Steinberg’s SB 653 Local Tax Measure Runs afoul of Serrano Court Decisions
Senator Steinberg has
lots of ideas. Previously, he announced his desire to withhold state
services in districts represented by Republican legislators, to punish them for
holding out against the higher taxes he supports. Now Senator Steinberg
is threatening to grant local governments and school districts broad new taxing
authority. Under SB 653 a school district would be empowered (with voter
approval) to levy income taxes, excise taxes (e.g. a tax on tobacco, alcohol,
soda), even an oil severance tax in districts lucky enough to have oil
reserves.
As
noted previously, Senator Steinberg’s plans violate the equal protection
clause of our state and federal Constitutions. Way back in the 70’s our
State Supreme Court put an end to the disparity between school funding based
primarily on property tax in a line of cases called "Serrano v. Priest."
Our Supreme Court stated:
For the reasons we have explained in detail, this
system conditions the full entitlement to such interest on wealth, classifies
its recipients on the basis of their collective affluence and makes the quality
of a child’s education depend upon the resources of his school district and
ultimately upon the pocketbook of his parents. We find that such financing
system as presently constituted is not necessary to the attainment of any
compelling state interest. Since it does not withstand the requisite ‘strict
scrutiny,’ it denies to the plaintiffs and others similarly situated the equal
protection of the laws.
May Revise Comes as Political Landscape Shifts
Governor Jerry Brown reveals his revised budget today. The
Republican Assembly offered a blueprint for a no-tax budget last week. Budget
negotiations appeared to be non-existent for over a month. The new dynamics,
especially reports of increased revenue, could kick-start the budget
negotiations with new thinking from the governor. There is another factor
shadowing the budget process — the soon to be announced new legislative
districts.
The Los Angeles Times reported
over the weekend that the governor will reduce his income tax increase
proposal. The question is will that be enough to bring Republicans to the
table?
Reports suggested a deal was close in March that would put
tax extensions and spending and pension reforms before the voters. However,
nearly every poll has indicated that the reforms would likely sail through
while the taxes, at best, had a 50-50 chance of passing. Public unions,
concerned that the tax increases would not pass, changed focus to pressure a vote
on taxes in the legislature. Negotiations broke down.
California Transit Villages: Wrong and Right
I first became involved in the transit oriented development
movement in California in the late 1980s, when I was on the BART board of directors. At the time it was a
minor planning movement, with a small number of theorists, including Bob
Cervero and Peter Hall at UC Berkeley and Marlon Boarnet at UC Irvine, and
architects Peter Calthorpe, Dan Solomon, Robin Chiang, and Marc Futterman.
Over the next two decades, transit oriented development
entered the mainstream of planning theory
in California, with its own literature
and an array of federal, state and local
funding sources. The number of built projects always lagged behind the theory,
but a number slowly emerged.
The unseen cigarette-tax crime wave
Originally posted in the Orange County Register.
Sophisticated criminal organizations have one
incentive: money. They find a need and fill it. It doesn’t matter whether the
product is narcotics, prostitution or terror, the goal is the same; more money.
They use that money to fund their other illegal activities.
As a result of rising tobacco taxes across the
country, these organizations are increasingly moving to cigarette smuggling for
the potential profit. Cigarette-related crime is rising across the U.S. In California,
1.4 billion packs were estimated to have been consumed in fiscal year 2005-06.
And 209 million packs were estimated to have been sold tax-free, resulting in a
$182 million revenue loss for the state. That’s more than the general fund
budget for Huntington Beach.
There’s no doubt that higher cigarette taxes lead
to less smoking; that’s a basic law of economics. According to the State Board
of Equalization, "For cigarettes and nearly all goods there is an inverse
relationship between prices and sales. Higher prices almost always result in
lower sales if there are no other major changes in government policy, consumer
preferences or other factors."