There was a time in California when the average property tax rate was 2.6% of a home’s assessed value, not the 1% today. In this time, if real estate values went up, property tax assessments went along for the ride.

The result? Seniors on fixed incomes forced to sell their homes because they couldn’t afford the property taxes.

That’s what it was like to own a home in California before Proposition 13 passed in 1978. If you think the Golden State’s housing crisis was bad now, just imagine if Prop. 13 with its property tax protections for homeowners didn’t exist.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — named for the man who brought us those protections — is working to educate residents who came of age before Prop. 13. That’s because it is, like always, under attack.

The state Legislature has approved a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would allow bonds and parcel taxes to pass with the approval of only 55% of voters, instead of the two-thirds vote required by Prop. 13.

Visit the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association for ways to protect Prop. 13. https://www.hjta.org/