Kern County Farm Bureau v. County of Kern

Kern County (the county) appeals from a judgment declaring its landfill assessment ordinance a “special tax” invalidly adopted in violation of article XIII A, section 4 of the California Constitution (section 4). We find the landfill assessment is not a “special tax” and is valid, whether characterized as a regulatory/service fee or as a benefit assessment. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

Between 1986 and 1990, the annual cost of operating the county’s landfills rose from $2.98 million to $17.6 million. This increase resulted largely from state legislation requiring various measures to reduce the environmental impact of landfills.

The county decided it could no longer fund its landfills from general revenues. It sought a method to obtain additional funding from fees. After an advisory election in 1988, the county resolved to impose fees based upon generation of landfill refuse, instead of requiring a gate fee on the actual deposit of such refuse. The county ascertained that gate fees would likely create a serious problem with illegal dumping of waste at locations other than the landfills, and that the costs of collecting gate…