Gov. Jerry Brown can begin collecting signatures on his tax initiative thanks to a timely release by state Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
Minutes before Brown took the podium in the Assembly chambers for his State of the State address, Harris' office issued petition language on his plan to ask voters for a temporary hike in income taxes on the rich and sales taxes.
The governor received a favorable title: "TEMPORARY TAXES TO FUND EDUCATION. GUARANTEED LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING."
Brown hopes to frame his initiative as a $6.9 billion increase to pay for schools and public safety, the two highest-priority issues for voters.
Though the measure directs the entirety of initiative taxes to schools, not all of the tax hike would benefit education because it frees up state leaders to use other dollars to help maintain other programs such as health and welfare, corrections and universities.
Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an opponent of Brown's tax measure, said he wasn't too concerned about the language Harris used for signature-gathering purposes. "Where I think we'll be asking for a higher degree of objectivity is title and summary for purposes of the ballot," he said.
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