Proposition 21 – The Auto Club Urges Voters To Get The Facts

Proposition 21 - Establishes $18 Annual Vehicle License Surcharge To Help Fund State Parks And Wildlife Programs

Proposition 21 would impose an additional $18 annual vehicle license surcharge on nearly all California-registered vehicles. It would generate $500 million per year, with 85 percent going to state parks and 15 percent going to wildlife and open-space preservation. Surcharged vehicles would have free admission to state parks. Other state park fees (for camping, fishing, boating, etc.) would remain. Funding and free admission would not be provided for national parks (like Yosemite) or city and county parks.

Supporters include the California State Parks Foundation and conservation groups such as the National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy California, and Audubon California. Supporters say that repeated budget cuts to parks and beaches put parks and wildlife at risk. They state that parks have accumulated a backlog of more than $1 billion in maintenance and repairs.

Opponents include taxpayer groups such as the California Taxpayers’ Association and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. They claim that Proposition 21 is a ploy to bring back the car tax, allow the state to divert existing park funding to other wasteful projects, and raise taxes without addressing California’s most urgent issues such as schools, universities and road construction.

The Auto Club urges members to get all the facts before they vote. Our parks are a valuable resource that should be adequately funded and maintained. But to achieve this goal, Proposition 21 would side-step the normal budget process and make California motorists the primary funders of the state parks’ budget, whether or not they use the parks (and most do not).

The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst notes that not all of the money would have to be used to expand programs or for new projects. The state could, as opponents claim, divert money now being spent on parks to other uses. Annual vehicle registration fees now range from $66 - 86 (depending on county and age of vehicle). With the $18 fee increase, many vehicle owners will pay annual registration fees that exceed $100, plus the vehicle license fee, which can add hundreds more. And this could be only the beginning of efforts to target motorists with higher taxes to fund other government programs. With unemployment at record highs and a stalled economy, now might not be the best time to add more fees on car owners.

For more information on Proposition 21, please see the following links:

To review the “Quick Reference Guide” prepared by the Secretary of State, including the full text of Proposition 21, click here - http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/21/

For a summary and analysis of Proposition 21 from the Secretary of State’s Official Voter Information Guide, click here - http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/pdf/english/21-title-summ-analysis.pdf

To review the pro and con arguments and rebuttals from the Secretary of State’s Official Voter Information Guide, click here - http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/pdf/english/21-arg-rebuttals.pdf

For more information from the Yes on 21 campaign, click here - http://www.yesforstateparks.com/

For more information from the No on 21 campaign, click here - http://www.voteno21.com/