SACRAMENTO – Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) released the following statement after the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning in the case of Patterson v Padilla which is the lawsuit brought forth 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 hearing is another victory and confirms what Legislative Republicans have been expressing all along – this law is unconstitutional. In October, a federal judge ruled on a similar case and stated the same concerns about SB 27. Legislative Democrats designed this deceptive law to suppress conservative voters from participating in the 2020 elections.
“Once again, I urge Governor Newsom and the Secretary of State to stop defending this measure and focus on real priorities. Our state is on fire and more than two million Californians sat in the dark due to the power outages. We have an affordability issue, a homeless crisis, and a housing shortage. Wasting taxpayers’ money is not wise leadership. We should be tackling tangible issues that affect Californians,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.
