XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.elections, sac.politics   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: newsom@sucks.cocks   
      
   The California Supreme Court has blocked an anti-tax ballot measure that   
   faced fierce opposition from local officials, unions and activists in Santa   
   Clara County.   
      
   The panel’s unanimous decision on Thursday orders Secretary of State Shirley   
   Weber not to place the measure on the November ballot, which if approved   
   would have brought all statewide tax increases before voters and raised the   
   voter approval threshold for local tax initiatives seeking to raise revenue   
   for government services. It would have also reclassified fees for public   
   services and programs as taxes, requiring voter approval for things such as   
   library fines.   
      
   “Such changes would substantially overhaul how local governments go about   
   ensuring that everyday services are properly provided. In sum, the   
   (proposal) would affect all local revenue measures — big or small, essential   
   or nonessential — to an extent that leaves no aspect of government   
   untouched,” the court’s opinion reads.   
      
   The measure had qualified for the ballot, prompting a lawsuit by Gov. Gavin   
   Newsom and the state Legislature seeking to stop it from going to voters. It   
   would have applied retroactively to January 2022 — effectively canceling any   
   special taxes approved in Santa Clara County in recent years.   
      
   That prompted a passionate rally among Santa Clara County activists, union   
   leaders and Democratic elected officials in May, who called the measure a   
   ploy by corporations to avoid paying their share for things such as   
   development impact fees associated with construction projects, which can   
   help communities fund infrastructure improvements. Others called it a   
   logistical nightmare jeopardizing funding for essential services and   
   canceling as many as eight recently passed ballot measures in Silicon Valley   
   — totaling $64.3 million in annual losses in jurisdictions such as Los Gatos   
   and Palo Alto.   
      
   “Im very happy that the measure the court saw the measure for what it is and   
   we won’t have to put a lot of resources into protecting sources of revenue   
   for cities and local governments this fall,” San Jose Councilmember David   
   Cohen, an outspoken opponent of the tax measure, told San José Spotlight.   
      
   The $17 million campaign for the measure has been spearheaded by the   
   California Business Roundtable, composed of senior executives of major   
   companies up and down the state, such as Apple, General Motors and Procter &   
   Gamble. It’s also being supported by the real estate industry, namely the   
   California Business Properties Association. Proponents argue the initiative   
   closes loopholes that empowered state lawmakers and unelected government   
   administrators to raise fees for services.   
      
   “Today’s ruling is the greatest threat to democracy California has faced in   
   recent memory. Governor Newsom has effectively erased the voice of 1.43   
   million voters who signed the petition to qualify the Taxpayer Protection   
   Act for the November ballot,” Rob Lapsley, president of the California   
   Business Roundtable, said in a statement. “Most importantly, the governor   
   has cynically terminated Californians’ rights to engage in direct democracy   
   despite his many claims that he is a defender of individual rights and   
   democracy. Evidently, the governor wants to protect democracy and individual   
   rights in other states, but not for all Californians.”   
      
   Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X,   
   formerly known as Twitter.   
      
   https://sanjosespotlight.com/silicon-valley-santa-clara-county-san-jose-   
   voters-wont-see-anti-tax-measure-on-november-2024-ballot-california-   
   supreme-court/   
      
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