On Jan. 18, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento unanimously concluded that the Legislature acted illegally when it passed the state budget, and then used what is known as a spot bill to pass a statute by majority vote placing the governor’s tax measure, Proposition 30, in a preferred position at the top of the statewide ballot. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. Bowen, 13 C.D.O.S. 809. In doing so, the court rejected the Legislature’s use of “spot bills” blank bills with an assigned number but no substance to take advantage of exceptions to the two-thirds vote requirement needed to approve appropriations and have them take effect immediately, contained in 2010′s Proposition 25.
Prior to the adoption of Prop 25 in 2010, all appropriations were required to be passed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature. And a two-thirds vote was required to adopt legislation that would take effect immediately; otherwise, such legislation takes effect on Jan. 1 of the following year. Prop 25 provided exceptions to these rules for the annual budget bill and for “other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill.”
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