Help Repeal the Death Tax: Repeal the Death Tax (Proposition 19) to Go to Committees

Help Repeal the Death Tax:

Repeal the Death Tax (Proposition 19) to Go to Committees

Please call the members of the two Senate committees that are considering Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 4 (SCA 4) to "Repeal the Death Tax." Urge them to co-author SCA 4 and put it on the agenda for a hearing.

Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 is the bill that will correct Proposition 19 and allows the Legislature to put “Repeal the Death Tax” on the ballot so voters can restore constitutional rights that were lost when Proposition 19 narrowly passed in 2020 following a very deceptive campaign by its proponents. California’s voters deserve the chance to consider this question again, and this time with full information.

Proposition 19 Summary

Proposition 19, or the “Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act,” is a Constitutional Amendment that imposes new limits on property tax benefits for inherited family property. Under Proposition 19, a child or children may keep the lower property tax base of the parent(s) ONLY IF the property is the principal residence of the parent(s) and the child or children make it their principal residence within one year.

The other component of Proposition 19 allows homeowners who are over 55 years of age, disabled, or victims of a wildfire or natural disaster, to transfer their lower assessed property value of their primary home to a newly purchased or newly constructed replacement principal residence up to three times (or once per disaster). The tax base may be transferred to a property located anywhere in the state.

Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 4 Onto Committee

SCA 4 has now been referred to two Senate committees, the Governance and Finance Committee, and the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee. However, no meetings have yet been scheduled. If passed and signed by Governor Newsom, SCA 4 will restore Proposition 58 and Proposition 193 to the state constitution, once again allowing families to transfer a home and a limited amount of other property between parents and children (and sometimes grandparents and grandchildren) without triggering reassessment to market value and a huge increase in property taxes.

SCA 4 will restore the ability of families in every community to build generational wealth. When parents work hard for decades and pay the mortgage on a home, a rental property and/or a small business property, they’ll again be able to pass on that property to their descendants without a huge property tax increase. No longer will families be forced to sell those wealth-building assets because they cannot afford to pay the property tax bill every year. Families should never be forced by tax increases to sell the property their parents worked so hard to acquire.

PLEASE HELP US TO GET SCA 4 PASSED FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. Please call the members of the two committees which are considering SCA 4 and tell them why it is so important. Ask them to become co-authors of SCA 4 and to schedule a hearing right away. Below are the names and phone numbers of the members of both committees:

Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee

• Senator Steven M. Glazer (Chair) (D): (916) 651-4007
• Senator Janet Nguyen (Vice Chair) (R): (916) 651-4036
• Senator Benjamin Allen (D): (916) 651-4024
• Senator Mike McGuire (D): (916) 651-4002
• Senator Caroline Menjivar (D): (916) 651-4020
• Senator Josh Newman (D): (916) 651-4029
• Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D): (916) 651-4034

Governance and Finance Committee

• Senator Anna Caballero (Chairperson): (916) 651-4014
• Senator Kelly Seyarto (Vice Chairperson): (916) 651-4032
  • Call him to say “thank-you” for authoring SCA 4!
• Senator Catherine Blakespear (D): (916) 651-4038
• Senator Brian Dahle (D): (916) 651-4001
• Senator María Elena Durazo (D): (916) 651-4026
• Senator Steven M. Glazer (D): (916) 651-4007
• Senator Nancy Skinner (D): (916) 651-4009
• Senator Scott D. Wiener (D): (916) 651-4011

Please also call your state representatives in the Senate and Assembly and urge them to become co-authors of SCA 4. You can look up the names and contact information for your representatives at www.findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov or in the government pages of your local phone directory.

SCA 4 could be on the ballot as early as March 5, 2024, if we make enough phone calls to persuade two-thirds of the Legislature to vote yes. It’s possible — in 1986, the nearly identical measure that became Proposition 58 passed the Legislature unanimously. So please call your representatives and urge them to co-author SCA 4 to protect California families.