California Supreme Court weighs two cases that could limit the ballot initiative process

Attorney Jeffrey L. Fisher speaks at the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on May 21, 2024. Photo by Martin Novitski, Supreme Court of Californiaa commentary forum aiming to broaden our understanding of the state and spotlight Californians directly impacted by policy or its absence. Learn moreSeven years ago, California’s Supreme Court declared broad support for the historic right of voters to make law through the initiative process.

Ever since the 2017 Upland ruling, California has seen a flurry of tax increases placed on the ballot via initiative, many sponsored by public employee unions. Needing only simple majority approval, the vast majority passed. In 2020 the Supreme Courtthat would impose or restore state constitution restrictions on taxation. Among other things, it would overturn the Upland decision by requiring local taxes to garner two-thirds voter approval, even if proposed via initiative.

The Supreme Court has until June 27 to declare whether the Business Roundtable measure will appear on the ballot, or is a constitutional revision that cannot be proposed by initiative., the 2020 ballot measure, sponsored by Uber, Lyft and other companies, to exempt themselves from Assembly Bill 5, a highly contentious 2019 state law aimed at strictly limiting or prohibiting the use of contract workers.

Justice Liu once again mused over the limits, if any, on use of the initiative process, saying there is “still ambiguity there.” “Does that mean voters cannot act in this field whatsoever,” Liu asked lawyers for both sides.Decisions on the two pending cases will reveal whether the court continues to endorse fairly unfettered use of the process, as it did in the Upland case, or tighten restrictions on how its employed.Gig companies spent more than $200 million to write their own labor law.

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