The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com By Jon Coupal – September 11, 2025 Urgent: Call the Capitol NOW! The Legislature is trying to stop our Save Prop. 13 initiative. NO on SB 423. Call today! Late Tuesday night, the Legislature gutted a bill about inmate firefighters and amended it into a bill designed to DESTROY the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Prop 13. Senate Bill 423 MUST BE STOPPED! Here’s what SB 423 does: it makes tax relief for fire victims in the Pacific Palisades CONDITIONAL on our Save Prop. 13 initiative not qualifying for the ballot! Here’s the excerpt from the bill showing that relief for Palisades fire victims from L.A.’s real estate transfer tax “shall not become operative” if our Save Prop. 13 ballot measure (Initiative 25-0006A1 or earlier versions) goes forward: SB 423 is also a giveaway to Los Angeles developers, and the Legislature’s plan seems to be to try to stop our initiative by coercing or enticing those potential supporters to oppose our initiative and starve it of campaign funds. We can’t let this happen. Our initiative is critically important to protecting Proposition 13. Here’s what it does: Requires a two-thirds vote to pass all local special taxes, no exceptions Bans and repeals transfer taxes (sales taxes on real estate) higher than 0.11 percent These are provisions that were in Proposition 13 but have been weakened by court-created loopholes. The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 closes those loopholes and will save taxpayers billions of dollars. Please call your representatives in the state Assembly and Senate TODAY and urge them to VOTE NO on SB 423. You can look up their names and contact information at findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov. And if you possibly can, please strengthen this campaign to Save Prop. 13 with a donation in any amount to the Protect Prop. 13 committee. Thank you! Jon Coupal is President of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association EDITOR'S NOTE: For Crescent City/Del Norte County: Assemblyman Chris Rogers 707 445-7014 Senator Mike McGuire 707 838 3279. It took me a combined total of 1 minute to leave a message on each of their voice mails.