State officials in California are looking to find a way to get around President Trump’s new executive order, which gets rid of funding to sanctuary cities. Legal experts have ruled that Trump’s order is unconstitutional because it is an attempt to take possession of state and local officials and is a violation of the 10th Amendment.
California’s leaders say that they feel there are several federal programs that are receiving funds from the state. They plan to look into cutting those programs to make up for whatever Republican officials take out of their budget. CBS in San Francisco reported that the federal government spends about 78 cents on California for ever dollar the state sends to Washington DC.
After Trump threatened to eliminate funding for sanctuary cities, state officials in California began investigating ways to stop their financial transfers to Washington D.C.
Willie Brown, Jr., who previously served as a speaker for the State Assembly, said that California could become an organized non-payer, and they could choose to become non-compliant with the federal tax code.
The state’s two largest cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles, reportedly receive $500 million in federal funding each year. Reuters has reported that the top cities impacted by this plan will lose $2.27 billion each year. This estimate excludes funding given to law enforcement.
But the state’s government has a lot of options considering there are federal programs that get state funding because of non-partisan rankings, which say the state is 46th most dependent on federal funding.
A study done in 2014, stated that California receives a negative return on their investment because they are paying more in federal taxes than they get in return. If the state succeeds in reversing Trump’s new orders, it’s efforts will be similar to Mexico’s.
Taking money away from Washington D.C. will put a limit on the amount of money President Trump can keep spending in order to harm America.