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Parcel tax measure for education qualifies for November ballot
| Friday, Jun 23 2006 7:15 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 23 2006 7:15 PM
California voters will be asked whether they want to raise property taxes by $50 per parcel under an initiative that qualified Friday for the November ballot.
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The measure would generate about $500 million a year by taxing commercial and residential property. Elderly and disabled people would be exempt. The money could be used only for specific purposes, such as reducing class sizes, buying textbooks and improving school safety.
The measure is being funded by two Silicon Valley executives. Reed Hastings, the Netflix founder who was once a member of the state board of education, has given nearly $7 million to the committee sponsoring the measure. John Doerr, the venture capitalist, gave $2 million.
The initiative joins 11 other proposals that previously made the ballot, although a $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond is expected to be moved to November 2008.
The ballot also features measures to tax oil programs to fund research into alternative energy, increase penalties for sex offenders and monitor them more closely, require parents to be notified before their child has an abortion and raise the cigarette tax to fund health care.
The ballot also features bond measures to pay for transportation improvements, flood control programs, affordable housing, school construction, and water quality programs and new parks.
The deadline for initiatives to qualify for the November ballot is June 29.
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