Court rules proposed measure that would have had disastrous consequences for local governments is unconstitutional
SAN FRANCISCO (June 20, 2024) — City Attorney David Chiu issued the following statement today after the California Supreme Court ruled in Legislature of the State of California v. Weber that
an anti-tax ballot measure that would have had devastating consequences for local governments was unconstitutional. The Court struck the measure from the November 5, 2024 statewide ballot.
After anti-tax groups proposed the measure and qualified it for the November 2024 election, Governor Gavin Newsom and the State Legislature filed suit with the California Supreme Court seeking to strike the proposed constitutional amendment from the ballot on the grounds that it was a revision to the Constitution that did not follow the proper procedures for such revisions.
“This measure was an attempt to gut the services local governments are able to provide to residents. It would have significantly hindered our ability to provide even the most essential, basic services.
That’s why San Francisco joined other local governments in an amicus brief advocating that the measure should be removed from the ballot.
The California Constitution clearly distributes power between state and local governments, and this proposed measure impermissibly revised those aspects of our Constitution without going through the proper procedure. We are immensely grateful that the Court saw through this attempt and that the measure will not appear on the November 2024 statewide ballot.
The case is Legislature of the State of California v. Weber, California Supreme Court, Case No. S281977.
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