The Associated Students of Skyline College has decided to support Proposition 1522, Tax for Oil to Fund Education Initiative, which is a proposal aimed at taxing oil companies with all revenues raised going to fund higher education within the state.
“This oil tax is basically… funding education through taxation of oil companies who extract oil from California,” Senator Dean Kevin Santos said. “California is the only state that doesn’t tax its oil; Alaska and Texas tax their oil.”
The statewide Student Senate for California Community Colleges also voted overwhelmingly on November 5 last year to support the bill and the gathering of signatures to place the proposal on the ballot.
According to Rescue Education California’s website, the proposal will place a 15-percent severance tax on crude oil and natural gas, which will raise $3.5 billion that will provide $1.5 billion for 2.7 million California community college students, $1.48 billion for 6 million K-12 students, $560 million for 400,000 CSU students and $440 million for 200,000 UC students.
The proposal would prevent companies from passing the cost of the tax onto consumers by way of higher prices for oil, natural gas, diesel and other oil or gas by-products, including propane and heating oil. Any company that is found guilty would be fined, and the money would be equally distributed to each Californian as a rebate check at the end of each year.
“As a student and as a council member I fully support this proposition,” Santos said. “This is a way for oil companies to give back for taking the precious finite resources California has. In the fact of budget cuts, the students of California should support this bill because their future and the next generation’s future is on the line. All of the revenue from this tax will go to the public education.”
The proposal needs 504,760 signatures by April 15 statewide to be placed on the ballot. Anyone interested in supporting the bill can contact Peter Mathews at (562) 234-3319 or email him at [email protected].