California ag groups denounce governor’s backing of Proposition 15

Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of support for Proposition 15, the split-roll property tax initiative, California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said the endorsement ignores the measure’s harmful impact on the state’s rural communities.

According to a Farm Bureau news release, Proposition 15 would establish a split-roll property tax that would reassess and raise taxes on commercial and industrial property, including agricultural facilities.

“Unfortunately, Gov. Newsom has sided with public employee unions over the hardworking folks in California’s rural and agricultural communities by endorsing Proposition 15. Without a doubt, Proposition 15 will raise taxes on California farmers and ranchers, at a time when they are already suffering from the effects of the pandemic. The measure would increase taxes on barns, dairies, wineries, processing plants, vineyards, orchards and other agricultural improvements,” Johansson said.

“That will harm our farming and ranching community, but the impacts go far beyond that, by further reducing access to affordable, healthy, locally grown food. Californians’ grocery bills will increase, adding to the worries of people who already struggle to pay their bills,” he said.

“As farms, ranches and all businesses struggle during the pandemic, and with millions of Californians unemployed or underemployed, this is a particularly poor time to make people pay more for basic necessities such as milk, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables.

“We will continue to inform voters about the true and negative impact Proposition 15 will have on all Californians,” Johansson said..

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 34,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of nearly 5.6 million Farm Bureau members.

Western Growers responds

In response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s endorsement of Prop 15, Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia issued the following statement:

“California farms and businesses are withering under a hostile and worsening legal and regulatory climate that has been compounded by the COVID-19 economic shutdowns. It is therefore very regrettable that Governor Newsom endorsed a ballot initiative that promises to hike the property taxes of business and farms by $11.5 billion. We need relief from the massive weight of California regulatory and tax policies that are increasingly motivating business owners to escape to friendlier states and countries. Prop. 15, if passed, will add even more fuel to the motivation to quit California. As a business owner himself, the Governor certainly understands this and should have started a badly needed realignment of the state’s policies toward business enterprises by opposing Prop 15. Despite this setback, we are confident that the voices of the people who drive California’s economy will persuade the voters to reject Prop 15.”