2008 Woodie Awards
Will Prop 87 make or break us?
Our choice as voters will decide the outcome.
Shawn Mahaney
Issue date: 10/11/06 Section: News
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It's that time of year again folks and no I'm not talking about the big guy with the white beard and reindeer. I'm talking about that time of year where you get to flex those muscles you have to vote. That special power we all have but only some of us choose to use.
One of the biggest topics which affects everyone of us, except for little Timmy down the street who rides his bicycle, is Proposition 87. This Prop has to deal with the problem we're all having with gas prices.
Vinod Khosla, Sun Microsystems co-founder said, "I've said I'll donate 100-percent of all profits I personally get from any company that receives any funding from Prop. 87 and I will donate 100-percent of my personal profits from that company to charity." Seems pretty nice of Khosla right? Well some people believe he's only doing that because he'd benefit from the outcome of Prop 87 passing. Since he co-founded a company that deals with computers and that's what primarly runs our new hybrid cars. But why don't we discuss what Prop 87 is.
Basically what Prop 87 does is it establishes a $4 billion program to reduce oil and gasoline usage by 25%, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy vehicles, energy efficient technologies, and for education and training. Funded by a tax of 1.5% to 6%, depending on oil price per barrel, on producers of oil extracted in California. It prohibits producers from passing the tax on to consumers.
The program was administered by California Energy Alternatives Program Authority. It prohibits changing tax while indebtedness remains. The summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments is this: New state revenues annually - depending on the interpretation of the measure's tax rate provisions - of either about $200 million or about $380 million from the imposition of a severance tax on oil production, to be used to fund a variety of new alternative energy programs. Reductions of unknown amounts in: local revenues from property taxes paid on oil reserves, potentially partially offset by state payments to schools to make up their revenue loss; state revenues from income taxes paid by oil producers; and, potentially, state and local revenues from gasoline and diesel excise and sales taxes.
One of the biggest topics which affects everyone of us, except for little Timmy down the street who rides his bicycle, is Proposition 87. This Prop has to deal with the problem we're all having with gas prices.
Vinod Khosla, Sun Microsystems co-founder said, "I've said I'll donate 100-percent of all profits I personally get from any company that receives any funding from Prop. 87 and I will donate 100-percent of my personal profits from that company to charity." Seems pretty nice of Khosla right? Well some people believe he's only doing that because he'd benefit from the outcome of Prop 87 passing. Since he co-founded a company that deals with computers and that's what primarly runs our new hybrid cars. But why don't we discuss what Prop 87 is.
Basically what Prop 87 does is it establishes a $4 billion program to reduce oil and gasoline usage by 25%, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy vehicles, energy efficient technologies, and for education and training. Funded by a tax of 1.5% to 6%, depending on oil price per barrel, on producers of oil extracted in California. It prohibits producers from passing the tax on to consumers.
The program was administered by California Energy Alternatives Program Authority. It prohibits changing tax while indebtedness remains. The summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments is this: New state revenues annually - depending on the interpretation of the measure's tax rate provisions - of either about $200 million or about $380 million from the imposition of a severance tax on oil production, to be used to fund a variety of new alternative energy programs. Reductions of unknown amounts in: local revenues from property taxes paid on oil reserves, potentially partially offset by state payments to schools to make up their revenue loss; state revenues from income taxes paid by oil producers; and, potentially, state and local revenues from gasoline and diesel excise and sales taxes.
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