[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSAGE OF PROPOSITION 13

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                             HON. DOUG OSE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, twenty-five years ago, on June 6, 1978, 
California voters made history when they passed Proposition 13.
  Millions of Californians can still remember the condition of our 
state in 1978, and the irresponsible government actions that moved 
people to create a new and better way. Skyrocketing property taxes 
literally drove people from their homes, and a similar fate would 
surely have been visited on thousands more. Many complained, but few in 
Sacramento heeded their plight, and this sparked the citizen movement 
that swept our state and demonstrated the best traditions of direct 
democracy.
  The landslide vote that approved the initiative validated what Howard 
Jarvis himself said at the time: Californians from all regions of the 
state believed the time had come for serious reform, and they could 
simply wait no longer.
  Proposition 13 was a voter-approved proposal that cut California's 
property taxes by 30 percent and then limited future increases. Other 
opponents of high taxes used Proposition 13 as a model that led many 
additional states to institute similar reforms. Almost all of these 
reforms are still in effect today.
  The passage of Proposition 13 has resulted in a reduction in property 
taxes of approximately 57 percent in California. It has been an 
indispensable element in the way that our state moved forward to 
outperform the rest of the country in personal income growth, 
employment growth, and appreciation of real property values.
  As we again face tough financial decisions and rising tax burdens, I 
am encouraged when I recall 1978, a time when Californians seized 
control of their own fate and reformed a run-away tax system. I hope 
Californians and all Americans will remember on this day that we can 
control our government and our own destinies.

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