Articles

Author: Paul J. Beard II We all know that government entities across the country are facing major budget deficits. We also know that governments often prefer to avoid the sort of belt-tightening that so many American families have been forced to do in recent years, and instead prefer to find clever ways of financing their … ...

In light of the Court’s recent, disappointing decision in the Pacific Palisades Coastal Commission case, it’s encouraging to note when the Court got it right in Young v. Schmidt.  This was the case brought by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young challenging Proposition 13’s legislative super-majority vote requirement.  Young m ...

Usually in California, when the state or a local government passes a law that requires citizens to pay a charge for something, a debate ensues about whether the charge is a tax or a fee.  Under the California Constitution, as amended by Proposition 26 in 2010, new local taxes must be passed by the voters … ...

Today, Pacific Legal Foundation, on behalf of itself and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, filed this letter, asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in Schmeer v. County of Los Angeles, which is a case about a paper bag, a dime, and the state constitution.  In Schmeer, the California Court of Appeal said that … ...

Several states have constitutional limits on tax-increases, and particularly super-majority requirements that force legislatures to get a 2/3 vote to raise taxes. California’s Proposition 13 is the most famous, but Arizona, Nevada, and other states have similar requirements. Sadly, state officials often try to find ways around these limits— ...

Today we filed an amicus brief in a case challenging Arizona’s Medicaid expansion.  Like California (and many other states), Arizona’s constitution requires that all taxes be passed by a supermajority vote—in this case, 2/3 of the legislature.  The Medicaid expansion included a tax on hospitals in order to pay for the program, but ...

People support school choice for many reasons. Most support it because it’s the last best hope for their children to get a decent education. Some hope that it is a means to mitigate the impacts of racial and income segregation. Still others support it as an alternative to the highly-politicized resolution of sensitive religious and … ...

Last month, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a letter brief urging the California Supreme Court to review a decision denying taxpayers the right to vote on taxes imposed by initiative. Yesterday, the Court agreed to review the decision in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland. The question before the Court is as follows:  Can the proponen ...

Victory in free speech case The City of San Juan Capistrano agreed this week to stop enforcing it’s ban on putting “for sale” signs in car windows in Cefali v. San Juan Capistrano. Because any other sort of sign is allowed, we argued that this sort of content-based restriction on speech violates the First Amendment. … ...