California Union Behind State Billionaire Tax Has $68 Million in Assets
A new ballot initiative in California, ostentatiously dubbed the “2026 The Billionaire Tax Act,” would impose a one-time tax of 5 percent on the “accumulated wealth of California billionaires.” Applicable to any California resident with a net worth or trust of $1 billion or more, the union-sponsored measure has drawn criticisms from the intended tax base and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In addition to creating a “2026 Billionaire Tax Reserve Fund,” the initiative would allocate any collected taxes into two subaccounts: 90 percent to the Billionaire Tax Health Account and 10 percent to the Billionaire Tax Education and Food Assistance Account.
Suzanne Jimenez, the chief of staff for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), the Oakland union behind the proposal, says the fund will “help to keep hospitals open and preserve Californians’ access to health care,” according to the New York Times.
Some residents of the Sunshine State aren’t convinced. Newsom has claimed that the initiative “will be defeated,” adding, “I’ll do what I have to do to protect the state.” Rob Lapsey, president of the California Business Roundtable, has been “working the phones to wage a ‘huge effort’ with business leaders to defeat the billionaires’ tax,” per the New York Times. Others opposed to the measure are employing various tactics to defeat it, including conducting public opinion polls and sponsoring rival initiatives.
Since 2018, SEIU-UHW has sponsored three healthcare-related ballot initiatives. California voters have rejected all three, though the union has made a habit of using ballot initiatives as a negotiating tool with healthcare providers and legislators, according to CalMatters. (RELATED: Californians Reject the Worst Initiatives)
It’s also unclear why the union needs California’s help in covering its members’ healthcare costs. SEIU-UHW has an asset portfolio exceeding $68 million. As of 2024, SEIU-UHW had a membership base of 124,106, collecting over $136 million in dues and reporting spending of over $150 million, according to the Office of Labor-Management Standards. (RELATED: California’s Latest Consumer Harassment Scheme)
Of that $150 million, SEIU-UHW spent $19 million on hotel stays and $2.5 million on dining out.
Cries to “protect healthcare jobs and ensure working people and families can get the care they need” ring hollow, given that the union dedicates over $20 million annually to consultants and public relations.
SEIU-UHW’s stated goal to “ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians” would be more believable if the organization didn’t spend 60 percent of its revenue on activities outside the scope of its mission.
Additionally, both Jimenez and Dave Regan, the president of SEIU-UHW, reportedly earn over $200,000 per year, nearly double California’s median household income. SEIU-UHW’s stated goal to “ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians” would be more believable if the organization didn’t spend 60 percent of its revenue on activities outside the scope of its mission.
Further, while the union asserts that the tax is necessary to “prevent the collapse of California healthcare and help fund California public K-14 education and state food assistance programs,” the insolvency of the state’s healthcare system is a problem of California’s own making. (RELATED: Is Minnesota or California the Fraud Capital of America?)
Although California’s per capita healthcare spending is on par with the national average, the state’s annual average growth of healthcare spending outpaced the rate of economic growth and nationwide expenditures between 2010 and 2020. Already facing multiyear deficits of $18 to $35 billion annually, a steady diet of waste, fraud, and abuse has led to a $6.2 billion deficit in the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. (RELATED: Gavin’s Angels: From Masks to Mandates to Millions)
Medi-Cal has been on the naughty list of the California State Auditor’s office since 2007. A December 2025 review of “high risk” issues and agencies found the program had not “adequately demonstrated progress to resolve problems with Medi-Cal eligibility determinations.”
In 2024, California passed Proposition 35, which requires the state to spend the money from a tax on health care plans on Medi-Cal while preventing legislators from using the tax revenue to replace existing state spending on the program. Although the initiative projects revenue gains upwards of $35 billion, Medi-Cal spending continues to outpace revenue growth.
Last March, the Newsom administration requested a $3.4 billion loan for Medi-Cal to “close a budget gap,” according to Politico. Driven by a “10 percent annual jump in per-enrollee spending” and “growth in spending for the undocumented expansion population,” Medi-Cal’s projected cost will rise from $44.9 billion this fiscal year to $47.3 billion in 2026–27 and $51.6 billion by 2029–30, based on a November 2025 report by California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).
Despite a proposal from the governor’s office to freeze enrollment for adult illegal immigrants, the LAO expects the cost of coverage for illegal immigrants to increase by 50 percent, to the tune of $10.8 billion in 2025–26. The freeze would also protect higher-income existing enrollees while blocking new low-income applicants.
Charges for healthcare services in California can be well over 1,000 percent of the actual expense to provide the service. Instead of fixing Medi-Cal, Democrats in the California State Legislature blocked efforts last year by Republicans to audit the program.
Self-inflicted wounds have left California in a fiscal mess. California ranks 48th in the country in terms of competitive tax rate, according to the Tax Foundation. Since 2017, California’s population of high-income earners has declined by over 100,000, yet the state continues to increase its budget each fiscal year. As of 2023, the state carries the most significant government debt, totaling $497 billion, in addition to the second-highest state pension debt at $90 billion, per a report by the Reason Foundation.
With growing structural deficits and most reserves exhausted, the LAO estimates the state will likely require revenues of $60 billion or more to close annual gaps. Staring at a worsening budget crisis, California can either pursue proven solutions like cutting spending or favor temporary revenue increases like the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act that fail to address the underlying problems.
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