We are excited to announce that the League of Women Voters California is now a member of the Make It Fair coalition, a California coalition dedicated to closing the commercial property tax loophole created by Proposition 13. This is an issue the League has been working on for years. More information about the coalition is on the Web site, and on the attached flyer.

You can like Make It Fair on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Their blog is here, and further information from the statewide alliance California Calls is here.

Here's an exclusive three minute video of Robert Reich discussing the critical need for California to close the corporate loopholes of Prop 13.

Update,  November 2015:
The Make It Fair coalition has decided not to pursue an initiative for the November 2016 ballot. The League’s statement is on the website (https://lwvc.org/announcement/2015/nov/make-it-fair-california-update)

The Make It Fair Coalition was formed to work for reform of Proposition 13 by changing the unfair way in which commercial property is taxed in California. The League of Women Voters of California joined the Make It Fair campaign because school districts and local governments in California desperately need more revenue to rebuild services and restore educational opportunities for the state’s children.

Together, over the past several months, the Make it Fair Coalition has made huge progress in bringing real reform to Prop 13 to the forefront of public debate. A few major accomplishments include:

• Securing nearly 300 organizational endorsements, speaking directly with over 100,000 voters, generating significant press coverage, and training activists across California.
• Working with a cutting-edge team of experts to develop a policy package and securing the introduction of a proposed constitutional amendment in the state Senate.
• Changing public attitudes: a September 2015 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that 55 percent of likely voters support commercial property tax reform, an increase of five percentage points from the previous survey in May.

Even with this significant and encouraging progress, the Make It Fair coalition has decided not to pursue an initiative for the November 2016 ballot. Instead, Make It Fair will work to build an even more powerful coalition, expand public education, make the electorate reflective of California’s diverse population, and raise funds to ensure the success of any future initiative. Make It Fair is serious about reform and will continue to be in touch as plans for the coming months take shape.League members embraced the Make It Fair campaign strongly; we anticipate that that support will continue and grow, as the whole coalition works to keep this issue vibrant and expand public support.

The coalition is definitely still together, and will be working on two fronts: public education about the state budget, and especially about Prop 13; and engaging more Californians as active voters. The more that we can make the voting population look like California, the more likely we are to be able to pass significant reforms.