Prop. 13 tax cut wins by landslide

June 6, 1978: California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, the landmark initiative that capped the property tax rate and the rate by which it could be increased, and cut taxes by rolling back property values to their 1975-76 levels.

The measure, which passed with 65% of the vote, also prevented any future state tax increases without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, and effectively left it to the state to distribute property taxes that had previously been collected and spent locally.

Howard Jarvis, 75, the initiative’s driving force and coauthor, told a crowd at the Biltmore Hotel, “We have a new revolution.”

He added: “The people is going to run the government and the government is not going to run the people,” The Times reported.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who had opposed the measure, said: “The people have ruled tonight. They are the final judge. And I will make it my job to make sure that what they ask will be provided.”