Borikas

*139 Opinion

I. Introduction

This case involves the validity of a parcel tax approved by Alameda Unified School District (District) voters in June 2008 as Measure H. The issue before us is whether the tax violates Government Code section 50079, which authorizes school districts to levy “qualified special taxes.” (Gov. Code, § 50079, subd. (a).) 1 Such taxes are statutorily defined as “taxes that apply uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the school district, except that ‘qualified special taxes’ may include taxes that provide for an exemption from those taxes for taxpayers 65 years of age or older or for persons receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability, regardless of age.” (§ 50079, subd. (b)(1).) Measure H provides exemptions for some senior and disabled taxpayers. It also imposes different tax rates on residential and commercial/industrial properties, as well as different rates on different sized commercial/industrial properties.

Plaintiffs and appellants contend Measure H’s property classifications, differing tax rates and conditional exemptions violate section 50079’s definitional language that special taxes apply “uniformly” to all…

I concur in the result and trumpet Justice Felix Frankfurter’s imperative on the rules of statutory construction: “ \ . . Read the statute; . . . read the statute; . . . read the statute!’ ’

I have read and reread the statute in context as part of title 5, division 1, part 1, chapter 1 of the Government Code. 2 Government Code section 50079 is plain and clear on its face. Authorized by article XIII A, section 4, of the California Constitution, section 50079 enables school districts to impose qualified special taxes, defined as “special taxes that apply uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the school district,” and exempt taxpayers 65 years of age or older and persons receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability regardless of age. (Id., subd. (b)(1).) The statute provides no more, no less.

Within the statutory framework of article 3.8, section 50079 is immediately followed by section 50079.1 whereby the Legislature specifically authorized community college districts to impose differentiated nonuniform taxes for unimproved real property as opposed to other property: “special taxes shall be applied uniformly to all taxpayers or real property within…