Professor Feeney Comments on State Budget Issues for Mercury News
Professor Floyd Feeney commented for the San Jose Mercury News on legislative Democrats' effort to resolve California's budget impasse by exploiting a loophole in the state Constitution to raise billions in new revenue. The plan, since vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, essentially would have replaced taxes with fees and thus avoided the need for a two-thirds majority approval required by the state Constitution. Professor Feeney likened the proposal to an accountant finding ways to reduce a client's tax bill, but noted that "the line between tax planning and tax evasion is often paper-thin."
Feeney, a professor of law at UC Davis, is an expert in the fields of criminal law and procedure and election law. He is one of the founding faculty members of the Law School, having joined the staff in 1968, and a winner of the Law School's 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award.