White v. Davis

37 P.3d 647, 121 Cal. Rptr. 2d 51, 98 Cal. App. 4th 969
California Court of Appeal·Decided August 14, 2002·No. B122178 & B123992·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

121 Cal.Rptr.2d 51 (2002)
98 Cal.App.4th 969
37 P.3d 647

Steven WHITE, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
Gray DAVIS, as Governor, etc., et al., Defendants and Respondents.
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents,
v.
Kathleen Connell, as Controller, etc., Defendant and Appellant;
California State Employees Association, Local 1000, SEIU, AFL-CIO, CLC et al., Interveners and Appellants. [And three other cases.[*]].

No. B122178 & B123992.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Four.

May 29, 2002.
Review Granted August 14, 2002.

*55 Law Offices of Richard I. Fine & Associates, Richard I. Fine, Los Angeles, Jeremy Faith, Genalin Sulat, Carmela Tan, Cheri Vu; Jonathan M. Coupal, Sacramento, and Trevor A. Grimm, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Appellant Steven White in B122178, and for Plaintiffs and Respondents Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Steven White in B123992.

Daniel E. Lungren and Bill Lockyer, Attorneys General, Linda A. Cabatic, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Paul H. Dobson, Keith Yamanaka and Jennifer K. Rockwell, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Appellant Kathleen Connell in B123992 and for Defendants and Respondents Gray Davis, Kathleen Connell and Matt Fong in B122178.

Anne M. Giese, Daniel S. Connolly, Sacramento, and Michael D. Hersh, Santa Fe Springs, for Interveners and Appellants Gary Gavinski and California State Employees Association, Local 1000, SEIU, AFL-CIO, CLC.

Dennis F. Moss for Interveners and Appellants Professional Engineers in California Government and California Association of Professional Scientists.

Joel H. Levinson, West Sacramento, for Intervener and Appellant California Correctional Peace Officers Association.

Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, Gary M. Messing, and Cathleen A. Williams, Sacramento, for Intervener and Appellant California Union of Safety Employees.

Bion M. Gregory, Richard Thomson; Eisen & Johnston Law Corporation and Marian M. Johnston, Sacramento, for Defendants and Respondents Bill Lockyer, Cruz M. Bustamante, Rob Hurtt, and Curt Pringle.

CURRY, J.

The two actions underlying the consolidated appeals before us arise from the state budget impasses in 1997 and 1998. In the first action, Steven White sought declaratory and injunctive relief regarding the conduct of several state officials during the budget impasse in 1997, and demurrers to the individual's first amended complaint were sustained without leave to amend. In the second action, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (Jarvis), joined by White, sought injunctive relief barring Kathleen Connell, Controller for the State of California (the Controller), from issuing warrants prior to the passage of a budget in 1998, and the trial court issued a preliminary injunction.

In view of the Legislature's enactment of budget acts for the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 fiscal years and concessions by Jarvis *56 and White during oral argument before us, we dismiss the appeal in the first action as moot. Although the appeal in the second action is also technically moot, we retain the case for decision due to the importance of the issues raised.

Regarding the preliminary injunction issued in the second action, we affirm in part and reverse in part. As we explain below (see Discussion, pt. II., post), the Controller may disburse funds during a budget impasse when state and federal law properly authorizes or requires their payment, despite the absence of a budget act or emergency appropriation. In some cases, state laws and provisions of the California Constitution function as appropriations outside the budget act. Furthermore, due to the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution, some federal laws require the payment of funds, notwithstanding the requirement for an appropriation in the California Constitution.

To the extent that the parties have identified particular state and federal laws, we conclude that absent a budget act or emergency appropriation, the Controller may properly disburse funds pursuant to (1) continuing appropriations found in statutes and other provisions of law, (2) article III, section 4, and article XVI, section 8.5 of the California Constitution, (3) the Federal Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), and (4) federal funding mandates applicable to the Food Stamp program (7 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.), Foster Care and Adoption programs (42 U.S.C. § 670 et seq.), Child Support program (42 U.S.C. §§ 651-669b), and Child Welfare Services program (42 U.S.C. §§ 620-628).[1]

RELEVANT FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Steven White initiated the first underlying action on July 25, 1997. On September 22, 1997, White filed his first amended complaint against the following individuals then holding elected office: Pete Wilson, Governor of the State of California, Gray Davis, Lieutenant Governor of the State of California, Kathleen Connell, Controller for the State of California, and Matt Fong, Treasurer of the State of California, as well as Bill Lockyer, President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the State of California, Cruz M. Bustamante, Speaker of the Assembly of the State of California, Rob Hurtt, Senate Republican Leader, and Curt Pringle, Assembly Republican Leader.[2]

White's first amended complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief. It alleged that the Legislature had failed to pass a budget for the 1997-1998 fiscal year by the constitutionally mandated date of June 15, 1997 (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 12), and that from June 15, 1997 to August 18, 1997, when a budget was finally enacted and approved, the Controller was improperly permitted to pay funds from the state treasury to welfare recipients, state employees, members of the Legislature and other individuals without the enactment of *57 a constitutionally mandated emergency appropriation bill (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 12; art. XVI, § 7).

Following a hearing on March 13, 1998, the trial court sustained the defendants' demurrers to White's first amended complaint without leave to amend, concluding that White's claims were moot for the 1997-1998 fiscal year, and premature for the following fiscal year. White appealed from the subsequent order of dismissal (B122178).

On June 24, 1998, Jarvis and White initiated the second underlying action with a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, and for a writ of mandate, against the Controller in her capacity as state controller. The complaint alleged that the Legislature had not passed a budget for the 1998-1999 fiscal year by June 15, 1998, that under the state Constitution, the state government "must close" in the absence of a budget or emergency bills, and that the Controller was likely to disburse funds despite this constitutional mandate.

On July 9, 1998, the trial court issued a temporary restraining order barring the Controller from paying out funds absent a budget or an emergency appropriation, unless the payments were authorized by a continuing appropr

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White v. Davis, 37 P.3d 647, 121 Cal. Rptr. 2d 51, 98 Cal. App. 4th 969 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002).

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