Opinion: WSJ debunks absurd idea that Taxpayer Protection Act would snuff out cities' essential services
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In the shadow of Newsom & Co.'s efforts to remove from 2024's ballot the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, the Wall Street Journal fact-checks ridiculous claims that upholding Prop 13 would prevent cities from, yep, doing their jobs. Like Newsom, SJ's City Council has deemed the Act “one of the most egregious ballot measures” (CM Cohen) and voted to oppose it earlier this year.
Last week Mr. Newsom joined former state Democratic party chairman John Burton in filing an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court to remove the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act from the November 2024 ballot. The measure would “gut the administrative state,” they complain, and “shift the longstanding balance of powers in California” from the executive to the Legislature and people. Oh no!
California’s famous Prop. 13 requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise taxes and two-thirds approval of local voters to levy special taxes whose revenues are designated for specific purposes. Raising general local taxes requires a simple majority vote. Yet these tax-raising restraints have become increasingly ineffective. ...
The ballot measure would also close a court-created loophole that has allowed special taxes to pass with a simple majority if they are proposed by citizens rather than local governments. This has drawn protests from municipalities, which often lean on unions to place tax increases on the ballot so they can pass with a lower threshold.
Mr. Newsom claims that “voters will be harmed if the Measure appears on the November 5, 2024 ballot” because it “would make it impossible for state and local government to provide the essential government services upon which our civil society depends” and “eviscerate government’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies.”
It would do no such thing. State and local revenue is increasingly used to backfill pensions and expand welfare programs. Annual government pension costs in California have ballooned to $51.2 billion from $18.8 billion over a decade. The voter initiative would impose a modicum of political accountability and restraint on the public-union machine.
This article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal (subscriber paywall). Read the whole thing here.
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