Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 hour ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

3 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

3 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

3 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

5 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

22 hours ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

23 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

1 day ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

2 days ago
Walters: Even More Confusion Over Tax Vote
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 5 years ago on
March 16, 2020

Share

Throughout California, local government and school officials have been stunned by voters’ reluctance this month to approve new taxes and bonds.
The California Taxpayers Association has reported that more than half of the local measures appeared to fail on March 3, although some may squeak through when all votes are tallied.


Dan Walters
Opinion
One of the casualties appears to be San Diego’s Measure C, backed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer and local business and labor interests, which would have boosted hotel taxes for expansion of the city’s convention center, curbing homelessness and street repairs.
As of last week, Measure C had about 65% of  San Diegans’ votes, a clear majority but shy of the two-thirds margin California law and San Diego’s city attorney say are required, thus folding it into a legal conflict that’s been simmering for the past three years.
State law says that “special purpose” taxes, which Measure C clearly is, must have two-thirds approval by voters. But three years ago, the state Supreme Court cast doubt on that principle in upholding the basic right of voters to impose taxes via the initiative process.

Some Tax Measures Failing to Receive Two-Thirds Votes Have Been Validated by Judges

Writing the 5-2 majority opinion, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar declared, “Multiple provisions of the state Constitution explicitly constrain the power of local governments to raise taxes. But we will not lightly apply such restrictions on local governments to voter initiatives.”
He thus implied that special purpose taxes placed on the ballot by voters via initiative may not be affected by the two-thirds vote requirement, but was not explicit, touching off a running legal battle.
Since then, some special tax measures failing to receive two-thirds votes have been validated by local judges, citing Cuéllar’s opinion, but most have not.
An early test arose in two San Francisco tax measures, both placed on the ballot in 2018 via initiatives personally sponsored by members of the city’s Board of Supervisors, one for early childhood education, the other to battle homelessness.
Both received less than two-thirds votes, but a local judge, Ethan Schulman, validated them anyway.
However, Fresno Superior Court Judge Kimberly Gaab went the other way on a sales tax measure to improve city parks. The tax hike received just 52.2% of the votes and when its sponsors sued to have it declared a winner, Gaab wrote, “The two-thirds vote requirement applies to all special tax proposals, regardless of the proponent of the proposal.”

Sooner Would Be Better Than Later as the Roster of Disputed Tax Measures Grows

Her interpretation was echoed by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronnie MacLaren as he declared a 2018 Oakland parcel tax for education a failure with 62% of the votes.

“Allowing Measure AA to be enacted with less than two-thirds of the votes would constitute a fraud on the voters. The ballot measures prepared by the city unambiguously advised voters that Measure AA would require two-thirds of the votes to pass.” — Judge MacLaren 
“Allowing Measure AA to be enacted with less than two-thirds of the votes would constitute a fraud on the voters,” Judge MacLaren wrote, noting that “the ballot measures prepared by the city unambiguously advised voters that Measure AA would require two-thirds of the votes to pass.”
San Diego voters were told the same thing, but backers of Measure C may take its validity to court should it fall short in the final count.
“What’s very clear is that a large majority of San Diegans support priorities in Measure C,” Rachel Laing, a spokeswoman for the support coalition said in a statement. “In the coming days, the coalition will discuss our options for how to move forward if the measure ultimately falls short of the two-thirds threshold.”
The earlier cases are already moving through the appellate process and eventually, the Supreme Court will have to tell us what it meant in that 2017 case. Sooner would be better than later as the roster of disputed tax measures grows.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

DON'T MISS

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

DON'T MISS

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

DON'T MISS

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

DON'T MISS

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

DON'T MISS

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

DON'T MISS

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

UP NEXT

California Politicians Agree on School Money, but Poor Test Scores Need Attention

UP NEXT

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

UP NEXT

Bay Area Transit Systems Want More Money. But Their Payrolls Soared as Ridership Declined

UP NEXT

History Suggests the GOP Will Pay a Political Price for Its Immigration Tactics in California

UP NEXT

Only Nonviolence Will Beat Trump

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

3 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

3 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

3 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

3 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

3 hours ago

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

4 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

4 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

5 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

20 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

20 hours ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday preserved a key element of the Obamacare law that helps guarantee that health insurers cover p...

55 minutes ago

Obamacare Sign in San Ysidro, California
55 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

Pride Flags Fly in New York
1 hour ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

2 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

3 hours ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

Olga Urbina carries baby Ares Webster as demonstrators rally on the day the Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments over U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to broadly enforce his executive order to restrict automatic birthright citizenship, during a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
3 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

fresno
3 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

Ringo Is GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 27, 2025
3 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend