The California Supreme Court handed a major victory to former Governor Jerry Brown and California’s governments in a pension reform case today. [Disclosure: I wrote an amicus curiae brief for the League of California Cities in the case.]
This case challenged the 2013 pension reforms, the “California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of
CHW’s quarterly newsletter on public law topics is out. You can see it here.
This issue has articles on:
California’s Constitution, like most, requires government to pay just compensation when it takes or damages private property. This has led to the development of two bodies of law — eminent domain (when government sues to acquire property or an interest in it) and inverse condemnation (when property owners sue government alleging property damage). The
The Fall ballot includes Proposition 15, an initiative constitutional amendment proposed by progressive interests to eliminate Proposition 13‘s cap on the assessed value of property for purposes of property taxation as to non-residential and non-agricultural property valued at more than $3 million. Residential and farm property would retain Proposition 13’s cap on assessed
The LA Court of Appeal issued a published appellate victory for the City of Santa Monica in its effort to avoid being compelled to elect its Council from districts under the California Voting Rights Act. It is the first city to win such a victory and it did so at great expense — the
The San Francisco Court of Appeal issued the third landmark local government finance decision in two days today in City and County of San Francisco v. All Persons Interested in the Matter of Proposition C. [A blog post on one appears here and we’ll have one up on the other shortly.] The case
The San Francisco Court of Appeal upheld a victory for the Bay Area Toll Authority (the Metropolitan Transportation Commission “wearing another hat”) today in Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Bay Area Toll Authority (HJTA v. BATA). The case is a challenge to 2018’s Regional Measure 3, authorizing a $3 hike in tolls on
Cities around America are looking at yawning budget deficits due to the sudden economic slowdown arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Politico, a news source covering the federal government, has this piece suggesting many California cities are looking to tax cannabis commerce to close the gap.
The deadline to place measures on the November
The Los Angeles Court of Appeal issued a recent ruling clarifying a long-established — but often contested — rule of tax litigation procedure: to have standing (the right to raise a claim in court) to challenge a government revenue measure, you must be among the people who are legally obliged to pay it, not merely
Interesting story out of Santa Barbara this week. A respected Superior Court judge ordered the Sheriff to return $620,000 in cash and 1,800 pounds — pounds — of cannabis oil to a licensed cannabis operator, finding no evidence the operation was unlawful. Under state law anyway. Seems those who police California’s growing cannabis commerce need
