Taxes to fund health care coverage and cost control.
Existing law imposes various taxes, including personal income and excise taxes. The California Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of both houses of the Legislature for the passage of any change in statute that results in any taxpayer paying a higher tax. The California Constitution generally prohibits the total annual appropriations subject to limitation of the state and each local government from exceeding the appropriations limit of the entity of government for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for the change in the cost of living and the change in population, and prescribes procedures for making adjustments to the appropriations limit.

This measure would impose an excise tax, payroll taxes, and a State Personal Income CalCare Tax at specified rates to fund comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of every resident of the state, as well as reserves deemed necessary to ensure payment, to be established in statute. The measure would authorize the Legislature, upon an economic analysis determining insufficient amounts to fund these purposes, to increase any or all of these tax rates by a statute passed by majority vote of both houses of the Legislature.

This measure would establish the CalCare Trust Fund in the State Treasury and would deposit these tax revenues in the fund for the purpose of funding this health care coverage, cost control system, and reserves, and would authorize the Legislature to appropriate these funds by a statute passed by a majority vote of the membership of both houses. The measure would exclude appropriations of revenues from the CalCare Trust Fund from the limitation on appropriations and from consideration for purposes of educational funding mandated by the California Constitution.

This measure would prohibit the above-described provisions from becoming operative until the later operative date of a statute that establishes comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage, a health care cost control system, and necessary reserves, and a statute that establishes the administration, collection, and enforcement of the excise tax, payroll taxes, and a State Personal Income CalCare Tax imposed by the measure.