One of the most egregious bills in Sacramento this legislative session is Assembly Bill 1768. Introduced by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, the bill authorizes exemptions from state sales tax limits in Contra Costa and Los Angeles Counties—just as voters in both counties are contemplating increases to their local sales taxes.
Last week, I wrote a column criticizing the six Republicans in the Legislature (one in the Senate and five in the Assembly) who voted to chip away at taxpayer protections and allow this to happen. I particularly focused on Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, the lone Republican who rose in support of the bill, whose arguments completely mirrored those of the tax-and-spend Democrats.
Due to an editing error, however, the print version of that column erroneously retained a line stating that state Sen. Tony Strickland was the only Republican to speak against the measure on the floor. In reality, a large contingent of Republican senators stood up to fight the bill. They deserve to be commended for standing in opposition to AB 1768.
Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, a former Democrat, criticized the Legislature’s rushed vetting process.
“We have a duty, regardless of where we stand on the sides of the aisle, to carefully scrutinize proposals that could further raise costs on consumers and businesses,” she said. “Yes, this could go towards several much-needed public services in Los Angeles County, but the question is, will it? History has taught us that, yes, it should and it could, but it shall not. We should not be waiving proposals around the normal process.”
Sen. Steven Choi, R-Irvine, pointed out that Californians are already drowning under the state’s high cost of living. “In Orange County and Los Angeles, families are paying $6 to $7 a gallon for gas while facing higher costs for groceries, housing, and utilities,” he noted. “A recent statewide survey found more than 70 percent of Californians believe that they already pay enough in taxes.”
The increased tax burden of AB 1768 will only add to that cost pressure, as Choi rightly points out.
Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, who represents a vast northern district of Los Angeles County—and therefore constituents who will be directly impacted by this vote—spoke at length against the proposal. She targeted both the practical cost pressures on regular families and Sacramento’s relentless push for revenue.
“Families are already paying more in taxes, in fees, in gas prices, in utility costs, housing costs,” she said. “And what do they have to show for it? People don’t feel safer. They don’t feel more financially secure… And yet Sacramento’s answer always seems to be pay more. At some point, people stop feeling like taxpayers and start feeling like ATMs for government.”
Sen. Kelly Seyarto of the Inland Empire echoed those points but zeroed in on the bait-and-switch that often accompanies local tax hikes. Measure ER in Los Angeles County, for instance, is being sold to voters as a boon for the medical system. In reality, it’s a general tax that can be raided for whatever purpose the Board of Supervisors wants—one of the primary reasons our editorial board opposes it.
“Over 35 years, I’ve watched taxes get raised, promises that they are going to go to certain things, especially public safety,” Seyarto said. “And then what happens at the end is, they use this money for the public safety that they said they were going to, but then they take out the same amount of money from somewhere else and the public safety actually stays the same. So the constituents wind up not getting what they were told in the big glossy flyers.”
He’s entirely right about the shell game—and the glossy flyers.
Next up was Sen. Brian Jones of San Diego, who demanded accountability for existing revenue. “How about California fraud? How about the lack of the Governor and his administration in properly auditing the expenditures of his bureaucracies and making sure that the money in Medi-Cal and Medicare and hospice spending is actually getting to the people that we all support?”
Finally, there was Sen. Strickland, who pointed out that his Democratic colleagues wrongly seek to blame national politics for California’s self-inflicted wounds. “I’m just trying to point out the inconsistencies… about people blaming an administration that’s only been there a year and a half, versus the policies that have happened [in Sacramento] over the last 10 years,” he said. “I know the truth hurts, but… let’s put it back into focus, and let’s look at why we got elected.”
These were all sensible, necessary arguments raised by Sens. Alvarado-Gil, Choi, Martinez Valladares, Seyarto, Jones, and Strickland. They stood in defense of California taxpayers and core conservative principles.
Unfortunately, some of their fellow so-called Republicans decided to throw a lifeline to the Democrats. By providing critical votes for passage, they allowed vulnerable Democrats to abstain and avoid taking the heat for a tax hike. Those capitulating lawmakers are Sen. Megan Dahle and Assemblymembers Juan Alanis, Stan Ellis, Greg Wallis, Jeff Gonzalez, and Republican Assembly Leader Heath Flora.
Yes, the Republican leader in the Assembly helped provide a key vote to pave the way for higher taxes. They all have some explaining to do.
Sal Rodriguez can be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com