Client Alert- Proposed Ballot Initiative Would Restrict Public Agencies' Ability to Raise Revenue

The California Business Roundtable has proposed the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (Initiative 21-0042A1)” as a statewide initiative measure to amend the California Constitution in a manner that would impose significant limits upon the ability of the state and local governments to enact, modify, or expand taxes, assessments, fees, and property-related charges (the “Initiative”). The Initiative, if passed as proposed, would enact the most consequential restrictions upon governmental taxes, fees, assessments and other charges since the passage of Proposition 218 (1996) and Proposition 26 (2010). If enacted, public agencies would face severe restrictions on their ability to meet services and infrastructure needs.

The Initiative proposes to limit state and local funding, restricting the ability of local agencies and the State of California to fund services and infrastructure by:

• Adopting new and stricter rules for raising taxes, fees, assessments, and property-related fees.
• Amending the State Constitution, including portions of Propositions 13, 218, and 26 among other provisions, to create new grounds to challenge such funding sources.
• Further constraining the ability of local governments to issue fines and penalties to corporations and property owners that violate local environmental, water quality, public health, public safety, fair housing, nuisance and other laws and ordinances.

The Initiative includes provisions that would retroactively void all state and local taxes or fees adopted after January 1, 2022 if they did not align with the provisions of the Initiative. This may also impact indexed fees that change over time for inflation or other factors.

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Aleshire & Wynder LLP provides unparalleled legal representation to local communities throughout California.  Our attorneys have been loyally serving public agencies for over 35 years.