Professor Shanske Quoted on City Finance Dispute in Record Searchlight

Professor Darien Shanske commented for Redding's Record Searchlight on the question of whether the City of Redding can fund improvements to the Shasta County jail when it has no legal obligation to do so.  A local attorney has argued that a plan to raise city sales tax for that purpose could be viewed as an illegal gift of public funds.

Professor Shanske said that the city government has discretion to spend money for the benefit of city residents, and sometimes that may also benefit nonresidents.  "Generally, the courts don't find that a gift of public funds," he said.

Darien Shanske is a Professor of Law at UC Davis. His academic interests include taxation, particularly state and local taxation, local government law, public finance, and political theory, particularly jurisprudence.