Legal Opinion
California Farm Bureau Federation v. State Water Resources Control Board
California Supreme Court
Decided January 31, 2011No. S150518PublishedCited by 61 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
*428Opinion
CORRIGAN, J.
The California Constitution provides that any act to increase taxes must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.1 On the other hand, statutes that create or raise regulatory fees need only the assent of a simple majority.2 In 2003, the Legislature passed amendments to the Water Code3 by a 53 percent majority. Current section 1525 was enacted as part of these amendments. The threshold issue here is whether section 1525, subdivision (a) imposes a tax or a fee. We hold that the amendments and section 1525 do not explicitly impose a tax and, therefore, are not…
2Cases cited19 opinions
- M'culloch v. State of MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1819
- Davis v. Michigan Department of the TreasurySupreme Court of the United States · 1989
- In Re Zeth S.California Supreme Court · 2003
- United States v. County of FresnoSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- In re Bay-Delta Programmatic Environmental Impact Report Coordinated ProceedingsCalifornia Supreme Court · 2008
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3Cited by61 opinions
- Cal. Building Industry Assn. v. State Water Resources Control Bd.California Supreme Court · 2018
- City of San Buenaventura v. United Water Conservation DistrictCalifornia Supreme Court · 2017
- Schmeer v. County of Los AngelesCalifornia Court of Appeal · 2013
- Light v. State Water Resources Control BoardCalifornia Court of Appeal · 2014
- Capistrano Taxpayers Ass'n v. City of San Juan CapistranoCalifornia Court of Appeal · 2015
56 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.