Taxes. Revenuing. Felony.

TAXES. REVENUING. FELONY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Requires 2/3 majority of legislative bodies, or majority of voters, to approve changes increasing state or local taxes which last ten years or less. 2/3 of voters must approve new taxes lasting more than ten years. Makes Article XIIIA sole taxing authorization. Defines the act of compelling payments to government that are not taxes, assessments, or fees as revenuing. Authorizes fully empowered jury to: invalidate revenuing acts if too complicated; impose punishment, which cannot be overturned by higher courts, on any person caught revenuing. Willfully preventing implementation of the initiative established as felony. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potential reductions in state and local revenues due to increased restrictions on raising state-local taxes, assessments, and fees. Potential state General Fund costs to up to hundreds of millions of dollars due to reclassification of fee revenues as tax revenues for purposes of Proposition 98, and/or program funding losses of the same magnitude. Possible reductions in state and local revenues from expanded referendum and initiative powers to overturn state-local taxes, assessments and fees. Increased state and local costs totalling more than $10 million annually for implementing and administering the measure