Say NO to L.A.’s Measures ULA and SP, and NO to Pasadena Rent Control!

The following is a repost of the mailer received from The Brennan Law Firm.

Stop the Further Spread of Rent Control – Don’t Let Tenant Groups Have a Mandate for More! No More Tax Hikes! Measures ULA and SP Will Increase The Cost Of Living For All L.A. Residents.

City of Los Angeles’ New Tax Proposals

 With today’s inflation exceeding 8% and at a 40-year high, there’s no way we should be increasing any taxes that make it more expensive to live or work in the Los Angeles area. And this is exactly what Measures ULA and SP want to do. Measures ULA and SP will appear on the November ballot and be decided upon by the City of Los Angeles’ voters. You must vote NO on these ballot measures.

Together, these two measures create a $1.1 billion property tax increase — the largest tax increase in the city’s history — that will drive up the cost of everything. If they pass, rents for apartments and small businesses will go up by 6%. Owners of commercial buildings and multifamily housing will be “hit” the most by the passage of these measures, and as a result, prices for consumer goods and all types of services will be increased to pay for these new taxes – ultimately, consumers will bear the burden of these two measures through higher prices on goods and services of all kinds.

And make no mistake about it, measures ULA and SP will increase property taxes for L.A. renters, 
homeowners, and small businesses — dismantling decades of Prop 13 protections!

More About Measure ULA

•  Measure ULA, the so-called “United to House L.A.” initiative would put a new “documentary transfer tax” on property sales of $5 million or more. Any property that sells for between $5 million and $10 million would be hit with a tax of 4% of the sale price, and properties selling for more than $10 million would get slammed with a tax of 5.5%. That’s an $800 million new tax and a lot of money for transferring documents.

•  Measure ULA would be the largest property tax increase in the City of Los Angeles’ history — a whopping 34% hike! The measure would result in a special interest giveaway to a select few â€śaffordable housing” developers in Los Angeles who on average charge $600,000 to $800,000 a unit while increasing costs for everyday Angelenos.

•  The stated purpose of the new Measure ULA tax is to address, what else, homelessness. Some of the money would go toward the construction of 26,000 new units of housing over ten years. The rest of the money would go toward homelessness prevention, a combination of emergency rent relief, income assistance for disabled tenants, and free legal services for tenants facing eviction. However, we have already seen the disaster of Measure HHH, the lagging deployment of funds, and the skyrocketing costs of construction under Measure HHH with one-bedroom units costing upwards of $800,000 each!

•  Proponents claim the measure is targeting billionaires…don’t buy the B.S. New taxes will need to be paid for somehow, and that somehow is through higher prices on all goods and services. Ultimately, average consumers will bear the costs associated with these additional taxes.

•  Measure ULA would establish a new layer of government bureaucracy through the new, “L.A. Citizens Oversight Committee” and Tenant Councils that could cost taxpayers as much $70 million a year in new administrative and overhead costs.

More About Measure SP

•  Proponents of the measure say it is a simple extension of Proposition K … don’t buy it for a second. Proposition K does not expire until 2026, and Measure SP is a 908% increase over Proposition K!

•  Measure SP would raise the property taxes for renters, homeowners, and small businesses in L.A., 
which would result in price increases on all types of consumer goods and services.

•  If passed, the average family of four would pay hundreds of dollars more each year in additional 
property taxes.

•  Measure SP would allow the City of Los Angeles to levy a “special tax” of about eight cents per 
square foot to help fund parks and other recreational projects.

•  Measure SP’s tax increase is being proposed despite the fact that Angelenos already pay for new 
parks through two existing tax measures.

•  The City of Los Angeles already has $150 million in unallocated park funds that should be used 
before Angeleno homeowners are forced to pay another tax hike. Measure SP is completely 
unnecessary.

Pasadena Rent Control Measure

Also, on the ballot, this November is a proposal to impose rent control and tenant eviction protections in the City of Pasadena. If this ballot measure passes, the new law would:

•  Limit rent increases to 75% of the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index;
•  Establish a Pasadena Rental Housing Board; and
•  Provide guidelines around “just cause” evictions.

We cannot let this measure pass – Tenant groups will be more likely to attempt similar measures in other jurisdictions – DON’T give tenant groups a mandate to pass more rent control! We cannot let this measure pass. The Apartment Association has formed a coalition of stakeholders to oppose the ballot measure. PLEASE HELP!  Let’s stop this now!  If we fail, tenant groups will have a mandate to establish strict rent control measures within other jurisdictions. Please support the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles’s Issues PAC.

HELP Defeat These Ballot Proposals

We cannot afford to allow Measures ULA and SP, nor the Pasadena rent control ballot initiative pass this November.  Vote NO. Give to our issues PAC today. We have undertaken major fundraising efforts to defeat Measures ULA and SP, and the rent control ballot initiative in Pasadena. These funds will be used to conduct research and buy media and create collateral materials, among other things, 
to oppose the ballot initiative.  

For More Information:
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
621 South Westmoreland Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90010
Tel. (213) 384-4131

California 2022 Ballot Measures

https://youtu.be/yTCpwVMBiB8

There’s always some new tax to “help the homeless,” or for “education.” This election cycle is full of such ballots. Get educated on them.

This episode of California Insider serves as an overview to the ballots that will appear on the General Election 2022.

SB 679: Los Angeles County Affordable Housing? NOPE!

BACKGROUND (Courtesy of the Pacific West Association of Realtors®)
SB 679 creates a finance agency to fund the construction of subsidized housing developments. The agency can also purchase existing residential properties, including single family homes further contributing to the shortage of homeownership opportunities.

SB 679 grants an unchecked tax and bond authority to a 21 member “governing board” that could authorize local ballot initiatives to impose: a parcel tax, gross receipt tax, documentary transfer tax or authorize the issuance of bonds. Any of those taxes or costs on their own would create new burdens for homeowners struggling in a tough economic environment. Furthermore, the bill has no cap on the maximum amount homeowners can be taxed and these taxes could be layered on top of each other.

SB 679 is completely unnecessary and duplicative. There is no need for a costly new bureaucracy to do things that can already be undertaken by Los Angeles County in conjunction with its cities.

Click Here To Contact Your Legislature

Susan Shelley, VP of Communications at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association, was previously on with the AOA USA to discuss SB 679. You may recognize her from her appearance on my program. You can see my discussion with her below.