League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA March 8, 2011 Election
	Proposition LA-O Tax on Oil Companies City of Los Angeles Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Official Results Fail: 99,500 / 48.4% Yes votes ...... 105,928 / 51.6% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Proposition LA-O

Arguments Against Proposition LA-O

YES ON PROPOSITION O GENERATES REVENUE FOR CITY SERVICES Los Angeles sits atop one of the largest oil reserves in the country. Oil companies make billions each year drilling oil from the wells within the city's boundaries, including: Venice, Wilmington, Sherman Oaks, Downtown, Century City, and Cheviot Hills. There are 55 known oil fields in the Los Angeles area with over 30,000 producing wells, yet the city and residents have not received any direct benefits, unlike other cities in Southern California. Drilling for oil in our neighborhood lowers property values, ruins our air quality and environment, adds to traffic congestion, and negatively impacts our quality of life. Taxing wealthy oil companies for drilling in Los Angeles will generate millions for the City of Los Angeles to use on essential city services. YES ON PROPOSITION O ASSURES LOS ANGELES RESIDENTS THEIR FAIR SHARE Other cities in Southern California, such as Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Long Beach, and Seal Beach, have imposed an oil extraction tax on these wealthy oil companies to make up for the negative impact they create. A tax of only $1.44 per barrel of oil- far less than half the price of one gallon at the pump- would raise over $4 million in new revenue for the city to pay for police and fire services, programs at our parks and libraries, as well as other essential city services. Proposition O will hold oil companies accountable for drilling in our neighborhoods, increase revenue to protect critical city services, and will not authorize more drilling in our great city. Vote Yes on Proposition O. PERSONS SIGNING ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION O JAN PERRY Council President Pro Tempore City of Los Angeles BERNARD C. PARKS Councilmember City of Los Angeles PAUL KORETZ Councilmember City of Los Angeles BRUCE SAITO Executive Director Los Angeles Conservation Corps Rebuttal to Arguments For The city simply has its facts wrong: Proposition O WILL RAISE TAXES, INCREASE GAS PRICES and COST JOBS. Local oil IS already taxed by the city. Prop. O would add ANOTHER tax, making L.A.'s oil tax more than double the average of local cities. Prop. O is NOT a tax on Big Oil companies. Foreign oil companies would be exempt. Prop. O would mostly target small businesses and individuals, forcing cutbacks or shutdowns in local production. Prop. O means LESS LOCAL INVESTMENT and MORE LAYOFFS + which could result in LESS MONEY FOR THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. Prop. O DOESN'T GUARANTEE A PENNY TO CRITICAL SERVICES -- no taxpayer accountability. Los Angeles needs fiscal responsibility -- not new taxes. THE CITY WASTES MILLIONS, paying record high salaries and mismanaging funds. Proposition O will RAISE TAXES AT THE WORST TIME. We are suffering with record unemployment levels. Prop. 0 would CAUSE MORE LAYOFFS and WON'T SOLVE THE CITY'S BUDGET PROBLEMS. Vote No on Proposition O. PERSONS SIGNING REBUTTAL TO THE ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION O BILL LA MARR Executive Director California Small Business Alliance JOEL FOX President Small Business Action Committee JULIAN CANETE CEO California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce DR. ZYRA MCCLOUD President/CEO International African and African American Chamber of Commerce MARIA LUISA VELA President Latin Net KENNY JONES Senior Citizens Community Activist HUGO MERIDA President/CEO Los Angeles Metropolitan Hispanic Chambers of Commerce M C TOWNSEND President/CEO Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley EARL "SKIP" COOPER President/CEO National Black Business Association

Vote NO on Proposition "O" to stop a tax increase, protect small local businesses, avoid higher gas prices and force the City Council to reduce its reckless spending. Despite its misleading language, there are NO GUARANTEES this new tax would be used to fund essential public services like police and fire protection. A LOOPHOLE in the proposed law allows the City Council to spend millions on anything they want, including higher salaries for city employees with no accountability to taxpayers. Increasing taxes on oil production means HIGHER GAS PRICES AT THE PUMP. Don't be fooled. Prop. "O" is NOT a tax on Big Oil companies. It's a tax largely directed at small, local businesses and individuals, forcing them to reduce or shut down production altogether. That means fewer jobs and LESS MONEY FOR LOS ANGELES. And Prop. "O" would give an enormous tax break to foreign companies. Because the new tax only applies to production in Los Angeles, oil imported from places like Iraq and Saudi Arabia would be exempt. Unemployment in Los Angeles is already among the country's highest. This is the worst time to INCREASE TAXES on already STRUGGLING LOCAL BUSINESSES. It will just cause companies to invest elsewhere, leading to MORE LAYOFFS and reducing revenues to the city. The city's Controller has identified millions in waste and overspending. Los Angeles City Councilmembers use our tax dollars to pay themselves the HIGHEST SALARY IN THE NATION. The new energy tax will punish Los Angeles consumers, small businesses and individuals, kill jobs and cost the city revenues. Rather than raise taxes, the City Council should reduce wasteful, out-of-control spending and cut back things like six-figure salaries and big pensions for city bureaucrats. Say NO to HIGHER TAXES. Vote NO on Proposition "O". PERSONS SIGNING ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION O BILL LA MARR Executive Director California Small Business Alliance JOEL FOX President Small Business Action Committee JULIAN CANETE CEO California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce DR. ZYRA MCCLOUD President/CEO African American Chamber of Commerce HUGO MERIDA Chair Los Angeles Hispanic Chambers of Commerce M C TOWNSEND President/CEO Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley EARL "SKIP" COOPER President/CEO National Black Business Association MARIA LUISA VELA President Latin Net Rebuttal to Arguments Against Yes On Prop O will generate over $4 million in new revenue for the City to protect essential services, including public safety. The City has already cut over 4,000 jobs, eliminated departments, and reduced the paychecks of city employees. Prop. O will not raise the price of gas. There are 55 known oil fields in the Los Angeles area, including, Sherman Oaks, Venice Beach, and Wilmington, with over 30,000 producing wells. Los Angeles residents have not received any direct benefits, unlike other cities in Southern California. Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Long Beach, and Seal Beach have all benefited from an oil tax on oil companies. Yes on Prop. O holds oil companies accountable for drilling in our neighborhoods, lowing property values, damaging our air quality and environment, and adding to traffic congestion. Yes on Prop O to protect public safety, the environment, and our quality of life. PERSONS SIGNING REBUTTAL TO THE ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION O JAN PERRY Council President Pro Tempore City of Los Angeles BERNARD C. PARKS Councilmember City of Los Angeles