Miner’s Camp v. Foresthill Public Utility Dist.
Proposition 13 restricted the ability of state and local governments to impose taxes but local governments circumvented those limitations by labeling increases in rates for services as fees, charges or assessments rather than taxes. (Plantier, supra, 7 Cal.5th at 380-381; Valley Baptist Church v. City of San Rafael (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 401, 421; Silicon Valley Taxpayers’ Assn. v. Garner (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 402, 406.) In 1996, voters passed Proposition 218, known as the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act,” to fill in perceived loopholes in Proposition 13. (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 5, 1996) text of Prop. 218, § 1, p. 108; Paland v. Brooktrails Township Community Services Dist. Bd. of Directors (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 1358, 1365 (Paland).)
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