SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on a tax ruling by the California Supreme Court on (all times local):
4 p.m.
An anti-tax group is warning that a California Supreme Court ruling will lead to more local taxes.
But legal experts said on Tuesday the justices’ decision was narrowly focused and additional lawsuits will decide whether it also lowered the threshold to pass tax hikes.
In a 5-2 ruling on Monday, the state Supreme Court said general tax increases put on the ballot by citizens should go before voters at a special election.
The ruling focused on a provision of Proposition 218 - a 1996 ballot measure approved by voters that spelled out how local governments may levy new taxes. Another provision in the proposition requires a two-thirds vote to pass special taxes earmarked for specific purposes such as roads or schools.
Associate Justice Leondra Kruger said the ruling would limit the two-thirds requirement to cities and counties, allowing special tax measures proposed by citizens groups to pass with a simple majority. She said that was not the intent of Proposition 218’s backers.
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8 a.m.
The California Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that could make it slightly easier for citizens to use ballot initiatives to raise new local taxes.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (https://bit.ly/2vH8mR2) the court on Monday ruled that ballot initiatives sponsored by citizens are not subject to the same constraints as tax increases proposed by city and county elected officials.
The court interpreted sections of the state Constitution impacted by Proposition 218. Approved in 1996, the proposition spelled out how local governments may levy new taxes and fees.
Writing for the majority, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar says that the law, as it stands, does not bind voters to the constraints placed on local governments by Proposition 218, which intends to make it more difficult to create new taxes.
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