Activists file suit to block California tax plan
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and others seek to stop $9.3 billion in taxes on gasoline, sales and personal income. They say the measure requires approval from two-thirds of the Legislature.
Reporting from Sacramento — Anti-tax activists went to court today in an effort to block $9.3 billion in new and increased taxes on gasoline, sales and personal income that Democrats pushed through the Legislature last month with the help of some brazen legal maneuvers.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and other groups argue that such tax proposals cannot be passed without approval from two-thirds of the Legislature.
The constitutional requirement for a two-thirds vote on most tax measures has allowed GOP lawmakers -- almost all of whom have signed a pledge never to raise taxes -- to block broad-based tax hike proposals in recent years even though theirs is the minority party. But in December, on a simple majority vote achieved without Republican support, Democrats passed a complicated fiscal plan that relied on the differences between taxes and fees.
The lawsuit, filed at a state appeals court in Sacramento, comes as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to act on the tax plan.
evan.halper@latimes.com
