YES ON 87: MAKE OIL COMPANIES PAY THEIR FAIR
SHARE—FOR CLEANER ENERGY.
Had enough of oil companies charging outrageous prices
and making obscene profits?
Had enough polluted air, asthma, lung disease, and cancer?
Had enough of oil companies funding opposition to Cleaner,
Cheaper Energy? Enough is enough.
It’s time to make oil companies pay their fair share so we
can use cheaper alternative fuels and reduce air pollution that
causes lung disease and cancer.
VOTING YES ON PROPOSITION 87 WILL MAKE OIL
COMPANIES PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
In Louisiana, Alaska, and even Texas, oil companies pay
billions in oil drilling fees, but they pay almost nothing in
California. California takes in more revenue from hunting and
fishing licenses than it does from oil drilling fees.
Under Prop. 87, the oil companies will finally pay us the
same level of fees they pay in other states.
They can afford it. The oil companies opposing this
initiative made $78 billion in profits last year. Their profits
are so high that EXXON gave its CEO Lee Raymond a $400
million retirement payout. Enough is enough.
PROP. 87: NO COST TO CONSUMERS. OIL
COMPANIES PAY.
California’s Attorney General has confirmed that Prop. 87
makes it illegal for oil companies to raise gas prices to pass
along the cost to us.
If they do, they’ll break the law and could be prosecuted.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that states
can prohibit oil companies from passing fees like this on to
consumers. Just look at the other states that have oil drilling
fees. They all pay less for gas than California.
That’s why oil companies are spending millions to defeat
Prop. 87: because they know it’s illegal to pass the cost on to us.
PROP. 87: CLEANER ENERGY AND CLEANER AIR.
Prop. 87 makes oil companies pay for cleaner energy.
It provides for cash rebates to consumers who buy cleaner,
alternative fuel vehicles and incentives for more renewable
energy like solar and wind power.
It will create thousands of new jobs and economic growth.
It will reduce our dependence on oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq—which provide 47% of California’s imported oil.
Voting YES on Prop. 87 will reduce air pollution in
California.
Pollution from cars and trucks is making us sick. Every
year, cars put tons of lung-damaging smog and soot into the air
that send children to the hospital and cause asthma attacks.
That’s why the Coalition for Clean Air and California
doctors and nurses ALL SUPPORT Proposition 87.
PROP. 87: NO NEW BUREAUCRACY.
Prop. 87 uses an existing state agency and requires strict
enforcement and accountability through independent audits,
public hearings, and annual progress reports.
Nobel-prize-winning scientists, California environmental
and consumer groups, educators, labor and agriculture groups
all agree. It’s time we take control of our future.
For Cleaner Air—For Alternative Energy Choices—For
Less Dependence on Foreign Oil . . . Finally, Fairness.
MAKE OIL COMPANIES PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
VOTE YES ON 87. FOR CLEANER ENERGY.
www.YESon87.com
LAURA KEEGAN BOUDREAU, CEO
American Lung Association of California
WINSTON HICKOX, Former Secretary
California Environmental Protection Agency
JAMIE COURT, President
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
OF PROPOSITION 87 |
“The sponsors’ contention that Proposition 87 would not
cause higher gas prices is incorrect.”—William Hamm, Ph.D.
Former Legislative Analyst, State of California
“Proposition 87 attempts a worthy goal, but does so in
a counterproductive and costly manner. It would shrink
California’s oil supply, increase dependence on foreign
oil, and result in higher gasoline prices.”—Professor
Philip Romero, Ph.D., Former Chief Economist, California
Governor’s Office
Proposition 87 is not a tax on oil company profits—as
proponents would like you to believe. It’s a $4 BILLION TAX
on California oil production. It would make California’s oil
the highest taxed in the nation, by far. Analysts report it would
decrease state oil production. Replacement oil would have to be
imported from the Middle East and elsewhere. The added costs
of transporting and refining imported oil would be lawfully
passed on to consumers at the gas pump. Do we really want
higher gas prices?
And, did proponents really claim Proposition 87 is not new
bureaucracy? It’s the very definition of bureaucracy, with an
appalling lack of accountability:
— 50 political appointees.
—Unlimited staff.
— The power to spend $4 billion outside the state budget
review process.
— No requirement they spend all those new taxes in
California, or even in the U.S.
— Special exemptions from laws designed to protect
taxpayers.
— Special exemption from California’s education funding
guarantee, robbing schools of their fair share.
Proposition 87 also reduces revenues available for fire
protection and public safety.
Organizations representing 85,000 public safety officials
urge Californians to: VOTE NO on 87.
KEVIN R. NIDA, President
California State Firefighters’ Association
RAY HOLDSWORTH, Past Chair
California Chamber of Commerce
ALLAN ZAREMBERG, President
Californians Against Higher Taxes
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AREN’T GAS PRICES HIGH ENOUGH ALREADY?
DO WE REALLY WANT TO INCREASE OIL TAXES
BY ANOTHER $4 BILLION?
We all agree we need to advance alternative energy.
But, Proposition 87 is not the way to get there. Increasing
California oil taxes by $4 BILLION to fund a new state
bureaucracy—that isn’t even required to produce results—is
a recipe for waste, not progress.
It’s also the road to more problems . . .
HIGHER TAXES ON DOMESTIC OIL = MORE
DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Economists report that taxing California oil production will
reduce in-state oil production and increase our dependence on
foreign oil. Oil from the Middle East and other countries costs
more to get here and costs more to refine once here.
HIGHER OIL TAXES, HIGHER GAS PRICES.
Prop. 87’s sponsors claim it won’t increase gas prices. Are
voters supposed to believe a $4 BILLION tax increase on
California oil won’t impact gas prices at the pump?
PROP. 87 CREATES A NEW STATE BUREAUCRACY
WITH 50 POLITICAL APPOINTEES.
It lets them spend taxes outside the normal checks and
balances that govern other state agencies, outside the state
budget review process, and exempt from important laws and
taxpayer safeguards that apply to other agencies.
PROP. 87 LETS THE NEW BUREAUCRACY KEEP
SPENDING EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT PRODUCING
RESULTS.
It lets the political appointees tax and spend, year after
year after year, even if they’re making absolutely no progress
reducing oil consumption or advancing alternative energy use.
PROP. 87 ROBS SCHOOLS OF THEIR FAIR SHARE
OF NEW REVENUES.
One of the most important protections our schools have
is a constitutional guarantee that a portion of new state tax
revenues be spent in the classroom. But, Prop. 87 excludes itself from that requirement. One of California’s leading
education finance experts and the former Secretary of
Education reports: “At a time when California school funding
is already below the national average, Prop. 87 could deny
schools their fair share of up to $1.9 billion in new revenues
over the next 10 years.”
PROP. 87 WOULD REDUCE TAX REVENUES USED
FOR EDUCATION, PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH CARE,
AND TRANSPORTATION NEEDS.
Prop. 87 would reduce general fund and property tax
revenues. Read the Legislative Analyst’s report in your voter
pamphlet.
HIGHER GAS PRICES HURT FAMILIES, SMALL
BUSINESSES, AND SENIORS.
Everyone bears the cost of high gas prices. The last thing we
need is a ballot proposition that further drives up oil prices.
EVERYONE AGREES WE NEED TO ADVANCE
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, BUT PROP. 87 IS NOT THE
WAY TO GET THERE.
“Gasoline prices in California are high enough already.
Proposition 87 would just add insult to injury. This $4
billion oil tax would result in even higher gas prices
at the pump. We recommend drivers vote: NO on 87.” —Thomas V. McKernan, President and CEO,
Automobile Club of Southern California
Join more than 150 organizations, taxpayer groups,
consumers, California businesses, labor, parents, educators,
seniors, and public safety officials . . .
VOTE NO on 87. It’s a recipe for waste, not progress.
LARRY McCARTHY, President
California Taxpayers’ Association
DANIEL CUNNINGHAM, President
California Small Business Alliance
MARIAN BERGESON, Past President
California School Boards Association
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST
PROPOSITION 87 |
DO YOU TRUST THE OIL COMPANIES?
Oil companies are paying for the multimillion dollar
misinformation campaign against Prop. 87.
See for yourself: California State Website: www.cal-access.ss.ca.gov
Notice the oil companies didn’t sign the statement at the top of
this page? What else are they hiding? THE FACTS:
• PROP. 87 MAKES OIL COMPANIES PAY THEIR FAIR
SHARE.
Oil companies pay billions in drilling fees in New Mexico,
Alaska, Louisiana, and even Texas. California is the only
state where the oil companies do not pay similar drilling
fees.
• PROP. 87 MAKES IT ILLEGAL FOR OIL COMPANIES
TO PASS THE COST ON TO CONSUMERS BY RAISING
GAS PRICES. Official Initiative Language, § 42004(c) Think about it: If the oil companies could really pass the
cost on to us, why would they be spending millions to defeat
Prop. 87?
• PROP. 87 MEANS CLEANER AIR, LESS ASTHMA.
That’s why Prop. 87 is endorsed by the American Lung
Association.
• PROP. 87 MEANS MORE ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND LESS DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Almost half of California’s imported oil comes from Saudi
Arabia and Iraq. Prop. 87 would reduce our dependence on
foreign oil. That’s why former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright endorses Prop. 87.
• PROP. 87 HAS NO NEW BUREAUCRACY.
Prop. 87 requires independent audits, strict limits on
administrative spending, open meetings with accountability,
and oversight by public health and energy experts—not
politicians. Official Initiative Language, § 26004(a)
DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE OIL COMPANIES.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. MAKE THE OIL COMPANIES
PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
VOTE YES ON 87. FOR CLEANER, CHEAPER
ENERGY.
DR. MARIO MOLINA, Nobel Prize in Chemistry
University of California, San Diego
TIM CARMICHAEL, President, Coalition for Clean Air
JAMIE COURT, President
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
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