Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

City gifts of public funds to private persons prohibited?

This might sound silly, but though I have read that the Calif. Const. at Article 16, sec. 6, prohibits the giving of gifts of public monies to private persons, this seems, by the words of the Article to only mean that the State Legislature (in Sacramento) cannot ''authorize'' a city to give a gift of public funds to a private person. Does this have the same meaning as to prohibit a city from making a gift of private funds? Or can a city make a gift of private funds even for a non-governmental purpose? That is, it seems only the state legislature is banned from ''authorizing'' a city.... But then I think, maybe this means that a city can only make expenditures of public funds as authorized by the state legislature, but where the state legislature can never authorize a city to make a gift of public funds... so if a city ever does make a gift of public funds, the city has violated Article 16, sec. 6. ??? What can you tell me about this? (Surely, a city cannot make a gift of public monies to private persons for non-governmental purposes -- but if this is the case where is the constitutional provision or statute that clearly says so?) I found no case law that clears up this question. Maybe you know something about this and can help me out

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