The Business View of Ballot Propositions

Voters going to the polls for the California primary Tuesday will cast ballots on five propositions including ones that focus on earthquake-proofing buildings and changing the way elections are held.

Proposition 13 (Seismic Retrofitting) would prohibit tax assessors from re-evaluating new construction for property tax purposes when the new construction is meant to seismically retrofit an existing building. If passed, the proposition would ensure that earthquake safety improvements made to unreinforced masonry buildings, such as those that use bricks, would not result in higher property taxes until the building was sold.

"The Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce supports this because it's a realistic approach to providing protection to businesses that have to construct seismic upgrades to their property, without being penalized by paying more in property taxes," said Shaun Lumachi, president of Chamber Advocacy, a professional consulting firm that works with chambers of commerce in California. 

Given Redondo Beach's geographic proximity to earthquake faults, he said, this proposition would have a major effect on the business community and would provide business owners with an incentive to make their buildings safer.

Proposition 14 (Open Primaries) would require that candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff. The new system would take effect in the 2012 elections.

"Conventional wisdom says if you win the primary, you will have a fair chance of winning the general election. So if this measure passes, it will level the playing field for all candidates regardless of party and partisanship," Lumachi said. "It will allow more candidates to run. It will create more competition."

Lumachi said the measure would encourage candidates to reach out to more than just their base of support. So Republicans, he believes, would reach out to Democrats and vice versa. "In Redondo Beach it will increase the possibility of more local candidates running for office," he said.

"If you are a large business and have the ability to lobby, this proposition could be a great thing for you," said Mike Morales, owner of gift store Harmony Works and a representative of the Riviera Village Association.

Proposition 15 (California Fair Election Act) calls for providing public financing for secretary of state candidates in the 2014 and 2018 elections. It would ask candidates for the position who want public funds to prove they have substantial support by gathering signatures and $5 contributions from 7,500 registered voters.

The proposition would also call for registration fees to be increased from $12.50 to $350 per year on lobbyists, lobbying firms and lobbyist employers to fund candidates for secretary of state.

"We do not support the idea of taxing one industry to pay for another industry," Lumachi said. "It's not fair to tax lobbyists to supply more funds for a government financed political process. It's a cumbersome administrative burden and is unfair."

Supporters of this proposition say it's a good way to curtail the influence of the billions of dollars raised and spent by California politicians in elections. By choosing public funding, candidates will be able to use more time to communicate with voters, instead of fundraising.

However, Lumachi said the proposition would result in a cumbersome process.

"Our concern is that soliciting $5 contributions from 7,500 people is an administrative burden on a candidate and opens up potential for fraud," he said.

Proposition 16 (Taxpayers Right To Vote Act) is funded heavily by utility company PG&E. This proposition would require a two-thirds voter approval before local governments could provide electricity service to customers or implement a community choice electricity program using public funds or bonds.

Lumachi said the chamber opposes this measure because expanding the approval process for a city council that wants to approve a community choice program would tie the hands of the local government.

"The process to form a community choice aggregation is very extensive and provides for enough public input within the process," Lumachi said. "Requiring a supermajority just goes way too far."

Morales said he "heartily agrees" with the chamber's position.

"We elect officials to make decisions for us and then we say 'OK, now we want to take power away from the officials we elected, and we want to all vote on everything,' " he said. "It grinds everything to a halt and makes it difficult for business because we rely on working with the government to achieve success."

Morales also said the proposition might raise electricity rates. "If local governments get involved with the community, they have the community's overall welfare in mind," he continued. "They might do a better job of negotiating, and might actually bring the prices down. That would help small businesses for whom electricity is a major expense."

Proposition 17 (Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act) would allow an insurer to determine cost of insurance depending on whether a driver has a history of continuous coverage. Most insurance companies in California already award "continuous coverage" discount to consumers.

"Everybody has or should have insurance and this proposition directly impacts just about every taxpayer in Redondo Beach," Lumachi said, adding that it was especially important because of the troubled economy.

"To a certain degree, voters might see this as a way of ensuring that they can transport their discount from one insurance carrier to another. Because of the economy people are looking for opportunities to save money and protect the discount they already have, and that might just help push this proposition," he said.