IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 22, 2013) - Orange County Business Council (OCBC) welcomed Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, California State Assembly, 65^th District, to its Advocacy and Government Affairs Committee meeting today. Business leaders voiced concerns of legislative proposals to roll-back Proposition 13 property tax hike protections, but were pleased to hear Quirk-Silva commit to defend and protect Prop 13 to the fullest, while fighting against so-called "split roll" taxes that hurt small businesses.

Commonly known as Prop 13 -- the long-revered "People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation" -- limits yearly increases to the tax rate on homes and other real estate. A "split roll" would mean that only residential properties -- not businesses -- would be protected under Prop. 13. This change would hurt small business owners in particular, increase the costs of products and services for everyone, and severely impact a recovering economy. According to Pepperdine University School of Public Policy's "An Analysis of Split Roll Property Tax Issues and Impacts," this change could result in almost $72 billion in lost output and 400,000 lost jobs over the first five years, and the losses would be even greater in succeeding years. California is recovering from the Great Recession and still in need of more than 1,000,000 jobs to return to normal employment and growth.

"We commend Assembly woman Sharon Quirk-Silva's leadership on these important business issues," said Lucy Dunn, President and CEO, Orange County Business Council. "We are committed to working with her to assure that taxpayers of Orange County and California are not burdened further, jobs grow, employers hire and the economy grows to benefit everyone."

About OCBC:
Orange County Business Council is the leading voice of business in Orange County, California. OCBC represents and promotes the business community, working with government and academia, to enhance Orange County's economic development and prosperity in order to preserve a high quality of life. OCBC serves member and investor businesses with nearly 250,000 employees and 2,000,000 worldwide. In providing a proactive forum for business and supporting organizations, OCBC helps assure the financial growth of America's sixth largest county. For more information, visit www.ocbc.org.