Authored by Lear Zhou via The Epoch Times,
Voters in Berkeley, California, will decide in the coming election whether to start a public bank using a new parcel tax as seed money in order to create long-term investments in affordable housing, green energy, and small businesses.
Public banking is on the ballot in Berkeley! Measure Z would fund Public Bank East Bay through a six-year parcel tax, projected to raise $9M+ in its first year, the largest single investment in a regional bank. https://t.co/3mpr0FiSLk
— CA Public Banking Alliance (@capublicbanking) August 26, 2026
The public bank, as a nonprofit corporation engaging in commercial or industrial banking business, would be "wholly owned by a local agency, local agencies, or a joint powers authority" of local agencies, according to the measure text.
"While big corporate banks invest our public tax dollars outside of our community, a public bank can recirculate our money in our community to fund projects and build a stronger, more resilient, local community aligned to our values," Measure Z states.
The proposed parcel tax would last six years and would be $0.06 per square foot of residential improvements and $0.09 per square foot of other properties' improvements, with potent
