California Municipal Law Blog
tag:
Proposition 26

Proposition 26 Does Not Impose A Fundamental Right To Vote On Limited Purpose Assessments

by Elizabeth Perez on July 8, 2018

posted in Propositions 13/26/218, Recent Court Decisions, Uncategorised,

The electorate does not have a fundamental right to vote on an assessment levied upon a specific group of taxpayers for a limited (non-general governmental) purpose, a California Appellate court found in Reid et al. v. City of San Diego et al.  In Reid, plaintiffs challenged a two percent assessment levied on lodging businesses operating in the City with 70 or more sleeping rooms by the City of San Diego Tourism Marketing District (TMD) to fund coordinated joint marketing and promotional activities for tourism development as violative of Proposition 26 and the Equal Protection Clause, among ... Continue Reading

tags: Proposition 26, tourism marketing district,

Under Proposition 26, Cities are Limited When Transferring Utility Receipts Into General Fund

by William R. Galstan on February 4, 2015

posted in Propositions 13/26/218, Public Utilities,

Under a court ruling issued in January of this year, cities must be careful when transferring money from utility accounts into the general fund. The City of Redding owns an electrical utility.  Because it is publicly owned, it is exempt from the one percent ad valorem tax imposed on privately-owned California utilities.  The City requires the utility department to pay the city’s general fund a one percent “Payment In Lieu Of Taxes,” or “PILOT” fee, for the city’s general use. In Citizens for Fair REU Rates v. City of Redding, the state Court of Appeal held that the PILOT ... Continue Reading

tags: General Fund, PILOT Fee, Proposition 26,