Ziay!

Wondering

What if a new tax is designated for a specific cause? Does the 50% rule apply then?

Kevin

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Regards.

Joseph

Good question. The text of the proposition itself does not make any mention of the specific percentage of California state revenues that must go to education (the act provides for monies to go to school districts and community college districts). Rather, there is a formula:

"SECTION 8. School Funding Priority

(a) From all state revenues there shall first be set apart the monies to be applied by the state for support of the public school system and public institutions of higher education.

(b) Commencing with the 1988-89 fiscal year, the monies to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts shall be not less than the greater of:

(1) The amount which, as a percentage of the State General Fund revenues which may be appropriated pursuant to Article XIIIB, equals the percentage of such State General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts, respectively, in fiscal year 1986-87; or

(2) The amount required to ensure that the total allocations to school districts and community college districts from the State General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIIIB and allocated local proceeds of taxes shall not be less than the total amount from these sources in the prior year, adjusted for increases in enrollment, and adjusted for changes in the cost of living pursuant to the provisions of Article XIIIB.

(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) of this Section may be suspended for one year by the enactment of an urgency statute pursuant to Section 8 of Article IV, provided that no urgency statute enacted under this subdivision, may be made part of or included within any bill enacted pursuant to Section 12 of Article IV."

A look at newspaper articles published since the passage of Proposition 98 indicate that the percentage fluctuates with state revenue (e.g. in 1997 then Governor Pete Wilson maintained that Proposition 98 mandated that 60% of all spending go to schools -- see San Jose Mercury, 1/13/97). Also, in an editorial on 4/28/97 the L.A. Daily News highlights how school spending can decline precipitously during economic downturns.