California Supreme Court Rules Democrats' Law Pushing for Presidential Income Tax Disclosure is Unconstitutional

Today, Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) released the following statement after the California Supreme Court issued a written ruling in the case of Patterson v Padilla.  This lawsuit was brought by the California Republican Party challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 27.

Signed into law by Governor Newsom in July, SB 27 requires Presidential and Gubernatorial candidates to release five years of their federal income tax returns in order to run in the March 2020 Primary Election in California.

“Today’s final ruling handed down by the California Supreme Court is a victory for Californians. Republicans have repeatedly voiced our position that the Democrats’ Presidential Disclosure law is unconstitutional and an attempt to tamper with the Presidential primary by suppressing Republican voter turn-out. Today, the justices of the State Supreme Court validated our concerns and sided with us.

“The Golden State is the fifth largest economy in the world, yet the priorities of California Democrats and the governor are out of touch with California’s needs. There are real issues that need to be addressed, such as keeping the power on for families, making housing affordable, and tackling the out-of-control homeless crisis. Instead of combatting these problems, Democrats continue to pursue bad legislation, like SB 27, which is unconstitutional, a waste of taxpayer money, and a direct attack on democracy,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.