MAY RESIDENTS OVERTURN LOCAL TAXES, ASSESSMENTS AND FEES?
Proposition 218 expands California residents’ power to challenge local revenue-raising measures. Greater Initiative Powers. Prior to Proposition 218, the extent to which local residents could use an initiative to challenge local government revenue-raising methods was not certain. In a 1995 case, Rossi v. Brown, the California Supreme Court ruled that people had the power to use the initiative to repeal a minor tax. There have been no court rulings, however, addressing the question of whether an initiative may be used to repeal a more substantial revenue source. Proposition 218 eliminates any ambiguity regarding the power of local residents to use the initiative by stating that residents of California shall have the power to repeal or reduce any local tax, assessment, or fee. In addition, the measure forbids the Legislature and local governments from imposing a signature requirement for local initiatives that is higher than that applicable to statewide statutory initiatives. As a conseq
