Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care by Extending Existing Tax on High Incomes.
Makes permanent the existing 2012 voter-approved tax rates for high-income Californians, currently set to expire in 2031. Rates apply to income over about $371,000 for single filers, $742,000 for joint filers, and $505,000 for heads of household (2025 levels; adjusted annually for inflation). Allocates tax revenues 89% to K–12 schools, 11% to community colleges. Allows local school boards to decide how revenues are spent; bars use for administrative costs. Increases General Fund revenues available for health care, budget reserves, and other programs.
A YES vote on this measure means: An income tax increase on high-income earners in place since 2012 would become permanent instead of expiring in 2031.
A NO vote on this measure means: An income tax increase on high-income earners in place since 2012 would expire in 2031.
Not published by the state
Maintains $5 billion to $15 billion of annual state income tax revenue by making a temporary tax increase on high-income earners permanent instead of letting it expire in 2031.
PROPOSITION 3 PROTECTS OUR SCHOOLS, HEALTHCARE AND OUR COMMUNITIES WITHOUT RAISING YOUR TAXES. Proposition 3 is NOT a new tax and does NOT raise taxes on anyone. Prop. 3 prevents millionaires and billionaires from getting a tax cut, and requires strict accountability and audits to ensure school funding gets to classrooms. PROP. 3 PREVENTS BILLIONS IN CUTS TO OUR SCHOOLS AND HEALTHCARE. Without Prop. 3, California’s 8 million public school and community college students face billions in cuts, including teacher layoffs, overcrowded classrooms and bigger class sizes. Families could lose access to preventive healthcare and affordable prescription drugs, and the Medi-Cal coverage that millions of Californians rely on could be put at risk. PROP. 3 ONLY EXTENDS THE CURRENT TAX RATES ON THE WEALTHIEST TOP 2%. Prop. 3 maintains the income tax rates that the wealthiest Californians have paid for the past 15 years. If those tax rates are allowed to expire, it would give millionaires and billionaires a massive tax cut at the expense of our classrooms, clinics and communities. Proposition 3 keeps the existing rates on the top 2% of incomes. GUARANTEES THE MONEY REACHES THE CLASSROOM— NOT SACRAMENTO. Proposition 3 includes Constitutional protections and tough accountability. It guarantees that funds from Proposition 3 go directly to local schools—the Legislature and Sacramento politicians cannot touch it, redirect it, or spend a single dollar on bureaucracy or administrative overhead. Prop. 3’s school guarantee then frees up billions that help fund Medi-Cal for children, seniors and families. Every dollar in Prop. 3 is independently audited every year and any official who misuses the money faces prosecution and criminal penalties. Local school districts must post annual accounting online to guarantee that Californians know exactly how and where funds are spent. PROP. 3 SECURES OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE. For more than a decade, these revenues have helped fund critical programs California families and communities count on—from school lunches, smaller class sizes and mental health counselors to children’s healthcare and Medi-Cal. They’ve also helped stave off cuts during economic downturns by investing more in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, protecting our schools and healthcare when the economy slows. Proposition 3 keeps that progress going for the next generation. PROP. 3 IS SUPPORTED BY TEACHERS, NURSES, AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS. Yes on 3 is supported by: California State PTA California Federation of Teachers California Nurses Association California School Employees Association California School Nurses Organization California Teachers Association Community College League of California Nurse Alliance of SEIU California Planned Parenthood Affiliates of CA The educators in our classrooms and the nurses who care for our kids all agree: Vote YES on Proposition 3. Let’s protect what matters most, without raising your taxes. Vote YES on Proposition 3. www.YesProp3CA.com
David Goldberg, President; California Teachers Association; Katie Nilsson, RN, President; California School Nurses Organization; Jodi Hicks, President; Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Jon Coupal, President; Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association; Carlos Solorzano, CEO; Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco; Clint Olivier, President; Central Valley Business Federation
PROP. 3—TURNS “TEMPORARY” TAXES INTO PERMANENT HIGHER INCOME TAXES Sacramento politicians make big promises to get our support for higher taxes. Then they spend our tax dollars with no accountability—losing billions to waste, fraud and overspending. Take Prop. 3. Politicians told voters higher income taxes would be temporary—only for seven years to cover a budget deficit. Then those “temporary” taxes were extended for another 12 years with the promise to voters that the higher taxes would solve the problems the politicians created. Now the special interests and politicians want to make these higher income taxes PERMANENT. California voters should say NO to PERMANENTLY higher income taxes. PROP. 3—HIGHER INCOME TAXES = HIGHER COST OF LIVING Californians have the nation’s highest cost of living partly because we also suffer from the highest income taxes, highest sales taxes and highest gas taxes of all fifty states. The same politicians also gave us the highest gasoline prices in the nation, higher insurance costs, higher utility costs, higher food costs, and higher housing costs. Now they want to make higher income taxes permanent, while adding new taxes on your health insurance, new taxes on software—and they are even considering a “jobs” tax. Say NO to INCREASING our cost of living with higher taxes. PROP. 3—VOTERS DESERVE REAL RESULTS, NOT BROKEN PROMISES Waste, fraud and overspending by state government is not an excuse to raise our taxes even higher. The politicians and special interests promised temporary income taxes were needed to avoid big cuts to government programs. Since the “temporary” increases were first passed, government spending has increased by $150 billion—a more than 2.5X increase. Over the same time period, our schools, infrastructure and public safety have gotten worse. Say NO to endless broken promises. NO ON PROP. 3—STOP WASTEFUL SPENDING The politicians and special interests turned a $100 billion budget surplus into a $30 billion budget deficit in just three years. They mismanaged our tax dollars so badly, they now want voters to bail them out with permanently higher taxes. Say NO to $100 billion wasted on a train to nowhere. Say NO to $37 billion wasted on homeless programs that don’t work. Say NO to $31 billion wasted on unemployment fraud. NO ON PROP. 3—FIX SACRAMENTO’S SPENDING PROBLEM BEFORE RAISING TAXES California doesn’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem. California’s population barely grew in the past 10 years, but the politicians more than doubled spending. It’s not just state taxes that keep going up. Politicians and special interests have imposed more than 2,000 new local tax increases in just the past ten years—making it much harder for struggling Californians to make ends meet. Californians shouldn’t support any higher taxes until we get spending under control. STOP WASTEFUL SPENDING. NO NEW TAXES. NO ON PROP. 3.
Robert Gutierrez, President; California Taxpayers Association; Robert Rivinius, President; Family Business Association of California; Julian Canete, President; California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
www.YesProp3CA.com Jeff Freitas, President; California Federation of Teachers; Darrell Roberts, President; California Professional Firefighters; Adam Weinberger, President; California School Employees Association
Both columns use the same layout. Text is quoted from the official state guide. Views expressed belong to the argument authors.