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A court ruling invalidates a lawsuit that claimed Santa Clara County incorrectly applied an emergency clause to Measure A that allowed the county to put the sales tax increase on the ballot as a general tax.
California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal on Sept. 23 affirmed the county Board of Supervisors’ declaration that the county was in an emergency due to federal budget cuts, enabling supervisors to put a measure on last November’s ballot to increase the sales tax by five-eighths of a cent. County leaders warned that without the tax increase, federal budget cuts would devastate California’s second largest public hospital system.
The ruling might signal the beginning of the end to a legal battle brought on by conservative and libertarian groups that have argued federal spending cuts don’t constitute an emergency, which allows for a sales tax vote during a non-general election year.
“This is a major victory for the county of Santa Clara, for the residents who rely on the county for healthcare and other essential safety‑net services and for the voters who overwhelmingly supported Measure A,” County Counsel Tony LoPresti said in a statement. “With this core legal question answered, the county is one step closer to ending meritless challenges that threaten the lifesaving services our communities depend on.”
Measure A is a general tax where spending is not restricted to a specific use. The county opted not to author Measure A as a special tax, which would have legally restricted funds to hospitals. Special taxes require 66.7% voter approval — a more difficult threshold to win — whereas a general tax needs a simple majority. Measure A was passed by 57% of voters. County leaders have characterized Measure A as a lifeline for their massive public hospital system.
Brian Holtz, lead plaintiff on the lawsuit and Santa Clara County Libertarian Party secretary, said the appellate court decision was expected, since the lawsuit was already rejected by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.
He said he plans to consult with his lawyer to see if he wants to take it further, but for now will lay low.
“I wouldn’t want to be someone who develops that kind of track record of clogging up the courts with stuff that you know is not going to get through,” Holtz told San José Spotlight.
The appellate court judges said the conservative groups did not provide substantial evidence that the county wasn’t facing an emergency due to federal cuts.
“Appellants offer no persuasive reason for this court to depart from these authorities,” the judges wrote. “On this record, we conclude that the Board’s determination of emergency was reasonable, and the resolution to place Measure A on the (Nov. 4, 2025) special election ballot was not invalid.”
The federal spending bill passed last summer stripped Medicaid funding, known as Medi-Cal in California, by $1 trillion over the next decade — the largest cut in the program’s history. The cuts have caused Santa Clara County to lose $1 billion a year, requiring leaders to reduce services and shrink programs.
Half of the patients in the county’s hospital system pay through Medi-Cal, and one in four of the county’s nearly 2 million residents are Medi-Cal enrollees.
Holtz said he doesn’t believe the county is in a state of emergency.
“This is a very wealthy part of the country. We’re in an economic upswing. The pandemic is over,” Holtz said. “I really don’t have any sympathy for the idea of we got too dependent on federal dollars and now the federal dollars are drying up and so it’s an emergency. Well, you shouldn’t have been dependent on those dollars in the first place.”
The tax measure still faces opposition from the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association in a second lawsuit to be heard Oct. 16 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. That lawsuit alleges Measure A is invalid because it was placed on the special election ballot last November instead of the general election this November.
Revenue from Measure A — an estimated $330 million annually — is tied up until both lawsuits are resolved.
The county’s public hospital system is California’s second largest. It’s a critical safety net service for the region’s publicly-insured and uninsured patients. But county doctors have warned that hospital cuts would impact everyone, as people who lose coverage will turn to emergency departments, delaying critical care and ambulance transports at hospitals across the Bay Area.
Santa Clara County hospitals routinely reach capacity, dragging out wait times for care and appointments. At the same time, the health and hospital system has become the county’s biggest focus and budget expense.
“The voters of Santa Clara County already stepped up and said yes to protecting the health and well-being of our community,” Darcie Green, executive director of nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, told San José Spotlight. “This decision affirms that the county was right to treat the threat to our healthcare and safety net with the urgency it deserved. That urgency is real for the patients and families we serve every day.”
This story was written by Joyce Chu for San José Spotlight. The original version of this article can be viewed here.
Contact Joyce Chu at joyce@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X.
