HISTORY OF PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE

1974-- Founded by Paul Gann

Founded by the late Paul Gann to organize citizens' groups in fighting higher taxation by using the powers reserved to the people: the initiative, the referendum and the recall.

1978--Proposition 13

With the combined efforts of the United Organization of Taxpayers and People's Advocate, Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann qualified and passed Proposition 13 which was approved by 66% of the voters. Prop 13 limits property taxes to 1% of the value of the property.

1979--The Gann Spending Limit

The Gann Spending Limit, Prop. 4, placed limits on governmental spending. It passed with a whopping 74% of the vote. This law, now Article XIII-B of the California Constitution, limits State spending increases to inflation and population increase and requires the State to return surplus taxes back to the people.

1982--The Crime Victim's Bill of Rights

We successfully passed Proposition 8— The Crime Victim's Bill of Rights— it received 57% of the vote.

1984-- Legislative Reform

With the passage of Proposition 24, we made all around change of how money was spent and rules to make the legislature more accountable.

1986--California Fair Pay Amendment

Our efforts in support of Prop 61, the California Fair Pay Amendment — which would have set a ceiling on Government salaries— failed to pass.

1986--English Language Amendment

Senator Sam Hayakawa and Stanley Diamond's English Language Amendment (Prop 63) received 73% of the vote with the help of People's Advocate.

1989-90--Legislative Term Limits

People's Advocate helped qualify Prop 140 (Legislative Term Limits) for the ballot.  We campaigned for its passage and it is now part of our state constitution.

1992--Protect State the Pension Fund (PERS)

We passed Proposition 162 in order to stop the Legislature (Willie Brown) and Governor Pete Wilson from taking funds from the State pension systems (PERS) in order to balance the state budget.

1992--Saving Prop 13

When Proposition 13 was challenged in the court, we submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, in collaboration with United Organization of Taypayers (the original Jarvis group). The Court upheld the constitutionality of Prop 13 by a vote of 8-1.

1994--California English Campaign

With the help of Stanley Diamond, we launched the California English Campaign and the National English Campaign.  . Our goal is to enforce the will of the people in making English the official language of the State of California. And this year 106th U.S. House of Representatives has before it HR 50 which would make English the official language of United States if passed by the House and Senate and the President signs it into law.

1994--Congressional Term Limits

We passed Proposition 164 with 64% of the voters approving term limits for our U.S. Congressional representatives and senators. A similar law, passed in Arkansas, was challenged in the US Supreme Court. We wrote an amicus curiae brief urging the court to uphold the Arkansas law on the basis of the Tenth Amendment (the powers reserved to the people). The Court voted 5-4 that the Arkansa law was unconstitutional. Therefore, California's law (Prop 164) was also unconstitutional.

1994--People's Advocate Political Action Committee (PAPAC)

We formed a People's Advocate Political Action Committee (PAPAC) dedicated to electing candidates who will fight for lower taxes and greater liberty.

1996--Fees are Taxes!

We supported the passage of Prop 218 which equires the approval of 2/3 of property owners before fees for special districts can be collected.

1999--Legislative Salaries/Redistricting

We collected 1,100,000 signatures to qualify Proposition 24 for the ballot. This law, if passed by the voters, would have reduced the salary of the legislators from $100,000 to $70,000 per year and their per diem from $122/day (no maximum) to $75/day (maximum 120 days). The measure would also have placed the job of drawing the legislative district lines (Assembly, Senate, Board of Equalization and Congressional) in the hands of the Supreme Court (instead of the Legislature).

After the measure qualified for the ballot, it was challenged in the courts by the Democratic legislators and the political machine that stands to gain from gerrymandered districts. The court disqualified the measure on the basis of dual subject matter and would not let the people vote on Prop 24.

2003--Recall the Governor

History-making effort by People's Advocate to recall Governor Gray Davis. Passed with 55.4 percent of the vote.

2005--Redistricting Reform: The Voter Empowerment Act