By Arlene Mechetti

The narrow passage of Proposition 19 in the November 2020 election dealt a devastating blow to rental housing owners in California and warrants remedy at the ballot box.

Although the first part of Prop 19 has merit, other portions would have dire tax consequences on future generations and must be repealed. The positive piece of Prop 19 allows seniors, the disabled and victims of wildfire to move their Prop 13-protected tax base anywhere in the state up to three times.

This new benefit, known as “portability,” would remain untouched and not be affected by the current repeal effort. The California Association of Realtors originally sponsored legislation to grant this benefit in 2018 but were unsuccessful due to opposition by several unions who feared a loss of revenue from seniors transferring low base-year values.


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