SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two prominent California civil rights groups and the San Francisco Democratic Party have come out against Proposition 40, a proposed one-time, 5% tax on billionaires meant to fund healthcare services. Equality California and NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference announced their opposition to the tax Thursday, arguing the tax’s potential risks outweighed its benefits. ...

NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference President Rick Callender, left, stands for a photo with honorees, from left, Olympic bronze medalist Dr. John Carlos and 1967 Olympic Project for Human Rights co-organizers Dr. Harry Edwards before the Legacy Hall of Fame Ceremony on June 24, 2023, at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel downtown.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two prominent California civil rights groups and the San Francisco Democratic Party have come out against Proposition 40, a proposed one-time, 5% tax on billionaires meant to fund healthcare services.

Equality California and NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference announced their opposition to the tax Thursday, arguing the tax’s potential risks outweighed its benefits.

“California needs sustainable, predictable funding to address the challenges facing LGBTQ+ people,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang in a statement distributed by No on 40, a group opposing the tax. “We need ongoing solutions to fund health care, education, and other critical services that LGBTQ+ Californians rely on, not one-time fixes.”

NAACP state conference President Rick Callender argued the tax would “make many of our problems worse” by “putting additional pressure on the budget that could squeeze funding for other essential public services.”

Those arguments held sway at a Thursday night meeting of the San Francisco Democratic Party, whose members bucked the state party — which narrowly backed the tax earlier this month — by endorsing a “no” vote on Prop. 40.

“Everyone should pay their fair share of taxes,” said board member Patrick Boileau. “Unfortunately, the billionaires that we’re going to be taxing with this measure also have the ability to vote with their feet and move out of California.”

Other critics of the proposed tax include Gov. Gavin Newsom, both candidates running to succeed him, the California Teachers Association, and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Backers include Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, and the California Federation of Labor, an umbrella group representing around 1,300 unions.

The union backing Prop. 40, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, argues the ballot measure is necessary in the wake of Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid that are expected to have damaging effects on California’s healthcare system. They argue the one-time provision will provide stability while state and national politicians find a more durable solution to the loss in billions in funding.

SEIU-UHW Chief of Staff Suzanne Jimenez said the latest groups to come out against Prop. 40 “are completely out of step with the very people they claim to represent.”

“Here’s the reality our state is facing: Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ slashed healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks,” Jimenez said. “Now, as a result of these massive healthcare funding cuts, clinics across California are closing, hospitals are laying off workers, and life-saving services are being cut. Working families in California are already seeing their healthcare costs skyrocket, and it’s only getting worse.”

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