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Stanley (Judith) Subject Files on Proposition 13
MS.R.082
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: Judith Stanley subject files on Proposition 13
Creator:
Stanley, Judith
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.082
Physical Description:
1.4 Linear Feet
(2 boxes and 1 oversized folder)
Date (inclusive): 1973-1980
Date (bulk): 1978
Abstract: This collection comprises newsletters,
clippings, campaign ephemera, memoranda, reports, and other materials gathered by Judith
Stanley, a University of California, Irvine, librarian, to document California's Proposition
13, a citizen's initiative to reduce property taxes that was approved as a State
constitutional amendment on June 6, 1978. Included in the collection are materials from
taxpayer associations, housing associations, and political coalitions, as well as files
documenting the effect of the proposition on education, libraries, and Social
Security.
Language of Material:
English .
The collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Judith Stanley subject files on Proposition 13. MS-R082. Special Collections and Archives,
The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Transferred from the Government Information Department, 2001.
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007.
Judith Stanley was a social sciences bibliographer for the University of California, Irvine
libraries in the 1970s.
Commonly called the "Taxpayers' Revolt of 1978," Proposition 13 was a landmark citizen's
initiative written and introduced in 1977 by politicians Howard Jarvis (1903-1986) and Paul
Gann (1912-1989). This proposition fixed California property taxes at 1 percent of the full
cash value of the property and set the maximum inflationary rate for property value at 2
percent per year. Property value is reassessed when property is purchased, newly
constructed, or undergoing change in ownership. The proposition passed with 65 percent of
the vote. Proponents of Proposition 13 cited the $6 billion state surplus as evidence of
overtaxation and claimed that without the bill, property owners would eventually be unable
to afford their property taxes. Opponents of the tax argued that the bill was unfair to
renters because it only offered tax relief to owners, that it would take funds away from
publicly funded government services, and that it would cause hundreds of thousands of job
losses statewide. Proposition 13 continues to be a source of debate because new owners
typically pay higher taxes than previous owners.
| 1965 | The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner publish series of stories about the inconsistent assessment of property taxes due to assessors accepting bribes. |
| 1967 | Assembly Bill 80, the Petris-Knox Bill, passes requiring county assessors to reassess property at 25 percent of market value during the following three years and to do frequent reassessments to maintain the 25 percent ratio. |
| 1973 | Ronald Reagan's Proposition 1 to limit state spending fails to pass in California. |
| 1973-1977 | California enters a period of rapid housing inflation, resulting in ever increasing property taxes. |
| 1978 | California's estimated budget surplus is $6 billion. |
| 1978 | Voters approve Proposition 13 on June 6th and it becomes a California constitutional amendment. |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises newsletters, clippings, campaign ephemera, memoranda, reports,
and other materials gathered by Judith Stanley, a University of California, Irvine,
librarian, to document California Proposition 13, a citizen's initiative to reduce property
tax that was approved as a State constitutional amendment on June 6, 1978. Included in the
collection are materials from taxpayer associations, housing associations, and political
coalitions, as well as files documenting the effect of the proposition on education,
libraries, and Social Security. In addition, this collection contains materials showing
various reactions to the passage of Proposition 13, analyses of the effects of Proposition
13 in the two years following its passage, and campaign materials supporting the opposing
proposition, Proposition 8.
The original order of the collection has been maintained. The creator arranged the
collection alphabetically according to subject.
For further information about Proposition 13, see Frank Levy, On Understanding
Proposition 13 (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 1979).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California -- Politics and government -- History --
Sources.
Referendum -- California -- History -- Sources
Property tax -- California -- Archives.
Elections -- California -- History -- Sources
Campaign literature -- California -- 20th century.
Jarvis, Howard
Gann, Paul
California. Proposition 13 (1978) -- Archives