Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Ass'n v. County of Monterey

Statement of the Case

The Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association and others (collectively referred to as MPTA) filed an action against the County of Monterey (the County) and the Monterey County Public Repair and Improvement Projects Authority (the Authority) challenging the validity of a sales tax that was approved by only a simple majority of the voters. MPTA claimed, among other things, that article XIII A, section 4 (hereafter Section 4) of the California Constitution, commonly known as Proposition 13, required that the tax be approved by two-thirds of the voters.

MPTA also claimed that the sales tax violated Government Code sections 53720-53730, commonly known as Proposition 62, which impose a similar supermajority approval requirement for special taxes.

In the court below, both parties sought judgment on the pleadings and/or summary judgment. The court ultimately concluded that the complaint failed to state a cause of action, there were no triable issues of fact, and the County and Authority were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. It entered judgment accordingly.

Thereafter, MPTA moved to vacate the judgment and enter a new and different judgment. The…