The Family Business Association of California is deeply disappointed that the California Supreme Court ruled today that the voters will not have the opportunity to decide on the Taxpayer Protection Act, which would have protected taxpayers from local tax increases by giving them the right to decide if they wanted to tax themselves.
“We are deeply disappointed that the CA Supreme Court won’t let voters decide on the Taxpayer Protection Act. This court probably would not have allowed Proposition 13 to be on the ballot in 1978. What a shame for California voters,” said FBAC Political Director Robert Rivinius.
The justices – six of the seven appointed by Democratic governors – agreed with the arguments made by the Governor and Democratic legislative leaders that the measure would have constituted a “revision” of the Constitution because they would “fundamentally restructure the most basic of government powers” and therefore could only be enacted through established protocols for changing the Constitution, not a voter initiative.
The court ordered the initiative – placed on the ballot by the signatures of over 1 million Californians – stricken from the ballot.
It is the first time in decades that the court removed an initiative measure from the ballot.
Undeterred by this setback, proponents of the TPA, including FBAC, are making plans to place a new taxpayer protection measure on the 2026 ballot.