County of San Diego v. Commission on State Mandates
Annotate this CaseIn 1998, the Commission on State Mandates (Commission) concluded costs associated with eight activities required of local governments by the then-newly passed Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA) were eligible for reimbursement. Fifteen years later, at the request of the Department of Finance (DOF), the Commission revisited that decision based on the passage of Proposition 83 in 2006. The Commission concluded that six of the duties it deemed state-mandated in 1998 were instead mandated by the ballot initiative and, therefore, the costs of those activities to local governments were no longer eligible for reimbursement. The Counties of San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento and San Bernardino (Counties) challenged the Commission's decision by filing a petition for writ of administrative mandamus in San Diego County Superior Court. The Counties appealed the trial court’s judgment upholding the Commission's decision. The Court of Appeal, in its review of the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, reached the opposite conclusion of the trial court. It therefore reversed the trial court and remanded this matter for issuance of a writ of mandate directing the Commission to set aside the decisions challenged by this action.
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