CALIFORNIA Initiative eyes major cuts in property tax Homeowners' exemption, renters' credit would rise By Ed Mendel STAFF WRITER March 31, 2002 SACRAMENTO – For the first time since voters approved the landmark Proposition 13 nearly a quarter-century ago, major reductions in the property tax are being considered. A proposed initiative and a lawsuit in Orange County are firing up interest among taxpayer groups, but alarming some officials who fear that schools, public safety and other government services could lose billions of dollars. The Republican candidate for governor, Bill Simon, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association plan to put an...