XPost: ca.politics, alt.california, talk.politics.guns
XPost: sac.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh

This is absolutely needed to rein in the wasteful Democrat spending of
the state of California tax resources.

What the California Supreme Court should be doing is yanking the free healthcare for illegal immigrants that disenfranchises California
citizens, or declaring that ALL California citizens get free healthcare.

That is a civil rights / constitution issue.

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.

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.

A lawsuit filed last fall by Newsom, the Legislature and John Burton, a
former congressman and chair of the California Democratic Party, asked
the court to remove the measure from the ballot. They argued that, if
approved, it would "eliminate much of the executive branch's
administrative and regulatory power and would repeal taxing authority
that the Legislature has held throughout California's history."

They said the sweeping proposition would curtail revenue needed by local communities to run essential public services, from collecting trash to
fighting fires, and make it hard to have the funds needed to respond to
state emergencies like earthquakes and global pandemics.

The measure, they argued, would "make a far-reaching change in the
fundamental governmental structure or the foundational power of its
branches as set forth in the Constitution" and amounts to revising the California Constitution, which requires a vote by the Legislature.

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.

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.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-supreme-court-weigh-pulling-measure-making-it-harder-to-raise-taxes-from-ballot/?intcid=CNR-01-0623

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