Legal Aid at Work and partners have filed an amicus brief in the California Supreme Court in support of the Governor’s and Legislature’s challenge to the constitutionality of the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act.” Placed on the November ballot by the California Business Roundtable and California Business Properties Association with funding from multi-billion dollar real estate interests and landlords, this initiative would severely limit the ability of local governments and the state to raise revenue of any kind. It would require all state actions raising funding to not only be approved by two-thirds of the Legislature but also to win approval by a majority of voters. It is retroactive to January 2022 and therefore threatens to overturn funding already appropriated for crucial programs like paid family and medical leave. The legal challenge pending in the California Supreme Court seeks to remove the measure from the ballot on the grounds that it would impermissibly revise the California Constitution and interfere with the provision of essential public services.
See and click below to read the amicus brief that Legal Aid at Work filed with partners California Labor Federation, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Rural Legal Assistance, California Work and Family Coalition, Center for Workers’ Rights, Center for WorkLife Law, Child Care Law Center, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Equal Rights Advocates, First 5 California, and UNITE-LA. Our brief argues that the initiative would unconstitutionally and fundamentally alter the powers of California’s branches of government and jeopardize critical services, including paid family and medical leave, leading to devastating consequences for the health and wellbeing of families and people with disabilities.