CA Politicians Ask State Supreme Court to Strip Citizens of Initiative Rights

Since 1912 California citizens have enjoyed a powerful constitutional right to place citizen initiatives on the ballot. After 111 years, California citizens may be stripped of that constitutional right if Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrat politicians have their way.

This week Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the State Legislature are seeking an outrageous “Emergency Injunction” from the state Supreme Court to remove the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative from the 2024 ballot. The measure, which would protect Prop 13 and make it harder for politicians to raise our taxes, was filed by citizens and qualified for the ballot after more than 1.4 million signatures were collected.

“Make no mistake about it: with this brazen act California Democrats not only want to block this taxpayer revolt, they want to strip citizens of their constitutional rights to place initiatives on the ballot,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California.

DeMaio, who is working with a broad coalition of tax reformers to pass the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative, called the move by Democrats “an abuse of power and further evidence of corruption in a state dominated by just one political party.”

“Talk about an actual assault on democracy, actual election interference, and actual voter suppression — these Democrat politicians want to remove your right to vote on a measure that would restrict their own power over you,” explained DeMaio.

The Democrat’s lawsuit against the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative seeks to remove the measure from the ballot before voters get a vote, complaining that the measure would largely “revoke the LEGISLATURE’s power to impose state taxes” and instead give “the power to impose taxes” to voters.

“The lawsuit says the quiet part out loud — Newsom does not want voters to decide on issues such as how much you pay in taxes, because he wants the government to ‘impose’ those taxes on you instead,” said DeMaio.

Californians already pay the highest taxes in the country, but the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative would change that and would make it harder for state and local politicians to impose costly and unfair tax hikes in the future. 

“Voters should have a chance to stop the endless cycle of tax hikes in California,” said DeMaio.

“Californians are literally fleeing our state because of the high cost-of-living and high taxes imposed by reckless politicians — and this ballot measure is a powerful way for voters to say ‘enough is enough,” DeMaio said.

“The California Taxpayer Protection Initiative is a real game-changer because it will change the rules so taxpayers have a fair chance to defeat costly tax hikes going forward,” DeMaio added.

Specifically the measure would:

• Restore a two-thirds vote for any tax hike – thus ending the way they imposed the car and gas takes hikes recently
• Impose a stricter definition on what is a "tax" so politicians can't call them "fees" 
• Require the words "tax increase" be included on the official title of any measure that appears on the ballot that contains a tax hike inside of it, and
• Repeal dozens of tax hikes imposed after Jan 1, 2022 – immediately saving taxpayers money

DeMaio says the savings to taxpayers if the measure passes would be “substantial and immediate.” DeMaio points to the high electric and gas utility rates imposed by California politicians as just one example.

“With the recent revelation that California politicians imposed over $4.5 billion in ‘hidden state taxes’ on our electric and gas utility bills, we're working with our lawyers to determine how the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative can invalidate all those extra charges to save utility ratepayers immediately,” said DeMaio. 

“Not since Prop 13 in 1978 have we had such an opportunity to block tax hikes and make California more affordable in the long term — potentially guaranteeing thousands of dollars in future savings for the average family,” explained DeMaio.

DeMaio says the initiative still has a chance of proceeding in 2024 — and Newsom’s lawsuit is being challenged in court.

Despite Newsom’s ploy, DeMaio is continuing to lead a statewide campaign to win the YES vote on the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative in 2024.

“California politicians have already raised millions in special interest money and launched this corrupt lawsuit to defeat our initiative, and we must immediately begin to mobilize a statewide grassroots campaign to win the yes vote,” said DeMaio.

DeMaio says Reform California’s campaign to win the YES vote needs immediate help including:

• Volunteers to deliver yard signs, canvass door-to-door, and help organize rallies
• Endorsements of civic groups and elected officials
• Contributions to fund the campaign itself

“This will be a two-for-one campaign because as we work to win the YES vote on the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative, we will also be working to defeat any state or local tax hike measure on the same ballot,” DeMaio noted.

“We need your immediate help — I’m asking every Californian who opposes costly new tax hikes to join our campaign today,” DeMaio concluded.

‍