Melissa Melendez introduces measure for tax increase approval

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez. Photo by Donna Ritchie.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) introduced legislation, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 29, to require every tax increase approved by the California State Legislature to first be approved by the voters before it goes into effect.

“For too long, the Democrat-controlled Legislature has used the people of California as an ATM. They tax and spend with little regard for the middle-class Californians they claim to protect,” said the assemblywoman. “California has the highest poverty rate in the nation, yet the Legislature’s solution is raising taxes by nearly $7 billion just last year alone.”

In 2017, the California Legislature created nearly $7 billion in new taxes consisting of a new $300 million annual housing tax, $1.5 billion annual vehicle registration tax, $2 billion annual environmental Cap-and-Trade tax and a $2.9 billion annual gas tax. “As the highest taxed state in the nation, enough is enough,” said the Melissa. “Enough with having the poor and middle-class shoulder the burden of every new tax. Enough with funneling tax dollars to pet projects where they don’t belong.”

Under current law, the California State Legislature can increase taxes with a two-thirds vote of both houses and the Governor’s signature. While local taxes and bond measures require voter approval, establishing and increasing statewide taxes do not.

Assemblywoman Melendez represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar and a portion of Hemet. It also includes the Riverside County unincorporated areas of Lake Mathews, Good Hope, Nuevo, and Winchester.