The Courts:
Supreme Court Rejects Suit Challenging Proposition 13

With a simple two-word notice reading "petition dismissed," the California Supreme Court on August 26 rejected a lawsuit challenging the legality of Proposition 13.

Charles Young, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and former chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles, filed a "petition for writ of mandate/prohibition" in the California Supreme Court on July 10. He asked the court to overturn Proposition 13, claiming that the initiative was not simply a constitutional amendment (which can be done via the initiative process), but was a constitutional revision (which can be accomplished only by means of a constitutional convention).

Under Article VI, Section 10 of the California Constitution, the California Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in such matters.

The state Supreme Court already decided this issue in Amador Valley Joint Union High School District v. State Board of Equalization, 22 Cal. 3d. 208 (1978). In that case, the court ruled that Proposition 13 was not a constitutional revision, but instead was an amendment lawfully enacted through the initiative process. (Source: The Sacramento Bee, August 27.)

Cal-TaxReports, August 31, 2009

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