PROPOSITION 37
Fees. Vote requirements. Taxes.
Currently, the state can impose a “regulatory fee”
on an activity, business or person, such as oil or tobacco
companies, for specific purposes such as conducting research on the
environmental and health effects of their industry and to provide
money for treatment or cleanup programs. By amending the
constitution, Proposition 37 threatens to let companies in
California get away with the damage they cause to society and the
environment.
This initiative would reclassify these “regulatory
fees” to “taxes.” A tax requires a two-thirds
vote to pass, whereas a fee requires only a majority. If passed,
the proposition would make it more difficult for the state
Legislature to achieve the number of votes to charge industries for
their damage to the state.
Proposition 37 would make it more difficult to hold companies
accountable. Instead, taxpayers are likely to end up picking up the
bill.
Voting no on Proposition 37 would be in accordance with the 1997
California Supreme Court decision which upheld a law that forced
companies who used lead-based paint to study the effects of lead
poisoning and treat children who suffered from it. Proposition 37
will allow companies to escape accountability and threatens to make
us pay for their mess. Vote no on Proposition 37.