Poll finds support for Prop. 13 change

Sacramento --

A majority of Californians believe Proposition 13, the 1978 measure limiting property tax, has been good for the state but would support changing it to tax commercial properties at their market value, according to a new poll.

The survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 58 percent of all adults polled support the landmark measure but that 58 percent favor a split-roll property tax that lets homeowners keep Prop. 13's protections while exposing business owners to higher taxes. Thirty-three percent oppose such changes.

"This is a change that may find its way to the ballot in the next few years, particularly if you have Democratic supermajorities that may be inclined to test the waters on the ballot," said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the public policy institute.

Such a change was proposed in a bill by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, but the measure was held in the Legislature and won't be heard again until at least next year.

According to the survey, 64 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans all supported splitting the property tax roll. Those results are similar to what pollsters found when they asked the same question in January 2012 and found support from 60 percent of all adults.

But another change to Prop. 13 to make it easier to approve new taxes was not as popular with those surveyed. Pollsters asked whether respondents would favor lowering the threshold for passing local special taxes from a two-thirds vote to 55 percent of voters.

Among all adults, 46 percent said they favor such a change, 44 percent said they opposed it and 9 percent said they did not know where they stood on the idea.

"I don't think there is anything that compares with Prop. 13 in terms of the impacts it's had on public policy and the steady support voters have shown for the basic concept over time," Baldassare said.

Other findings from the survey include:

-- 61 percent of those surveyed said they supported Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan, while 28 percent oppose it.

-- 55 percent said they prefer paying down debt and building a reserve, while 39 percent said they prefer spending to restore cuts made to social services.

-- On gun control, 89 percent of those surveyed - including 88 percent of Republicans - said they favor a federal law requiring a background check on all potential gun buyers.

-- More people oppose - 47 percent - than support - 39 percent - expanding the practice of hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and natural gas.

-- Brown's approval rating remains relatively high, though not as high as support for his budget plan, with 48 percent of those surveyed approving of his performance, 31 percent disapproving and 21 percent saying they don't know.

The results are based on a survey of 1,704 adults in California from May 14-20. It has an error margin of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.