The California State Supreme Court Upholds Proposition C!
Nearly three years after SF voters passed the proposition, Prop C will direct approximately $100 million to the SF child care community annually.
On Wednesday April 28, 2021, the California Supreme Court rejected the final appeal to Proposition C delivering a major victory for children, families and early educators in San Francisco. Proposition C (also known as Prop C or ‘Baby’ Prop C), authorizes an additional tax for landlords with annual gross receipts over $1 million for commercial leased property. In June 2018, over 51% of San Francisco voters approved the Proposition. However, shortly thereafter, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association challenged its legality in court claiming that a two-thirds super majority was required to raise taxes. The State Supreme Court’s decision affirms the legality of the tax and upholds the will of San Francisco voters. The City will allocate eighty-five percent of Prop C revenues, or approximately $100-$120 million, to early care and education priorities.
Although the City has been collecting the tax since January 2019, the San Francisco Controller’s Office indicated funds collected could not be spent until the lawsuit was ultimately resolved. However, in November 2020, voters passed Proposition F, enabling the City to begin to spend a portion of the Prop C dollars collected. The Supreme Court decision now allows the City to utilize Prop C funds fully.
The San Francisco Office of Early Care and Education (OECE) will administer Prop C funds to provide much needed resources for San Francisco’s youngest children and their families, and raise compensation for the professionals working in this critical sector of our economy. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors charged OECE to engage community and develop a Five-Year Spending Plan for Prop C. Through this extensive community planning process, involving thousands of families, early childhood teachers and administrators, the following priorities were identified:
- Increase access to quality early care and education for children under the age of six in San Francisco, with the goal of serving all eligible children on the city’s child care wait list; and expand eligibility to moderate-income families currently not eligible for state-child care subsidies, especially for infant and toddlers.
- Increase investment in our early education workforce by creating an Early Care and Education Compensation Initiative that addresses wages, benefits, and professional development for early childhood educators.
- Invest in comprehensive early care and education services that support the well-being and healthy development of our young children including early childhood mental health, inclusion supports for children with special needs, family support, and increased access for children to arts, science, technology, and math experiences.