What’s Next for Prop 15

July 29, 2020
Blog
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Schools and Communities First, Prop 15, Policy + Elections, Prop 13 Reform

We’re about 100 days away from the 2020 election. There are plenty of consequential decisions to make on this year’s ballot, but one California ballot measure is at the forefront of TechEquity’s current work: Proposition 15. 

Since 2018, TechEquity has been part of a broad and diverse group of over 300 organizations dubbed the Schools and Communities First Coalition (SCF). Working in lockstep with these coalition partners—community organizations, labor unions, business leaders, philanthropic foundations, and elected officials—TechEquity’s volunteers helped qualify Prop 15 for the ballot earlier this year.

If passed this November, Prop 15 will close corporate property tax loopholes (read more about the 1978 proposition that created those loopholes, and why they are problematic here) and restore $11.5 billion dollars every year to fund public education and local services. 

California simply can’t afford to allow our state’s wealthiest corporate landholders to avoid paying their fair share in property taxes. Now more than ever, the state desperately needs funds for public education and local services such as homelessness prevention, childcare for low-income families, and affordable housing. Passing Prop 15 will also create incentives for property owners to develop land that is currently underutilized, which would drive more housing and economic development.

Volunteers gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot (pre-COVID, thankfully!)

This initiative is critical for California’s future, especially in exiting the pandemic and ensuing recession. Now that the initiative is qualified for the ballot, how do we cross the finish line and win in November?

Our pathway to victory is speaking to voters and securing their support early, so we’re getting to work right away. Over the next three months, our coalition is launching ambitious grassroots organizing and digital communications programs to overwhelm our corporate opposition.

This work has already begun with TechEquity volunteers turning out weekly for online phone banks to educate voters about Prop 15. In the last two weeks alone, volunteers have contacted 3,252 voters!

You can sign up here to join one of our phonebanking sessions, or sign up here to become a campaign volunteer. The next 100 days will determine the future of our schools and communities statewide—let’s do this.