California Tax on Incomes Exceeding $1 Million for Hospitals, Health Clinics, and Workforce Training Initiative (2018)
| California Tax on Incomes Exceeding $1 Million for Hospitals, Health Clinics, and Workforce Training Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Taxes and Healthcare | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Tax on Incomes Exceeding $1 Million for Hospitals, Health Clinics, and Workforce Training Initiative (#17-0047) did not qualify for the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have enacted a 1 percent tax on income in excess of $1 million and distribute revenue from the tax as follows:[1]
- 70 percent to the Safety Net Hospital Fund, which would have been used to support Safety-Net Hospitals. The initiative would have defined a Safety-Net Hospital as nonprofit or local healthcare district general acute care hospitals that qualify as disproportionate share hospitals and are located in federally-designated medically underserved areas.
- 25 percent to the Community Health Clinic Fund, which would have been used to support Community Health Clinics. The initiative would have defined Community Health Clinics as nonprofit clinics that are in medically-underserved communities and where patients receive free care or are charged based on a sliding scale.
- 5 percent to the Healthcare Workforce Training Fund, which would have been used to fund workforce development and training projects for frontline healthcare workers in California. The initiative would have defined frontline healthcare workers as “workers who provide direct patient care and supporting services in healthcare facilities that provide primary, outpatient, or acute care, including practical and vocational nurses, nursing aides, medical assistants, patient care technicians, environmental services workers, mental health counselors and aides, medical equipment preparers, dietary technicians and aides, occupational therapy assistants and aides, administrative personnel, and others.”
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| " |
Increases Funding for Hospitals, Clinics, and Primary Care Providers Serving Low-Income Patients by Increasing Tax on Personal Income Over $1 Million. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] |
” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| " |
Increases funding for: (1) eligible hospitals, clinics, and primary healthcare providers that serve low-income patients and medically underserved communities; and (2) educating and training certain healthcare workers. Provides dedicated revenue for this funding and program administration by taxing personal income over $1 million an additional 1%. Requires annual audit to verify funds are properly spent. Requires Attorney General or district attorneys to investigate misuse of funds.[3] |
” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| " |
Additional state revenues typically between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion annually, depending on the economy and asset markets. This funding is allocated to safety net hospitals (70 percent), community health clinics (25 percent), and health care workforce development and training projects (5 percent) eligible for funding under the initiative.[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XIII, California Constitution
The measure would have added a Subdivision (h) to Section 36 of Article II of the California Constitution.[1] The full text of the changes is available here.
Background
Personal income tax rates in California, 2017
- See also: Personal income tax
The personal income tax on income of $1 million or greater was 13.3 percent in California in 2017.[4] The 2018 ballot initiative would increase the tax rate on income of $1 million or greater to 14.3 percent beginning in 2019.[1]
| Personal income tax rates in California, 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Income Tax Brackets | Tax Rates |
| $0–$8,223 | 1.00% |
| $8,224–$19,495 | 2.00% |
| $19,496–$30,769 | 4.00% |
| $30,770–$42,711 | 6.00% |
| $42,712–$53,980 | 8.00% |
| $53,981–$275,738 | 9.30% |
| $275,739–$330,884 | 10.30% |
| $330,885–$551,473 | 11.30% |
| $551,474–$999,999 | 12.30% |
| $1,000,000+ | 13.30% |
California Proposition 63
In 2004, voters approved a ballot initiative—Proposition 63—to enact an additional 1 percent tax on income of $1 million or greater. Revenue from the tax was dedicated to mental health services, intervention, education, and training programs.[5]
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 8 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get this measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issued suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The timeline for the initiative was as follows:[6]
- Benjamen Tracey and Michael Borges submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on November 14, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on January 18, 2018.
- On April 20, 2018, the campaign reported collecting at least 25 percent of the required signatures.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 585,407 valid signatures by July 17, 2018, in order for it to make the ballot.
- On August 8, 2018, the secretary of state announced that the initiative failed to make the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0047," November 14, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Franchise Tax Board, "2017 California Tax Rates and Exemptions," accessed May 2, 2018
- ↑ California Legislative Analyst Office, "Proposition 63," accessed May 2, 2018
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed September 28, 2017
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