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VIDEO. From the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) meeting on Monday, May 13th, 2024 at 7:00pm, as a hybrid meeting.
SAM Counsel reviews the impacts of this initiative.
SAM Staff Report for 5/13/2024
This Resolution Opposing Initiative 1935 Officially Entitled “Limits Ability of Voters and State and Local Governments to Raise Revenues for Government Services. Initiative Constitutional Amendment” outlines the effect of a proposed ballot initiative that if approved by the voters (who might not understand the profound implications on essential services that the passage of Initiative 1935 would have) is likely to create significant hurdles for local agencies, including SAM’s member agencies, preventing them from collecting fees and charges to fund maintenance, infrastructure, and staffing, and making every critical increase subject to difficult litigation. The initiative could also overturn fees and taxes previously approved by voters necessary for the ongoing function of SAM and its member agencies.
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From the California Special District Association (CSDA)
An entity representing California’s wealthiest corporations is behind a proposition that is eligible for the November 2024 statewide ballot. The measure — Initiative 1935 (previously Initiative 21-0042A1) — would revise the state Constitution to significantly undermine local control and disrupt the ability of local governments to provide essential services and infrastructure.
Many have referred to Initiative 1935 as the “CBRT Initiative”, a reference to its proponents, the California Business Roundtable (“CBRT”). These proponents have labeled their initiative the “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act,” or “Taxpayer Protection Act” for short. Whereas a growing opposition coalition has dubbed the initiative the “Taxpayer Deception Act.”
Proponents now have until June 27, 2024 to consider withdrawing the initiative before the Secretary of State officially certifies it for the ballot.
CSDA has joined a coalition of local government leaders in adopting an Oppose position on Initiative 1935 and encourages all special districts, partners, and community leaders to join the coalition by passing a board resolution. Once approved, please email your resolution to [email protected] and consider issuing a press release to local media. Individuals may also register their opposition with the growing coalition by emailing their name, title, and organization.
Quick Summary
Ballot Initiative 1935 would result in the loss of billions of dollars annually in critical state and local funding, disrupting the ability of voters, local agencies, and the State of California to fund services and infrastructure by:
- Adopting new and severely stricter rules for raising taxes, fees, assessments, and other charges.
- Revising the State Constitution, as amended by Propositions 13, 218, and 26 among other provisions, to the advantage of the initiative’s proponents and plaintiffs; creating new grounds to challenge these funding sources and disrupting fiscal certainty.
- Restricting the ability of local governments to issue fines and penalties to corporations and property owners that violate local environmental, water quality, public health, public safety, fair housing, nuisance and other laws and ordinances.
The initiative includes provisions that would retroactively void all state and local taxes or fees adopted after January 1, 2022 if they did not align with the provisions of this initiative. This may also affect indexed fees that adjust over time for inflation or other factors. Effectively, it would allow well-funded interests that are not residents of your community to invalidate the prior actions of local voters in your community, undermining local control and voter-approved decisions about investments needed in their essential services and infrastructure.
The Latest
Last fall, Governor Gavin Newsom, joined by the State Legislature and former State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, filed an emergency petition to the California Supreme Court for a pre-election challenge to Initiative 1935, arguing that the measure is unlawful because it improperly revises the state constitution via initiative, and would impair essential government services. CSDA promptly joined a coalition to file a letter to the Supreme Court in favor of granting pre-election review.
On November 29, the California Supreme Court issued an order to show cause why the measure should not be removed from the ballot and established a schedule for briefing the court. An amicus brief filed by CSDA and 10 other local government partners argues the measure is an unlawful revision of the state constitution because of the ways the measure would redistribute authority between state and local governments, the measure would undermine essential functions of local governments, and because the ballot measure is so poorly drafted that it raises many interpretive issues that will not be simply resolved without requiring extensive litigation after passage. The brief urges the Court to act before the measure is placed on the ballot for the November election because planning impacts are being felt now and could impair essential government services.
The California Supreme Court is likely to rule on the pre-election challenge before the end of June, when the Secretary of State is anticipated to formally qualify the measure for the November 2024 ballot.
More on SAM on Coastside Buzz
Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) Meetings ~ 2nd & 4th Mondays @ 7:00pm
SAM Agendas and Zoom Links
Subscribe to Agendas. Watch remotely. Comments and questions by email.
SAM Meeting Videos via Pacific Coast TV
Where Does Your Poop Go ~ Virtual Video Tour!
Interactive “Story Map” Tour
Contact Us
Our regular office hours are 7:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The Authority can be reached 24-hours a day at:
(650) 726-0124
Our Address is:
Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside
1000 Cabrillo Hwy N.
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 726-7833 (fax)
The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) provides wastewater treatment services and contract collection maintenance services for a population of approximately 24,000 in the following areas:
- City of Half Moon Bay
- El Granada
- Miramar
- Montara
- Moss Beach
- Princeton by the Sea
SAM Directors
SAM is a joint powers authority (JPA) created by its three member agencies: City of Half Moon Bay (City), Granada Community Services District (GCSD), and the Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD).
The JPA is a separate, independent, public agency created by the member agencies to perform functions and share powers common to the member agencies. Those powers are outlined in a joint exercise of powers agreement (Agreement). The Agreement creating SAM can be found on the Documents page.
Each Agreement identifies how the independent agency will be governed. In the case of SAM, each member agency appoints two members from its governing board to represent it on the SAM Board of Directors, for a total of six directors.
The Agreement also establishes the weight of each director’s vote. The vote by each representatives from the City is given the weight of two votes. The vote by each representative from GCSD and MWSD is given the weight of one vote. The total number of possible votes is eight. A quorum is a minimum of five votes and resolutions require at least six votes to pass.
2024 SAM Directors
Author: Coastside Buzz
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