The California Supreme Court recently held that the City of Oakland’s waste management franchise fees may constitute illegal taxes that fail to meet the state’s constitutional voter approval requirements. Accordingly, the state supreme court upheld the reversal of a trial court decision sustaining the city’s demurrer.
The plaintiffs challenging the fees are owners of multifamily properties that pay their tenants’ waste collection bills and had the franchise fees passed onto them by two waste management companies. The plaintiffs allege that the fees constitute illegal taxes because they were not approved by voters pursuant to Cal Const, Art. XIIIC.
