Opinion: Like Prop 13, Taxpayer Protection Act holds its own against legal pushback

The Walls of Ávila, Spain. Image by Wikimedia Commons

Despite Newsom's vocal condemnation of the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (and scrambled attempt to pull it from 2024's ballot), the measure doesn't actually “restructure” the Constitution or scupper essential services. Yet San Jose CMs—all but Doan—claim the Act will compromise gov't operations. Below, OC Register's analysis with taxpayer advocate Jon Coupal.

Erin Newman, a spokesperson for Newsom, said the measure “violates the Constitution by attempting to completely restructure our system of government.” But similar charges were levied against Proposition 13, the 1978 property tax limitation initiative. Yet it has survived numerous court challenges, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The lawsuit against the new initiative is flawed both procedurally and substantively, explains Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a major proponent of the initiative. Procedurally, he said, the state courts over the decades have said the voters first should have their say on an initiative, with any procedural or other questions answered in court after the election. After all, if the voters reject it, then scarce judicial resources were wasted on a non-issue.

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Substantively, Newsom and the others are arguing it is not an amendment to the state constitution, but a revision of the entire constitution, which is not permitted. “But this doesn’t even come close to that,” Coupal said. “It doesn’t really cut any tax. It simply imposes voter approval or ratepayer approval to any additional levy. So it’s not a revision.”

As to the initiative supposedly impairing essential government services, he said, “That argument hasn’t flown for many years.” Moreover, state and local governments now are so huge, “It’s hard to argue that this somehow impairs them from getting revenue.” Indeed, taxes now are so high taxpayers are fleeing the state in battalions, actually reducing the tax base.

This article originally appeared in the Orange County Register. Read the whole thing here.

Related:

• Past MV mayor: SJ's gutting of Prop 13 an “overt” push for Big Government

• Pierluigi Oliverio: Fearmongering about Taxpayer Protection Act a “misunderstanding” of the measure

• Opinion: WSJ debunks absurd idea that Taxpayer Protection Act would snuff out cities' essential services

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