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By Jon Coupal
We’ve seen this before. Whenever taxpayers qualify an initiative for the statewide ballot that brings fiscal sanity to a fiscally insane California, local governmentinterests respond with unhinged hysteria, claiming that empowering voters to approve tax and fee increases will bring about the end of Western Civilization.
Well, cue the theatrics because here we are again. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, California’s largest taxpayer advocacy organization, known for its relentless defense of Proposition 13 (1978), is backing the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPA). This measure, which has already qualified for the 2024 ballot, closes several loopholes created by the courts that severely weaken important taxpayer and homeowner protections.
As just one example, Prop. 13’s long-standing requirement that a local special tax receive a two-thirds vote of the electorate was weakened by the ambiguity created by the infamous Upland decision (2017), which gave tax-and-spend interests a template on how to impose new taxes that, for 40 years, were illegal.
In Upland, the state Supreme Court suggested that if tax increases were put on the ballot by a citizens’ initiative, constitutional requirements might not apply.TPA closes that loophole by subjecting all special taxesto a two-thirds vote requirement, whether that tax was put on the ballot by government or by initiative sponsored by special interest organizations.
Restoring the original intent of Proposition 13 & 218 has caused local government associations to reach for their handy grab bag of lies. For example, the League of California Cities, which never met a tax that it didn’t like, is pushing out a “Special Release” claiming that TPA somehow restricts the right to vote on tax measures. This is absurd.
First, since when did the League of California Cities show any sympathy for the right of homeowners to vote on tax hikes? For decades it has consistently opposed that right, fighting against every single pro-taxpayer initiative including Prop 13 (1978), Prop 63 (1986), Prop 218 (1996), and Prop 26 (2010).
Second, since when did the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association oppose the right to vote on taxes? Easy answer: Never.
To read the entire column, please click here.
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