WHAT’S BEHIND STALEMATE ON STATE REBATES?

The California Legislature has passed a 2022-23 budget that has few specifics on a key issue that affects state residents very directly — namely, how much of the state's projected $97 billion surplus will be sent back to residents to help them deal with the highest inflation in more than 40 years.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes sending $400 rebates to registered vehicle owners, covering a maximum of two vehicles per person, at a cost of $11.5 billion. But Democratic leaders of the Legislature have balked at the idea, instead pushing for relief that excludes upper-income households. Meanwhile, many lawmakers in the Republican minority say the way to most directly help those affected by inflation is by suspending state gas taxes.

All three points of view have reasonable motives. But the longer the stalemate persists, the more reasonable it becomes to suspect chicanery — and to think that the hidden motive, at least among

Democrats, is to defy the voter-approved 1979 amendment to the state Constitution that limits growth in state government appropriations based on a formula related to changes in population and cost of living. The measure championed by anti-tax activist Paul Gann was meant to require automatic rebates when tax revenues surge.

But only once — in 1987 — have state leaders agreed to these rebates. The law's complexity has made it easy for lawyers to figure out ways to evade its plain intent. The immense size of the state's surplus makes trying that again patently absurd.

For years, the argument has been made that the spending limit is an anachronism that should be targeted with a ballot measure amending the state Constitution. Yet state leaders may not think it is worth the effort when they can use legal maneuvering to defy the wishes of 74 percent of voters. This may not be surprising. But it's still pathetic.