Anti-Measure T Tax Claims False

* When Orange County voters try to decide how to vote on Measure T, which proposes changing to a charter form of government, they will be seriously misled if they read the opponents’ arguments in the sample ballot.

There is no factual foundation to opponents’ statements that we would lose the protection provided by Proposition 13 against property tax increases or that a charter could cancel our right under Proposition 62 to vote on taxes. The question about whether Propositions 13 and 62 would apply to a charter county was thoroughly researched by the legislative counsel of California in December. His conclusion was: “The authority granted to a charter county by the California Constitution does not allow a charter county to limit or preclude the application to that county of either Proposition 13 or Proposition 62.”

But you don’t have to rely on a legal opinion or on the arguments of those on either side of the issue. Trust your own common sense. Do you think a local charter could overturn Proposition 13, which is embedded in the state Constitution? Twelve of the most populous counties in the state, including our neighbors Los Angeles and San Diego, are charter counties. Do you think the people who live in charter counties, who make up about two-thirds of the state’s population, are exempt from Proposition 62 and cannot vote on taxes?

Because Measure T doesn’t mention taxes, opponents suspect some skulduggery. Read the text in the sample ballot, Section 403. It says clearly that unless something is covered in the charter, state law and the state Constitution govern.

There may be good reasons for voting against a charter, but fear of taxes is not one of them.

JEAN ASKHAM

Fullerton