Lance Olson
California Secretary of State
For Immediate Release: July 8, 2013
Contact: Shannan Velayas, (916) 653-6575
Tax Initiative Enters Circulation
Repeals State Tax Benefits Granted Businesses Operating in Economically Distressed Areas.
Initiative Statute
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced that the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for his measure.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
REPEALS STATE TAX BENEFITS GRANTED BUSINESSES OPERATING IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Eliminates the additional state income tax deductions and credits that may be taken by businesses operating within economically distressed areas designated as enterprise zones under California law. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state revenues of around $1 billion per year upon full implementation. Potential net increases or decreases in revenues of certain local governments depending on how the elimination of enterprise zones affects future decisions of businesses about where to locate, expand, or hire workers. (13-0005.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1595 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 13-0005.
The proponent for the measure, Lance Olson, must collect signatures of 504,760 registered voters – the number equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election – in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be collected by December 2, 2013.
The initiative proponent can be reached at (916) 442-2952.
To sign up for regular ballot measure updates via email, RSS feed, or Twitter, go to www.sos.ca.gov/multimedia.
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About Lance Olson
Lance H. Olson is the founder and senior partner of Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLP. He specializes in the practice of election and political law.
He founded the law firm in 1977. The firm’s clientele includes candidates, elected officials, PACs, ballot measure committees, lobbyists, lobbyist employers and major donors, as well as individuals, labor organizations, trade associations and government agencies involved in the political process.
Mr. Olson serves as counsel to many major labor unions active in California, as well as elected officials, including members of the California Congressional Delegation and California Legislature. He has provided legal advice to the California Democratic Party since 1982 and regularly advises the President pro Tem of the Senate. At the request of the State Legislature, Mr. Olson drafted Proposition 34, the comprehensive campaign finance reform measure adopted by the voters in November 2000. In 2010 he drafted the successful Proposition 25 promoted by labor unions and the Democratic Party which reduced the Legislative vote requirement to pass a budget in California from 2/3rds to a majority. Mr. Olson also drafted Proposition 28, modifying Legislative term limits, adopted by voters in 2012.
Mr. Olson routinely lectures and conducts training on campaign and political law developments. He served as an adjunct professor of law at McGeorge School of Law from 1995 to 2003 where he taught election law. He is also a consultant to the CEB publication, Advising California Nonprofit Corporations.
His other credits include co-founder and past president of the California Political Attorney’s Association. He has served on many government bodies, including the California Bipartisan Commission on the Political Reform Act of 1974. Beginning in 2002 he served three years as a Lawyer Representative for the Eastern District of California to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Mr. Olson earned a B.A. degree in political science from California State University, Sacramento. Mr. Olson received his law degree from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in 1977.