The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed an appeal of a San Francisco Superior Court ruling that special tax-increase measures submitted to the voters last year needed only a simple majority to pass instead of a two-thirds vote.
“This is a brand new loophole contravening the voters’ intent in Propositions 13 and 218 that all local special taxes require two-thirds voter consent,” said HJTA president Jon Coupal.
The Court based its ruling on a California Supreme Court opinion in a 2017 case, California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland. But that case did not involve whether a tax increase proposed by voter initiative needed a two-thirds vote to pass, nor decided if the two-thirds vote applied only to tax increases proposed by government entities.
“We argued that Upland never reached this issue. And we argued that this creates a two-margin system. Now, when the politicians themselves use the citizens’ initiative process, they can ignore the requirement of two-thirds voter consent,” said HJTA attorney Laura Dougherty, “This violates the traditional understanding of the law over the past forty years and leads to absurd results.”
Fifty-one percent of San Francisco voters approved a June 2018 measure, designated as Proposition C. That measure is a tax on commercial rents to raise more than $145 million annually for childcare, early education, and salary increases for preschool teachers. A November measure, also called Proposition C, imposes a gross receipts tax on larger businesses to raise $300 million for homeless housing and services. It received 61 percent voter approval.
Proposition 13, approved by California voters in 1978, requires a two-thirds vote of the electorate to pass a tax increase for any special purpose.
“The Legislative Analyst’s Office, California League of Cities, and numerous other local governments have agreed that all local special taxes require two-thirds voter consent,” Dougherty said. “The San Francisco Superior Court formally disagrees and has created a huge loophole.”
Jon Coupal is the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA). HJTA, with offices in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, is the largest taxpayers association in California with a membership of over 200,000. Founded by the late Howard Jarvis, the author of Proposition 13, HJTA’s name is synonymous with tax relief and the uncompromising defense of the California homeowner.