In a joint legislative informational hearing today on Prop 32 - the Special Exemptions Act - Assemblymember Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) stated "I haven't seen anything about this measure yet that indicates it's anything but an attempt to gain political advantage."
Proponents of the measure say it will give the average voter more power, but what's the reality?
Make no mistake:
If Prop. 32 passes, corporate interests and the ultra-wealthy will have unprecedented control over California politics.
Prop. 32 will eliminate the ability of groups like ACSS to fight for your rights in the Capitol as we have done for decades, via voluntary payroll deduction. Your choice, your voice.
Unions and labor organizations like ACSS have used payroll deduction for generations to make sure that the voice of the working and middle class is heard in the Capitol.
Corporations and the wealthy, however, do not use payroll deduction.
As Assemblymember Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) said, "If one group is using payroll deduction and the other is not, this isn't an equal attempt at reform."
When Assm. Swanson pressed a proponent of the measure to identify the top donors to the campaign and he would not, Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) stepped in.
"The reason you can't tell us who's funding it is because the largest donor is an Iowa-based Super PAC with ties to the Koch brothers, who do not disclose their donors."
"Prop. 32 is a naked power grab," said Sen. Lieu.