Measure Would Have Harmed Homeless Californians, Renters, Low-Wage Workers, and Other Groups That Need Assistance
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 21, 2024—Public Counsel, along with pro bono counsel Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, represented 45 members of the United to House LA Coalition as amici curiae (friends of the court) in the legal challenge to the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Initiative (the TPA). It issued the following statement in response to the California Supreme Court’s ruling that the far reaching anti-tax measure cannot appear on the November ballot. The measure, funded by anti-tax corporate interests, would have required voter approval for any tax increase measure. It also would have retroactively applied to all tax increases passed since Jan. 1, 2022, threatening important funding sources such as Measure ULA; the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now ballot measure; Paid Family Leave; and State Disability Insurance programs.
The TPA would have limited the government’s and voters’ ability to raise taxes for specific purposes, such as preventing and addressing homelessness. As an organization that supports people facing challenges at every level of society, Public Counsel believes the government needs the flexibility to use every tool possible to address these issues.
The court noted the measure would create such a sweeping change that it amounts to a constitutional revision, rather than an amendment. While residents can propose and vote on amendments to the California Constitution, it cannot be revised via ballot initiative.
“The TPA threatened to undo the work of local coalitions, and the will of Los Angeles voters, by jeopardizing critical funding sources that will make housing more affordable and assist people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness,” said Greg Bonett, Senior Staff Attorney in the Community Development Project at Public Counsel and one of the attorneys who worked on the amicus brief challenging the measure on behalf of members of the United to House LA Coalition. “We’re grateful for the court’s unanimous decision to remove the harmful TPA measure from the ballot, preserving Measure ULA in the City of Los Angeles.”
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