California proposal: No kids? Then don't pay school taxes

Much of Millsaps College is in transition such as this classroom photographed, Thursday, June 22, 2006, in Jackson, MIss., as they prepare to become the summer training camp for the New Orleans Saints. Classrooms such as this one in Sullivan-Harrell Hall will be equipped with projectors and tables with chairs instead of the student desks to accomodate the football players attending their specialization meetings. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis) ((AP Photo/Rogelio Solis))

A California man has proposed a ballot measure to exempt residents who don’t have kids in state public schools from paying the taxes to fund them.

The “California Education Tax Relief Act,” proposed by Lee Olson of Huntington Beach, would allow California residents with no children in the public school system to avoid paying taxes and fees designated for state school funding, KTVU reports.

Last week, the state Attorney General’s Office gave approval for circulation of the initiative, allowing proponents to start collecting the signatures necessary to get a spot on the November 2018 ballot.

The proposal is one of several initiatives that Olson, who lists himself as chairman of the Committee to End Slavery, proposed earlier this year. In 2009, he proposed a measure with the same title, but it failed to qualify for the ballot.

It’s unclear whether the measure might stand a chance of even getting on the ballot this time. If it did, it could meet stiff opposition from parents and others worried such a massive exemption would result in higher taxes elsewhere.

The state’s Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance says the measure could reduce revenue from state and local taxes and fees by tens of billions of dollars a year -- but could lead to increases in other taxes and fees in order for state and local governments to balance their budgets.

In order to qualify for the November 2018 ballot, the school tax initiative needs 585,407 signatures by May 8, 2018, KTVU reports.

Fox News' Sarah Smith contributed to this report.