Ross

The dispute involved in this appeal arose in the wake of the adoption of Proposition 13 (the Jarvis-Gann initiative) in the June 1978 primary election. That measure imposed severe restrictions on property taxes to be levied and collected by state and local entities. California Constitution, article XIII A, section 1, which incorporated the provisions of Proposition 13, limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1 percent of full cash value. (Subd. (a).) Excepted from this limitation are “ad valorem taxes or special assessments to pay the interest and redemption charges on any indebtedness approved by the voters” prior to the effective date of the section. (Subd. (b).)

Prior to 1978, plaintiff school districts had conducted “tax override” elections to increase state spending revenue limits for education pursuant to former Education Code section 42244. Since the tax authorized by that statute was a tax on real property, the Department of Education, in a series of guidelines promulgated after the passage of Proposition 13, took the position that the districts were prohibited from collecting the previously approved overrides. Plaintiffs subsequently brought this action…