Group Weighs Effort to Undo Bond Initiative

Opponents of Proposition 39, the November ballot measure that made it easier to pass local school bonds, are planning a possible countermeasure next year.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. filed papers last week with state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer’s office requesting that a title and summary be prepared for the “Homeowners Protection Act of 2002.”

The act would undo the key component of Proposition 39 by increasing the vote required to approve a local school construction bond from 55% back to two-thirds--the level of voter support required before Proposition 39 passed in November with more than 53% of the vote.

“The objective of this particular initiative is to simply reinstate the two-thirds vote for all tax increases on property and with respect to school bonds in particular,” said Jon Coupal, the tax group’s president.

Coupal said his group is weighing whether to place the measure on the March 2002 or November 2002 ballot. But the association might withdraw the proposal, he said, depending on voter turnout projections and his group’s resources.

Supporters of Proposition 39, which included deep-pocketed members of Silicon Valley’s technology industry and two California governors, spent more than $30 million funding its passage. They contend that building and fixing California schools is necessary to train the state’s future labor force.

Reed Hastings, the president of the state Board of Education and the chief executive of Netflix.com who donated $1 million to the Yes on Proposition 39 campaign, said he hopes a compromise can be struck to avoid another ballot box battle. A large state bond, for example, could reduce the need for local school construction bonds.

But Hastings said: “If the Jarvis tax group goes ahead with a homeowners protection as written, we would vigorously fight to defeat it.”