Californians’ safety hinges on supreme court’s ballot measure decision

OPINION – As a nearly 30-year career firefighter, responding to countless man-made and natural disasters, I know better than most Californians how crucial stable funding is in our ability to remain fully staffed and prepared at all times. Californians count on our readiness to minimize injury, property damage and loss of life in a crisis. If a dangerous ballot initiative prevails in November, California’s public safety response will be in peril.

Firefighters are gravely concerned that the so-called “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act” on the November 2024 ballot would severely constrain local government operations like fire and disaster response. We are counting on the State Supreme Court to disqualify this reckless revision of our state constitution before its corporate funders further mislead the public with the millions they have raised for a campaign.

Under the guise of “taxpayer protection,” the writers of the initiative propose to significantly limit the ability of the legislature, the executive branch, and even taxpayers to protect public safety and provide critical services taxpayers expect. A look at the funders backing this ballot measure – multi-billion dollar real estate, energy, and pharma interests – makes it easy to see that their true agenda isn’t to empower the public. Instead, these multi-billion dollar corporations want to reduce their own accountability for costs they impose on communities.

This measure is so extreme and dangerous that Gavin Newsom and Legislative leaders petitioned the Supreme Court to remove it from the November ballot on the basis that its very premise is illegal. Ballot initiatives can only seek to make minor changes to improve the state constitution, but the corporations behind this measure have proposed a law that would fundamentally change entire portions of California’s founding document.

Opponents of the measure argue that the effects would be felt throughout every level of our state, disrupting state and local finances and undoing the structures that are critical to even the most basic of government functions. Firefighters agree on all accounts – the risks are just too high.

California Professional Firefighters, representing about 35,000 firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency response personnel employed by local and state agencies across California, filed a legal brief with the Supreme Court this week. The brief argues that the initiative creates an existential threat to the ability of state and local governments to prepare for and deliver essential services, including firefighters’ ability to respond to emergencies like natural disasters. Regardless of the outcome of a vote, the mere presence of this measure on the ballot could force state and local governments to make damaging cuts to public safety, particularly since the measure would retroactively cancel voters’ decisions going back two years.

The measure’s far-reaching impact on local governments’ funding and fiscal planning is likely to dismantle the reliable function of government. As climate change threatens even bigger fires on the urban landscape and floods across the state, there is no exception in the initiative to prepare for or rebuild from a disaster.

Beyond disaster preparedness, this measure would endanger many essential services local governments provide – from shelter for those experiencing homelessness to the maintenance of playgrounds and sidewalks. Mayors of California’s largest cities have joined our call for the Supreme Court to remove the initiative from November’s ballot.

No one is arguing that Californians shouldn’t have the opportunity to exercise their powers of direct democracy. In fact, voters deserve to know if a measure is valid before they vote on it. A decision by the court to prohibit an unconstitutional measure before the election will preserve the integrity of the initiative process.

Firefighters know preventing a disaster is far better than responding to it. As the professionals responsible for disaster response in our communities, we have a responsibility to speak up against this dangerous measure.

The State Supreme Court has a vital role to play in protecting the California constitution – and the public safety of our state. We urge the court to protect the public by disqualifying this reckless measure.

Brian K. Rice is the President of the California Professional Firefighters