Following California Democratic Party and California Labor Federation endorsements, over 100,000 party members endorse measure that will make billionaires pay their fair share to keep local hospitals open and healthcare affordable for millions
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks, eliminating healthcare coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians and doubling health insurance premiums for millions more. Clinics across California are closing, hospitals are laying off workers, and life-saving services are being cut. Working families in California are already seeing their healthcare costs skyrocket, and it’s only getting worse.
Now, 113,000 California Green Party members are entering the battle to save the state from these dire consequences — by endorsing Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax, to make billionaires finally pay their fair share.
Meanwhile, the number of major supporters for the billionaire tax has far outpaced the groups opposing it. Prop 40 just scored a major victory with a “yes” vote endorsement from the California Democratic Party, California Labor Federation and the California Young Democrats. Hundreds of elected officials, labor unions, and community-based organizations have endorsed Prop 40, including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Ro Khanna, Teamsters California, California Nurses Association, AFSCME California, SEIU-UHW, Committee of Interns and Residents / SEIU, UNITE HERE Local 11, UNITE HERE Local 30, AFT Local 1521, Disability Voices United, Our Revolution California, Oxfam America, Color of Change, and many more.
“This is one of the most consequential measures in our state history, a state with the largest number of billionaires and the widest wealth gap. YOU as voters have the power to level the field for countless communities on November 3, Vote YES on Proposition 40,” said GPCA spokesperson David Cobb.
The California Green Party is one of the state’s officially recognized political parties, built around principles of social justice, environmental sustainability, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and economic fairness. Prop 40 is consistent with the party’s continued championing of progressive reforms aimed at reducing economic inequality and ensuring that California’s economy works for everyone.
As Trump’s massive federal healthcare cuts begin to rip healthcare away from millions of Californians, the California Green Party is joining a growing list of organizations and lawmakers supporting Prop 40, which makes more than 200 California billionaires pay a modest, one-time tax to keep local hospitals and ERs open and healthcare affordable for millions of Californians.
Billionaires already pay much lower tax rates than what working families pay out of every paycheck. They insist on paying less and sticking the middle class with the bill. Prop 40 will enact a tax paid ONLY by Californians worth more than $1 billion, a small group of people who together hold $2 trillion in wealth — most of which will never be taxed due to loopholes that favor the ultra-wealthy.
By voting YES on Prop 40, California voters can raise about $100 billion to replace the healthcare funding Trump and his billionaire donors took from working people to hoard even more wealth. The funds will go to life-saving medical care for seniors, veterans, and families. It will allow millions of Californians to keep their health insurance and not see their premiums skyrocket. It will also help prevent teacher layoffs in our public schools and keep children fed through food assistance programs.
“We deeply appreciate the Green Party’s commitment to protecting healthcare access for millions of California families by making sure billionaires pay their fair share. Together, we plan to educate voters on Prop 40 and its vital role in mitigating wholly unnecessary healthcare cuts caused by the Trump administration’s tax giveaway to billionaires,” said Debru Carthan, Vice President of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, one of the lead sponsors of the California Billionaire Tax Act.
Voters consistently support the California Billionaire Tax by large, double-digit margins. A new poll of likely 2026 California voters found that the billionaire tax holds a strong double-digit, 19-point lead statewide, with voters supporting it by a 57% to 38% margin.
Support rises dramatically among constituencies that form the backbone of the Democratic Party, with 80% of Democrats, 70% of union members, 63% of teachers, 63% of healthcare workers, and 56% of independent and no-party-preference voters supporting Prop 40.
Prop 40 qualified for the ballot after supporters submitted more than 1.6 million signatures from Californians across the state — nearly twice the number required to qualify — making it one of the strongest citizen-led ballot qualification efforts in California history.
California’s more than 400 hospitals statewide have already laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers, and a second wave of layoffs is expected as funding cuts from Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” hit healthcare providers. Statewide, projections show the cuts could result in the loss of up to 145,000 healthcare jobs, impacting hospitals, clinics, and home care providers.
California has already been grappling with a longstanding shortage of healthcare workers, leaving hospitals and clinics stretched thin even before Trump’s cuts.
Without revenue from Prop 40, these federal healthcare cuts are expected to put an estimated 83 California hospitals and clinics at risk of closure. Cuts and closures have already started, impacting communities from Los Angeles to Oakland to Glenn County.
About Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act
Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill” slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks. These cuts eliminate healthcare coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians and double health insurance premiums for millions more. Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act, will make billionaires finally pay their fair share in taxes to keep local hospitals and ERs open and healthcare affordable for millions of Californians.
Vote YES on Prop 40 to save lives, tax billionaires.
Paid for Paid for by Yes on 40 – Billionaire Tax Now – No on 41 & 42, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West.
Committee’s Top Funder
Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West
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