Education. School Bonds. Elimination Of Two-Thirds Vote Requirement. Property Tax Limit Exemption. Tobacco Tax For Educational Programs.

EDUCATION. SCHOOL BONDS. ELIMINATION OF TWO-THIRDS VOTE REQUIREMENT. PROPERTY TAX LIMIT EXEMPTION. TOBACCO TAX FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Reduces vote requirement to pass school construction bond measures from two-thirds to simple majority and exempts taxes for payments on bonds from one percent property tax limit. Increases tobacco tax by five cents per cigarette and equivalent amount for other products. Proceeds fund K-12 public education programs providing for achievement tests, class and school size reduction, school grants, and teacher qualifications, scholarships and salary supplements. Mandates 180 days of instruction in basic subjects annually. Limits teachers\u27 development days. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: This measure would result in (1) increased annual revenues to pay for new K-12 education programs due to higher tobacco excise taxes of about $1.5 billion, which would slowly decrease in subsequent years; (2) long-run state school costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of students repeating grades under certain circumstances; and (3) increased local school bond revenues, potentially in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and potential long-term reduction in state school construction costs of a similar magnitude