Did the voters of California just reject a tax hike? While it may come as a surprise to some, that is exactly what happened after voters in the state rejected a ballot initiative Tuesday that sought to raise taxes on incomes of over $2 million toward various green initiatives.
A majority of Californians voted against Proposition 30 Wednesday morning with 100% of precincts partially reporting, per Just The News. According to the outlet, the initiative called to raise taxes by 1.75% on citizens with an income over $2 million in order to fund EV incentives, EV infrastructure, and wildfire prevention.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom notably opposed the bill, urging citizens to cast a “no” vote on the measure.
Clean Air California, the group that pushed the “Yes on 30” campaign, acknowledged the proposition’s loss early Wednesday morning, shortly after the Associated Press called its defeat.
“Although we came up short, the strong support for this measure from firefighters, public health groups, environmentalists, labor and many of the state’s leaders shows the urgency for action,” the campaign said in a statement. “Polls showed that a majority of voters supported Prop 30 until thirty of the richest people in the world spent tens of millions of dollars on lies and disinformation.”
With the measure defeated, Clean Air California said the “burden is now on the governor to work with legislative leaders to find other ways to fund the transition to a cleaner equitable transportation system and to prevent and control catastrophic wildfires.”
Prop 30’s loss may come as a surprise to some, especially given the voting history of the state on taxes as they relate to transportation. California Proposition 6, a ballot measure calling for a repeal of a gas tax disproportionately affecting the wallets of lower-income Americans, was rejected by a strong majority of voters in 2018.
Then-Governor Jerry Brown took to social media to oppose the proposition, calling it “dangerous” and “bad for California.”
Vote NO on Proposition 6. It’s dangerous. And bad for California. 🚫#NOprop6https://t.co/0sfOjNMEpA
— Jerry Brown (@JerryBrownGov) October 31, 2018
In wake of Prop 30’s defeat, Clean Air California said the “burden is now on the governor to work with legislative leaders to find other ways to fund the transition to a cleaner equitable transportation system and to prevent and control catastrophic wildfires.”
Meanwhile, Proposition 1, which plans to codify abortion of a human baby up until the day of birth, passed with a strong majority of 65.02% to 34.98%.
