Fail: 165330 / 41.23% Yes votes ...... 235671 / 58.77% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

A county may levy special taxes upon approval by two-thirds of the votes cast on a special tax proposal, pursuant to Section 4 of Article XIIIA and Section 2 of Article XIIIC of the California Constitution.

If two-thirds of the qualified electors voting on this Measure vote for approval, Measure A (printed in full in this Voter Pamphlet) would enact a County ordinance establishing this special tax. Proceeds from this special tax, including proceeds from any bonds issued by the County and any interest theron, would be deposited in a "Children's Hospital Fund" ("Fund"). The County would distribute money from the Fund to "eligible children's hospitals" that are qualified for such funds pursuant to Sections 1179.10 et seq. of the California Health and Safety Code. Only Children's Hospital would qualify for disbursement from the Fund.

The Measure provides that, upon application to the County for a distribution from the Fund, the County would grant moneys to Children's Hospital for purposes set forth in the Measure, in particular for construction, expansion and improvement of Children's Hospital's facilities. The Measure authorizes, but does not require, the County to issue bonds or other forms of public debt to be secured by the special tax.

The following are primary differences between Measure A and B on this ballot. Unlike Measure B, Measure A would 1) provide for full reimbursement of County costs for collection and administration of the special tax and oversight of the grants, 2) require continuing public use of facilities constructed with special tax proceeds and 3) the tax could continue for thirty-five, rather than thirty, years.

If the Measure passes, a special tax will be imposed on residential real property in the amount of $24 per year for each parcel, and on small non-residential real property in the amount of $100 per year or on large non-residential parcels in the amount of $250 per year. The tax will be collected by the Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector at the same time and in the same manner as ad valorem property taxes. Upon annual application, the County may grant exemptions for any residential parcel owned and occupied by a person 65 years or older and by persons with very low income under rules established by the County.

If two-thirds of qualified electors voting on this Measure do not vote for approval, this Measure will fail and the County will not be authorized to levy the special parcel tax. If both Measure A and B receive sufficient votes to be enacted, then the Measure that has received a greater number of affirmative votes shall be enacted.

Click here to read The League of Women Voters of Oakland's Easy Voter Guide

KGO TV - Channel 7

• Childrens Hospital in Search for Funding - 2/01/08

• Confusing ballot measures on Oakland hospital - 1/18/08

• Hospital plans get temperatures boiling; Ballot measures to expand Children's draw fire from North Oakland facility's neighbors - 2/02/08
• Neighbors want info on hospital expansion; With just weeks left, questions abound on ballot measures to fund Children's - 1/12/08

Yes on Measure A

No on Measure A

Measure A won't put the County and Taxpayers on the hook for a bond that would use up a lot of the county's future bonding capacity. With a lot of hard work, Alameda County's leadership came up with a plan to rebuild Children's Hospital Oakland with a combination of State Bonds, Private Gifts and Grants, and Measure A.

The Children's Hospital Oakland Construction Fund will work like this: $173 million will come from State Bonds. $150 million will come from foundations and generous donors. And Alameda County families will contribute $2 per month. Our businesses will contribute, too with big business contributing more ($250 per year per parcel) and small businesses contributing less ($100 per year per parcel).

We admire what the Board of Supervisors, the County staff, and the leaders at Children's Hospital have done.

They compromised.

They showed us all that they mean it when they say that nothing is more important than the children.

If you mean it, please vote Yes on Measure A.

s/James E. Crawford, MD
Medical Director, Center for Child Protection, Children's Hospital Oakland
s/Arthur D'Harlingue, MD
Neonatologist, Children's Hospital Oakland
s/James H. Hanson, MD
Medical Director, Pediatric Critical Care, Children's Hospital Oakland
s/Mary Rutherford, MD
Medical Director, Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Oakland
s/Barbara Staggers, MD
Medical Staff President-Elect Director, Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Oakland

Make no mistake. Children's is a multi-million dollar private facility. This $300 million parcel tax for homeowners and business owners amounts to a corporate giveaway at a time when public hospitals, schools, libraries and other needed services are competing for funds.

• We wholeheartedly support Children's mission to heal the sick in a seismically safe facility. But this is no way to run a business.
• It is unfair to ask voters to foot the bill for a private facility. Will we be subsidizing upgrades for private medical centers like Kaiser and Sutter next?
• Children's claims it will shut down if it cannot build its tower. This is untrue. With tens of millions of dollars in seismic retrofit funds approved by voters in 2004 and the $150 million it plans to raise from donors, it can more than afford to retrofit its current in-patient facilities without an exorbitant and unnecessary parcel tax that we will be paying for the next 35 years.
• For years, Children's has expanded in an unplanned manner without seeking neighborhood input. The proposed high-rise will squeeze into the site like an elephant into a bathtub, disrupting a low-key, multi- racial, family oriented neighborhood and setting a bad precedent for future development in Alameda County.
• Vote No on Measure A and send this ill-conceived plan back to the drawing board. There's abetter way.

To date, Children's has done a commendable job of serving recipients of MediCal and other government health insurance programs that reimburse at low rates. But its focus is shifting to draw better paying customers in the healthcare marketplace+with our tax dollars. In their fervor to get the tower off the ground, campaign representatives have actually claimed that the hospital will close unless voters approve the measure. This is untrue and manipulative. The hospital is required by state law to earthquake-retrofit its inpatient facility by 2013. That deadline could be extended. A deluxe high-rise is not needed to accomplish this.

The tower would be completely out of place in the surrounding neighborhood, which has bloomed over the years from a hub for corner drug dealers into a vibrant, multi-racial community where children play together and homeowners look out for one another.

Time and again, the hospital has expanded in an unplanned fashion without a master facilities plan and without seeking neighborhood input. The result is traffic congestion, parking problems, glaring lights and deep mistrust. To build their tower, Children's may even seize homes through eminent domain. Construction will last at least three years.

Children's can offer state-of-the-art care in an earthquake-retrofitted facility without the need for a fancy high-rise that would jeopardize the character of a thriving, family-oriented neighborhood.

s/Jennifer Kagiwada
Mother of 2 preschoolers
s/Jenna Hyman
artist/mom
s/Floyd A.Cole
50+ year Oakland resident/business owner
s/Lori L. Solay
Secretary for Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council. Oakland Resident. Mother
s/Babette L. Connor

The opponents of rebuilding Children's Hospital Oakland make arguments that sound like we are trying to build a high-rise hotel.

Ask the parents of kids with cancer or leukemia who have to stay in our hospital for months at a time about "luxury" rooms for those kids.

Our rooms are equipped with the best technology . . . to save lives!

Here are the facts:

Children's Hospital Oakland saves hundreds of lives every year. We treat tens of thousands of children. Many fighting for their lives. We are a world-class research hospital responsible for medical breakthroughs that save the lives of countless other children.

To be attacked as though we were building for anything other than the needs of our children is wrong.

Measure A is the compromise we arrived at with the Board of Supervisors.

Measure A protects taxpayers. It exempts senior citizens. It does not utilize county bond capacity. It has no adverse impact on any county service.

And Measure A costs large businesses $250 per parcel per year while small businesses only contribute $100 per parcel per year. That is a small price to pay to take full advantage of nearly $200 million in State bonds.

Please vote Yes on A to rebuild Children's Hospital while protecting the county budget.

s/David J. Durand, MD
Director, Neonatology
Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
s/Jacob A. Neufeld, MD
Medical Director,Pediatric Rehabilitation
Children'sHospital and Research Center Oakland
s/Ann Petru, MD
Director,Infectious Diseases Division
Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland

The Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda, State of California, ORDAINS as follows:

Chapter 2.28, entitled "Special Tax to Support Children's Hospital Construction Program", and consisting of Sections 2.28.010 to 2.28.110, of Title 2 of the Alameda County Ordinance Code is hereby added as follows:

2.28.010. Findings and Declaration of Purpose.
A. The children of Alameda County are presently served by healthcare facilities that are not adequate and that must be upgraded. Those children with the most serious and deadly illnesses, like leukemia, cancer, heart defects, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis, are primarily served by Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland. This facility is old and new construction is required to address existing and future needs and to meet seismic standards required by state law.
B. The voters of California approved a statewide bond in 2004 (Proposition 61) making some funds available to eligible non-profit children's hospitals for hospital improvements and repairs. Unfortunately, the funds avail- able to Alameda County are not nearly enough to repair or replace Alameda County's only children's hospital and improve the delivery of health care to children.
C. Children's hospitals are unique institutions because they provide both research and treatment of children and thus warrant the use of public funds to ensure continuation of this combination of services in the County.
D. Therefore, the Board of Supervisors of Alameda County declares and finds that it is in the public interest and necessary for the general health and welfare of the citizens of Alameda County, and in particular, its most vulnerable children, that additional funding be obtained and dedicated to the improvement of health care for children delivered through an eligible children's hospital.

2.28.020. The Children's Hospital Fund.
The "Children's Hospital Fund" is hereby created as a special revenue fund. Proceeds from the Children's Hospital Special Tax, including penalties and interest earned on such proceeds, shall be deposited into the fund for allocation and appropriation by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 2.28.040.

2.28.030. Definitions.
A. "Children's Hospital Special Tax" and "special tax" mean the tax authorized and imposed pursuant to Section 2.28.080.
B. "Eligible children's hospitals" mean general acute care hospitals located in the city of Oakland in Alameda County that have qualified for or are eligible to qualify for a grant of funds pursuant to the Children's Hospital Bond Act of 2004 (Part 6 (commencing with Section 1179.10) of Division 1 of the Health and Safety Code).
C. "Fund" means the Children's Hospital Fund created pursuant to section 2.28.020.
D. "Grant" means the distribution of money in the Fund to an eligible children's hospital for projects pursuant to Section 2.28.050.
E. "Project" means constructing, expanding, remodeling, renovating, furnishing, equipping, or financing of an eligible children's hospital, or any combination thereof, including costs that would be capitalized under generally accepted accounting principles in connection with the project.

2.28.040. Use and Eligibility.
A. Moneys in the Children's Hospital Fund shall be used exclusively for grants made to improve the health and welfare of children by providing a stable and ready source of funds for capital projects to eligible general acute care children's hospitals located in the city of Oakland in Alameda County. Moneys in the Fund shall also be used to reimburse the County as provided for in subdivision C.
B. Grants shall only be made to eligible children's hospitals upon application as provided for in section 2.28.050 and upon allocation and appropriation by the Board of Supervisors.
C. The County shall be reimbursed from the Fund for the costs it incurs in relation to the special tax as follows:

1. One and seven tenths percent (1.7%) of the special tax proceeds for collection of the special tax, plus the actual costs of the County that are caused by the administration of the special tax, such as for identifying taxable parcels and applying exemptions to parcels.
2. For actual costs associated with the administration of the Fund, including, but not limited to, processing of grant applications and disbursement of proceeds of the special tax.
3. For actual costs associated with monitoring and enforcing compliance with this Chapter, including, but not limited to, the cost of the citizens' oversight review committee, audit of uses and maintenance of use ofthe funds, and any expenses, including attorney's fees, associated with any proceedings needed to enforce the requirements of this Chapter and of conditions imposed upon grants by the Board of Supervisors.
4. For actual costs, including attorney fees, associated with litigation in defense of the Chapter, the award of a grant or any other action that may be undertaken by the County or grantee to implement this Chapter or use funds provided by this special tax.

2.28.050. Application for Grants.
A. The Board of Supervisors shall award grants to fund projects to eligible children's hospitals upon appropriate application as provided in subdivision B. A grant may be issued in a lump-sum or periodically, at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, in order to support or finance one or more projects. The County may approve grants for a period of years based on anticipated revenue from the special tax during that period, provided that the Board shall not warrant the amount of proceeds of the special tax that would be available to grantee but have not yet been received. The Board of Supervisors may facilitate efforts of the grantee to secure long-term financing for the project. In approving this Measure, the voters express their desire that the proceeds of taxes be used as provided in this Chapter, and that such proceeds may be used by grantee to secure long-term financing if the Board determines that doing so is in the best interest of the County.
B. The Board of Supervisors shall develop a written application for the awarding of grants under Section 2.28.040 within 90 days of the adoption of this Chapter. The Board of Supervisors shall award grants to eligible children's hospitals, subject to the limitations of this Chapter and any other conditions imposed by the County to further the purposes of this Chapter. The County shall consider the following factors in awarding a grant:

1. The grant will contribute toward expansion or improvement of health care access by children eligible for governmental health insurance programs and indigent, underserved, and uninsured children;
2. The grant will contribute toward the improvement of child health care or pediatric patient out- comes;
3. The applicant provides uncompensated or under compensated care to indigent or public pediatric patients;
4. The applicant provides services to vulnerable pediatric populations;
5. The children's hospital promotes pediatric teaching or research programs;
6. Demonstration of project readiness and project feasibility;
7. The applicant has received funds from the State of California for the same project;
8. The applicant will contribute private funds, either donated to the hospital or from the hospital's own funds, towards the project;
9. The applicant has provided satisfactory guarantees that the promised use of grant proceeds will be maintained throughout the effectiveness of the special tax and that facilities constructed with the special tax proceeds will continue to meet the conditions set forth in subparagraphs 1-6 of this subdivision; and
10.The applicant has provided satisfactory guarantees that proceeds of the grant will not be used, directly or indirectly, to make funds available for operations or to construct facilities outside Alameda County.

2.28.060. Accountability.
In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code sections 50075.1 and 50075.3, the following accountability measures, among others, shall apply to the special tax levied in accordance with this Measure:
A. The specific purposes of the special tax shall be those purposes identified above;
B. The proceeds of the special tax shall be applied only to those specific purposes identified above;
C. A separate, special account shall be created into which the proceeds of the special taxes must be deposited; and
D. The County's chief fiscal officer shall file an annual written report with the Board of Supervisors showing (1) the amount of funds collected and expended from the proceeds of the special tax and (2) the status of the projects authorized to be funded from the proceeds of the special tax, as identified above.
E. The Board of Supervisors shall establish an independent citizens' oversight committee which shall conduct an annual independent review to ensure that the special taxes have been expended only for the purposes set forth in this Chapter.

2.28.070. Grant Enforcement.
A. The County may audit the use of grant proceeds by a grantee in order to ensure that special tax proceeds have been properly used, including, but not limited to:

1. For the purposes stated in the application and in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter and any other conditions imposed on the grantee by the Board of Supervisors;
2. Exclusively for projects within Alameda County; and
3. That special tax proceeds have not been used, directly or indirectly, to replace operating funds or to construct facilities outside Alameda County.

2.28.080. Children's Hospital Special Tax.
Upon approval of two-thirds of those voting to approve this Chapter, commencing on July 1, 2008, and annually for a period not to exceed thirty-five years, the County shall levy and collect a special tax on each parcel of real property within Alameda County for which the owner receives a separate ad valorem property tax bill, at the same time and manner, and subject to the same penalties and procedures as ad valorem property taxes collected by the County as follows:
A. On residential real property at a rate of $24 per year for each residential parcel. A residential parcel is any parcel for which the owner receives an ad valorem property tax bill and receives or is otherwise eligible for a home-owners' property tax exemption under Article XIII, section 3(k) of the Constitution of the State of California.
B. On small non-residential real property at a rate of $100 per year for each non-residential parcel and on large non-residential real property at a rate of $250 per year for each non-residential parcel. Non-residential real property shall include all real property, improved or unimproved, if the property owner does not receive or is otherwise eligible for a homeowners' property tax exemption. Small non-residential real property is any parcel less than one acre in size, as determined according to the records of the Alameda County Assessor. All other non-residential real property shall be deemed large non- residential real property.
C. If a parcel consists of both residential and non- residential real property, the rate shall be the rate for non-residential parcels.
D. Real property otherwise wholly exempted from ad valorem tax by state law shall also be exempted from any liability for the special tax imposed by this Chapter.
E. The uses and sizes of all parcels shall be determined according to the records of the Alameda County Tax Assessor. For Parcels divided by Tax Rate Area lines, the payment for the portion of the parcel within Alameda County shall be calculated at the same rates as set forth above. For properties wholly within Alameda County and divided by Tax Rate Area lines into multiple parcels, the property shall be taxed as a single parcel at the rates set forth above.
F. Exemptions. The County shall grant an exemption for any owner of a residential parcel tax if the owner is a person 65 years of age or older, or very low income, under rules established by the County. The application process shall be self-certifying.
G. Early Termination of Tax. If no previously approved grant is operative and if no application for funds has been made for a period of two consecutive years by an eligible children's hospital, the Board of Supervisors may terminate the tax prior to the expiration of thirty-five years. Upon the expiration of the special tax, the Board of Supervisors may use any moneys that shall remain in the Fund for capital healthcare projects of the County.
H. Constitutional Spending Limit.
Pursuant to Article XIIIB of the Constitution of the State of California and applicable laws, the appropriations limit for the County of Alameda is hereby increased by the aggregate sum authorized to be levied by this special tax for fiscal year 2008-09 and each year thereafter.
I. The County shall establish rules that are necessary and desirable for implementation of the Chapter.

Section 2.28.090. Severability.
A. If any provision of this Chapter is held by any court or by any Federal or State agency of competent jurisdiction, to be invalid as conflicting with any Federal or State law, rule or regulation now or hereafter in effect, or is held by such court or agency to be modified in any way in order to conform to the requirements of any such law, rule or regulation, such provision shall be considered a separate, distinct, and independent part of this ordinance, and such holding shall not affect the validity and enforceability of all other provisions hereof. In the event that such law, rule or regulation is subsequently repealed, rescinded, amend- ed or otherwise changed, so that the provision thereof which had previously been held invalid or modified is no longer in conflict with such law, rule or regulation, said provision shall thereupon return to full force and effect and shall thereafter be binding.
B. If any section, subsection, phrase, clause, sentence, or word in this ordinance shall for any reason be held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not nullify the remainder of this ordinance but shall be confined to the article, section, subsection, subdivision, clause, sentence or word so held invalid or unconstitutional.

Section 2.28.100. Amendment. This Measure may only be amended by a vote of the people pursuant to Election Code section 9125 except that the Board of Supervisors may amend this measure if necessary to assist a grantee in obtaining long-term financing for projects funded pursuant to this Measure.

Section 2.28.110. Effective Date.
This Chapter, and all the provisions thereof, shall become effective only upon affirmative passage by a two-thirds majority vote of the eligible voters of this County pursuant to California Constitution, Article XIIIA, sec. 2 and Article XIIIC, sec. 2; California Government Code 53722; and Elections Code section 9122.

Introduced at a regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda, State of California, held on the 23rd day of October, 2007, and passed and adopted by this Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda, pending voter approval, on this 6th day of November, 2007, by the following called vote:
AYES:
NOES:
EXCUSED:
s/Scott Haggerty
President of the Board of Supervisors
County of Alameda, State of California
ATTEST:
s/Crystal Hishida Graff
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors,
County of Alameda