High Court rulings can change everything. Especially election-related ones.
And now a Supreme Court ruling to directly change the 2024 ballot has left jaws on the floor.
California Supreme Court Removes Tax Measure from 2024 Ballot
In a significant political development, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has successfully petitioned the California Supreme Court to remove a contentious proposition from California’s 2024 ballot. This proposition would have required all new taxes to be approved by voters, according to the Associated Press (AP).
In September, Newsom, along with Democrat state lawmakers, urged the California Supreme Court to strike down the measure. The proposal mandated any new state tax to be approved by a popular vote and any local tax hike to receive two-thirds voter approval, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The court ruled on Thursday that the initiative must be removed from the ballot, arguing that it sought to revise rather than amend the state’s constitution.
The campaign behind the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act reacted strongly to the ruling. In a press release, they stated, “Today’s ruling is the greatest threat to democracy California has faced in recent memory. 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.” They also highlighted that 1.43 million voters had signed the petition to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Opponents of the measure, however, emphasized the necessity of tax revenue for vital public services. According to the AP, Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for the campaign against the initiative, remarked, “The Supreme Court’s decision to take this dangerous initiative off the ballot avoids a host of catastrophic impacts, protecting billions of dollars for schools, access to reproductive health care, gun safety laws that keep students safe in classrooms, and paid family leave.”
Had the measure passed, it would have retroactively repealed most tax increases enacted by the state’s Democrat leadership since 2022, including a tax hike on firearms and ammunition. Local officials warned that such repeals could slash public revenues by billions of dollars.
While Governor Newsom opposed the ballot measure, he has also voiced opposition to certain tax increases and resisted new taxes on wealthy Californians. Nonetheless, he has proposed raising business taxes to help balance the state budget. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office projects a budget deficit of $73 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, $15 billion higher than initially estimated, driven by declining state revenues.
Adding to the fiscal challenges, California has seen an exodus of residents in recent years, many of whom took substantial financial resources with them. Between 2020 and 2021, the state experienced a net loss of over 27,000 tax filers with an adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more, according to the Tax Foundation.
A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office expressed gratitude for the court’s unanimous decision, stating, “The Governor believes the initiative process is a sacred part of our democracy, but as the Court’s decision affirmed today, that process does not allow for an illegal constitutional revision.”
This ruling marks a pivotal moment in California’s ongoing debate over taxation and direct democracy, highlighting the intricate balance between voter rights and the state’s fiscal health.
California’s Crisis and Crossroads
Since late 2019/early 2020, California has been experiencing a net decrease in population. That’s been a major concern for the state’s government and they are desperate to turn that around fast. This population decrease in California is a first for the state in recorded history.
There’s many causes for the populating decrease, but most demographers and economists agree that the main cause for the decrease has to be the impossible financial burden the state government is putting on its people in order to just live a normal live in the Golden State.
The California Supreme Court deciding that the 2024 ballot in the state cannot include a provision that would put some guard rails on the state government to prevent them from worsening the tax burden placed on Californians is a head scratcher for sure.
It seems as though the California state government has completely bought into the socialist agenda and are trying to turn California into a model “progressive” state for other Democrat states to copy.
The only problem is that it isn’t working at all. More and more people are going to be leaving the West Coast giant if it’s impossible to live there unless you’re a billionaire who gets tax breaks and kick backs from the government directly.
This isn’t the win Gavin Newsom wants, but he will have to lay in the bed he’s made.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
