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California voters are being urged to put a poison-pill effort on the November ballot that would nullify a controversial proposed tax on the state’s billionaires.

Neither proposal has yet qualified for the ballot — supporters of each need to gather the verified signatures of hundreds of thousands of voters. But petitions that have been mailed and texted to California voters in recent days demonstrate the stakes in a contest that has drawn tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending.

“Government has wasted billions of our tax dollars on homelessness and many other failed programs with little to show for it,” reads the new mailing to voters. “We can’t afford more wasteful spending!”

The proposal is aimed at countering a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires assets that would fund healthcare for the state’s neediest residents, but opponents say it would lead to lost tax revenues as California’s wealthiest flee the state.

Mailers and texts recently sent to voters describe the new proposal as an effort to create a more accountable, transparent and effective state government that would require auditing of new state taxes and ensuring they comply with existing law.

The small-font description of the proposed initiative included in the mailing specifies that any new tax enacted after Jan. 1 must be deposited into the state’s general fund and conform with current state tax policy, which is an oblique reference to a prior voter-approved ballot measure requiring that a significant portion of the state’s tax revenue be spent on education.

If competing proposals appear on a ballot and are successful, the one that receives the most votes nullifies the other. There are other ballot measure proposals aimed at thwarting the billionaires tax.

The mailers and texts were funded by a committee called Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government, which was funded by another group, called Building a Better California, according to the California secretary of state’s office.

Earlier this year, the latter group received a $20-million donation from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, $2 million from former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and $2 million from Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, among donations from other Silicon Valley leaders, according to fundraising disclosure reports.

Attempts to reach spokespeople connected with the effort were unsuccessful Monday night.

Suzanne Jimenez, chief of staff at SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the primary union backing the billionaire tax, decried what she described as an effort by a small number of the state’s wealthiest residents to avoid paying their fair share.

“So far, those few billionaires are failing,” she said in a statement. “Despite the expensive and wasteful tactics by a small group of billionaires that aim to deny voters a choice on the billionaire tax in November, our growing coalition and volunteer base is on track with signature collection and gaining momentum. The public is crystal clear on the fact that keeping ERs and clinics open is more important than billionaires getting more tax breaks.”

California’s budget is notoriously volatile because it is largely dependent on taxes paid by its wealthiest residents. Revenue hinges on capital gains from investments, bonuses to executives and windfalls from new stock offerings, all of which are grossly unpredictable.

The billionaire tax would cost more than 200 of the state’s richest residents about $100 billion if a majority of voters support it on the November ballot.

The proposed tax would retroactively apply to billionaires’ assets as of Jan. 1, and has already prompted some of California’s wealthiest residents to leave the state. It has also created a wedge among Democrats. Some argue that it is necessary to address tax inequities that benefit the rich and harm everyone else. Among the supporters is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who kicked off the billionaire tax proposal drive in February.

But others, notably Gov. Gavin Newsom, oppose the effort, saying policies that vary by state would drive innovators and businesses outside of California.

AMY Childs has made a plea to fans about her secret family tragedy.

The Towie icon, 35, is asking her followers to share or donate to her cousin’s fundraising page after her five-month-old daughter Lila was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour.

Amy’s cousin has shared how they are now “out of options” following Lila undergoing 9-hour brain surgery and the tumour since returning.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Amy shared a screengrab of the JustGiving page and wrote about her family’s ongoing tragedy.

“Please, if you can, help support my cousin’s beautiful daughter Lila,” Amy touchingly penned.

She continued: “She’s fighting so hard and every donation makes a difference.

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“Even sharing this means a lot. Thank you all so much.”

On the JustGiving page, Amy’s cousin Hannah opened up about the ordeal in depth.

“Our beautiful little Lila is only 5 months old and been through more in her little life than any adult we know. Our brave girl, our little lion cub,” she began.

“Lila was diagnosed at 3 weeks old with ATRT – a rare and aggressive brain tumour.

“She underwent 9 hour brain surgery at just 3 weeks old, and started chemotherapy at just 5 weeks old. And that is really just the surface.

“What one tiny baby has endured in her 5 months of life has taught us some serious life lessons.”

ATRT is also known as atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor.

It is a rare, fast-growing, and highly aggressive cancerous tumour that develops in the brain and spinal cord of children aged 3 and younger.

Brain Tumour Research states: “ATRTs are classified as embryonal tumours, meaning that they develop from stem cells that helped the embryo to form in the womb, but have unfortunately remained active in the brain after birth.

“When these stem cells fail to stop dividing and developing after the child is born, they can form a cancerous tumour.”

On Amy’s cousin’s fundraising page, Lila’s mum Hannah went on to add: “Lila is the strongest baby girl, already defied all the odds, she has done everything that has been asked of her.. but unfortunately after 6 rounds of chemotherapy, an MRI showed the tumour has returned.

“We were told that treatment would not continue and we were out of options.”

Hannah then revealed that she and her partner “lived in hospital for four months” and were separated from their three other children during this time.

She explained how they have now been living in a children’s hospice for two weeks.

“Our lives have been turned upside down and we are devastated,” she added.

She then explained how they have reached out to an oncologist in Toronto, who is leading on research in ATRT, for a second opinion on Lila.

“We have no idea if there are any options for us, what they could be and how much it might cost us.

“The target is therefore completely random – but if by some miracle, they come through with something for us to try and it comes down to finances, we need to be prepared. Time is not on our side,” she went on.

Concluding her moving plea, Hannah went on to add: “Be assured your donations will not go to waste.

“If our efforts don’t pay off, your donations will be given generously to the lovely charities who have supported us during this time.”

At the time of publication, Amy’s cousin had raised £24,350 of her £25,000 goal.