SDUT: Prop 13 change a giant tax hike – not a ‘fix’

State Sens. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, and Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, and several liberal groups want state voters to make a fundamental change in Proposition 13. That’s the landmark measure approved in 1978 that limits property taxes to 1 percent of assessed value and limits the amount that assessments can be increased to 2 percent a year – unless the property changes hands, at which point it can be reassessed. Mitchell’s and Hancock’s legislation, if adopted by two-thirds of the Legislature, would set a November 2016 public vote on whether there should be regular reassessments of all industrial and commercial properties. (The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 13, 2015)