Proposition 4: New Attack on Calif. Spending
LOS ANGELES ÛÓSupporters call it ÛÏthe Spirit of 13,Û after the famous ballot proposition that stood CaliforniaÛªs tax structure on its head. Others think of it as the slow-to-grow child of an unsuccessful government spending limitation sponsored by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan six years ago. A few say it is a fiscal time bomb disguised as a motherhood issue, waiting to go off if the nationÛªs mbst populous state has a serious recession.</br></br>It is Proposition 4, a complex state constitutional amendment designed to clamp a permanent lid on state and local government spending. Voters will find it on the Nov. 6 ballot.</br></br>In scope and intention, Proposition 4 goes beyond government spending limits such as those enacted in Tennessee, Michigan, Texas and Arizona. It would fix state and local spending at 1978-79 levels, adjusted for inflation and population growth. Budget surpluses would be returned through lower tax and fee schedules. The state treasury would be required to come to the aid of local governments if the legislature in Sacramento mandates new programs or requires higher levels of service.</br></br>Proposition 4 is the brainchild of Paul Gann, the lesser-known partner of the political team that rocked the nation in 1978 with the state property tax-limitation measure known as Proposition 13.</br></br>Proposition 13 made fast-talking Howard Jarvis famous and launched him on an international career as an antitax promoter and consultant. It left the soft-spoken Gann back home in Sacramento, convinced that only the first step had been taken in his long crusade to control the cost of state government.