Decided 1978 End date 1978 | Concur/dissent Bird Chief judge Rose Bird | |
Full case name Amador Valley Joint Union High School District et al., Petitioners, v. State Board of Equalization et al., Respondents. County of Alameda et al., Petitioners, v. State Board of Equalization et al., Respondents. City and County of San Francisco et al., Petitioners, v. Joseph E. Tinney, as Tax Assessor, etc., et al., Respondents Citation(s) 22 Cal.3d 208, 583 P.2d 1281, 149 Cal.Rptr. 239 Associate Judges Mathew O. Tobriner, Stanley Mosk, William P. Clark, Jr., Frank K. Richardson, Wiley Manuel, Frank C. Newman Majority Richardson, joined by Tobriner, Mosk, Clark, Manuel, Newman Court Supreme Court of California | ||
Amador Valley Joint Union High School District v. State Board of Equalization (1978) 22 Cal.3d 208 was a California Supreme Court case, in which the Amador Valley Joint Union High School District challenged the constitutionality of California's Proposition 13, which placed a cap on property taxes.
Contents
Background
The proposition limited property tax assessments to the 1975 standard, eliminating $7 billion of the $11.4 billion in property tax revenue collected each year. According to the Washington Post, the "severe" limitations this imposed on state funding forced local governments and most school districts in California to make "drastic cutbacks." The district held that the measure was "so drastic and far-reaching that it was 'a revision' of the state Constitution and not a mere amendment."
Decision
Ultimately, the district was unsuccessful in its suit. In the ruling written by Justice Frank K. Richardson, the Supreme Court distinguished between "amendment" and "revision." The Court confirmed that an initiative cannot "revise" the constitution; Proposition 13, however, was an amendment to the California Constitution and not a "revision." In 2009, Amador Valley was cited by dissenting Justice Carlos R. Moreno in arguing the non-constitutionality of Proposition 8.