanent price controls on private residences, even some single-family homes.

Reduces Housing Supply and Drives Up the Cost of Existing Housing
• Prop 21 will encourage landlords to take rental properties off the market and convert them into condos and townhomes, further reducing the housing supply and making the housing crisis even worse. By creating an inconsistent and unpredictable patchwork of local ordinances, Prop 21 will prevent critical affordable housing development and drive rents and housing costs up even higher. This will hit low-income families especially hard by making housing even more expensive and harder to find.

Puts Unelected Bureaucrats in Charge of Housing with the Power to Add Additional Fees
• Prop 21 will give unelected bureaucrats the power to add fees on rental housing without a vote of the people, making rental housing even more expensive and driving up the cost of living. Even worse, Prop 21 will put as many as 539 rental boards in charge of rental housing, with bureaucrats deciding what people can or cannot do with their properties. Prop 21 could even lead to unelected bureaucrats charging homeowners a fee for taking their home off the rental market.

Adds Tens of Millions in New Costs to Local Governments
• The state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst says Prop 21 would increase costs for local governments by tens of millions of dollars per year and cost the state millions more in lost revenue, which would mean diverting funds from other vital state services.

Local Measures

Measure A: Sacramento Mayoral Accountability and Community Equity Act of 2020

C.A.R. Position: YES | YesOnSacMeasureA.com

The measure would revise the city’s current “council-manager” form of government to a “mayor-council” form. The mayor becomes the chief executive officer and the city manager becomes the chief administrative officer. This transfers significant responsibility from an administrative employee to an elected mayor. The purpose of the measure is to establish greater accountability and stronger checks and balances, to better ensure that the agenda, budget, leadership, and day-to-day management of the City of Sacramento are directly informed by, and aligned with, the will of the voters and effectively communicated to the residents of Sacramento by their elected representatives.

More about Measure A

• Increases accountability in local government by giving the elected Mayor the tools to act quickly and decisively in times of crisis and to implement policies to address the most pressing needs of the city.
Establishes term limits for the Mayor to no more than two terms.

• Strengthens the City Council by giving it exclusive authority over land use and planning decisions. The Mayor’s executive authority is checked by a stronger city council.

• Requires the City to analyze the small business impacts of the city’s budget and major policy decisions.
The Measure sunsets in 10 years unless reapproved by voters.

• Ensures the City budget includes at least $40 million for inclusive economic development and youth services, which includes significant funding for housing in Sacramento.

• Creates a Ninth City Council District to improve diversity on the Council and strengthen neighborhood representation.

• Requires the City Council to pass a Code of Ethics for elected officials and appointed members of boards, commissions and committees.

• Creates a permanent Fair Housing and Human Rights Commission to monitor, evaluate and advise the City Council on progress made towards promoting social equity.

Measure C: Sacramento Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Charter Amendment

C.A.R. Position: NO | CtheFacts.org

More about Measure C

Measure C doesn’t create more affordable housing or address homelessness, and it does nothing to protect middle-class families, veterans, or seniors.
• Measure C is a flawed approach that makes it harder to find housing. Sacramento should reject it and pursue better solutions – like building more affordable housing for working families.

Measure C empowers a newly-created Rent Board to take funds from public safety, parks, libraries, and other critical city services – all without oversight.
• During this pandemic and recession, the City should focus on providing services and helping residents, but Measure C would allow a new Rent Board to use tax dollars to pay members and staff.

• The new Rent Board will cost millions of dollars a year. It can set its own budget “without limitation” and could be eligible for taxpayer-funded compensation equal to the city council.

• Measure C lacks appropriate oversight and safeguards to protect the public interest. Rent Board members can receive unlimited campaign contributions from special interests.

Measure C makes Sacramento communities less safe.
• Responsible tenants should have protections, but Measure C protects problem tenants at their expense. It makes it harder to remove problem tenants, including those engaged in criminal activities, i.e., dealing drugs.

• Measure C requires property owners to go through a lengthy judicial process to remove a problem tenant.
Under Measure C, tenants who put the safety and security of their neighbors at risk can stay in their units for months or even years.

Measure C violates existing law and will be tied up in the courts.
• Courts have ruled that Measure C contains several unlawful provisions and noted that if passed, it will be subject to lawsuits.

• Taxpayers will pay legal fees as a result of litigation, money that would be better spent providing rent relief for families and other local services, like fire protection.
Measure C is unnecessary.

• Last year, the Sacramento City Council passed the strongest rent control and renter protections in the city’s history. And California already has the strongest statewide rent control law in the nation. Measure C is not needed.