Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
CA Supreme Court to Hear High-Profile Case About Taxes
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 11 months ago on
May 8, 2024

The California Supreme Court is set to decide on a measure that could make it harder for the state and local governments to raise taxes, causing a debate between government officials and business groups. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments Wednesday about whether to remove a measure from the November ballot that would make it harder for the state and local governments to raise taxes.

The measure would require all new and higher taxes to be approved by voters. Right now, the Legislature can raise taxes with a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and Assembly. The initiative would require statewide voters to weigh in after legislative approval, with the new tax taking effect only if a majority approve it.

The measure would also change how communities can raise taxes through citizen initiatives. Right now, a local initiative for a special tax increase requires a simple majority vote. The ballot measure would change that to a two-thirds majority.

Opposition to the Measure

The court battle is pitting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who wants it off the ballot, against business groups and taxpayer advocates, who say it’s time to rein in government spending. The fight comes as Newsom faces persistent criticism that California has become too expensive for many of its 39 million residents.

Support for the Measure

But supporters of the measure say Californians face some of the highest taxes and one of the highest costs of living in the country and that the changes are needed.

“The whole issue here is that they are scared to death of the people of California being empowered to vote on state and local taxes,” said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, an advocacy group that represents large companies and is a lead proponent of the initiative.

The California Supreme Court is expected to decide before June 27 — the deadline for the Secretary of State to certify California’s general election ballot — whether the measure would revise the state constitution and impair essential government functions.

The measure, which collected 1.4 million signatures to qualify for the ballot, would also reclassify many government fees as taxes and apply retroactively to any tax increase approved after Jan. 1, 2022.

Impact on Local Governments

Carolyn Coleman, CEO of the League of California Cities, which is part of a coalition opposing the measure, along with firefighters and teachers unions, called the measure “deceptive” and “an existential threat” to local governments.

Coleman said that over 100 local measures currently funding about $2 billion each year in municipal revenue could be gone if the measure is approved and the taxes are not reapproved by voters under the new rules.

“We’re raising the resources to fill potholes, so that we can support affordable housing in our community, so we can work to address homelessness, so that when you dial 911 there’s somebody there to answer the phone — not in two minutes — but in 30 seconds,” she added. “So, this really goes against the essential nature of how local government raises the revenues to provide services that everyone wants in their communities.”

Brooke Armour, executive vice president of the California Business Roundtable, said that assertions that the measure would cause chaos in local governments are wrong because the measure would only impact tax increases proposed through citizen initiatives. About three dozen local initiatives would be affected by the changes, not over 100, she said.

“We only revert back to two-thirds (approval) for citizen initiatives that are special taxes,” she said.

Armour said special taxes put on the ballot by local elected officials, like a city council, already require a two-thirds vote for approval. All measures raising general taxes would still be approved with a majority vote, she said.

One example of a community that could be affected if the measure is approved is San Andreas, a town of about 2,500 people and the county seat of Calaveras County. In March, 55% of county voters approved a citizen initiative to impose a 1% sales tax so the county’s 10 fire districts could have funds to retain or hire firefighters.

The San Andreas Fire Protection District relies on volunteer firefighters who get a stipend of $120 to $200 per 24-hour shift. The district keeps losing its firefighters to better-paying jobs, said Dana Nichols, chair of the San Andreas Fire Protection District.

Nichols said the tax amounts to about $60 per taxpayer per year.

“Not paying the firefighters is not going to bring down the cost of eggs or gasoline or anything,” Nichols said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

DON'T MISS

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

UP NEXT

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

UP NEXT

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

UP NEXT

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

UP NEXT

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

UP NEXT

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

UP NEXT

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

2 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

2 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

3 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

3 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

4 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

4 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

4 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

4 hours ago

Can CEMEX Dig a 600-Foot Hole and Not Harm the River? Arambula Says No and Writes a Bill

4 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California voters told lawmakers last fall that they wante...

45 minutes ago

45 minutes ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
49 minutes ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
1 hour ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
2 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

2 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

3 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Vehicles are passed through final inspection at the end of the assembly line at the General Motors facility in Spring Hill, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2024. Sales of cars picked up recently partly as buyers rushed to lock in deals before President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts go into effect. (Brett Carlsen/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

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

Search

Send this to a friend