BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 809
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
809 (Obernolte) - As Amended March 26, 2015
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|Policy |Elections and Redistricting |Vote:|2 - 2 |
|Committee: | | | |
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|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Elections and Redistricting | |6 - 0 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Elections and Redistricting | |4 - 3 |
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| | | | |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires, if a local ordinance imposes a tax or raises
an existing tax rate, that the ballot include a statement
providing the amount of money to be raised annually and the rate
AB 809
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and duration of the tax.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Any costs to add the statement would be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, AB 809 is a small step
toward providing greater transparency, and "will help voters
be better informed when making decisions that could impact
their personal budgets."
In support, the California Taxpayers Association states, "When
voters are asked whether to support a tax, basic information
about the tax should be abundantly clear on the ballot. While
the ballot statements for tax ordinances may occasionally
contain the rate and the sunset date of proposed taxes, this
is not always the case?The most critical information of a tax
proposal should be readily apparent, and should not be hidden
from voters."
2)Prior Legislation. AB 2551 (Wilk), Chapter 908, Statutes of
2014, requires for each local bond measure, the statement
mailed to voters with the sample ballot prior to include the
best estimate from official sources of the total debt service.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 809
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