SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California voters will have several ballot measures to decide this November, ranging from the elimination of involuntary servitude in prison to a new minimum wage.
But one of the most anticipated California ballot measures initially slated for the November election won’t make it to voters.
The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act — which would have made massive changes to how governments can impose taxes — was removed from the ballot last week by the state Supreme Court. The high court ruled that the citizen-initiated measure was an improper way to revise the state constitution and ordered the California secretary of state to refrain from placing it on the ballot or including information about it in the voter information guide.
A citizen-backed effort to repeal Proposition 47, another high-profile ballot question, will appear on the ballot.
Approved by voters 10 years ago, Proposition 47 reduced penalties for certain drug and property crime offenses. Critics have pointed to the proposition as a reason for the current retail theft crisis.
The repeal effort is opposed by Democrats in the Legislature, who recently added urgency and inoperability clauses to a package of crime bills meant to address retail theft. Republicans claim the inoperability clauses — which would make the bills null and void if the repeal passes — are “poison pills” and a means for the state attorney general to rewrite the repeal’s title and description, and try to mislead voters.
Several other ballot initiatives will appear on the November ballot, as the secretary of state on Thursday — the deadline to certify measures for the ballot — formerly revealed the list of ballot questions.
There were few surprises, as many of the eligible ballot measures have been known for weeks. All eligible measures were certified Thursday by the secretary of state, making them official.
However, there were some last-minute additions and removals. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 passed the Assembly on Thursday and will appear on the November ballot.
The state constitution currently prohibits slavery and involuntarily servitude. However, the latter is allowed for punishment to a crime. The amendment would remove that exemption.
“This should not be controversial,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and the amendment’s author.
Other Legislature-initiated measures include Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5. It would repeal the existing prohibition on same-sex marriage in the constitution, stating that marriage is a fundamental right.
While the state constitution prohibits same-sex marriage, that provision is currently unenforceable because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 would reduce the threshold needed to pass certain general obligation bonds and special taxes for specified housing and infrastructure projects from two-thirds to 55%.
However, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 would remove the special taxes portion from the first amendment, leaving only the bonds with the lower threshold for voters to decide.
“It’s a more moderate version of what y’all have already voted on,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, this week.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 would require ballot measures that seek to increase a vote threshold needed for a future initiative to pass by that higher margin. It was widely seen as a potential method of stopping the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, as that act would have needed to pass by two-thirds with ACA 13 on the ballot.
A handful of citizen-initiated ballot questions also made the November ballot.
They would raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour; repeal an existing state law that restricts local governments from enacting rent control measures; require qualifying health care providers to spend 98% of revenue from federal discount prescription drug programs on patient care; and make a current tax on health care insurance plans, set to expire in 2026, permanent.
Some initiatives expected to appear on the November ballot were removed at the last moment.
Proponents removed a ballot question that would have repealed a 2004 law allowing employees to file suit for themselves and others over certain labor law violations. It was removed after labor and business groups on Tuesday reached an agreement on reforms over existing law.
An initiative that would have added a semester-long personal finance course to high school graduation requirements was scuttled by a Thursday agreement.
The Legislature passed a bill Thursday making financial literacy a requirement to graduate, leading proponents of the California Personal Finance Act to say they’d pull the ballot initiative.
Additionally, the oil industry on Thursday said it would pull a ballot initiative that would have allowed it to keep drilling new wells within 3,200 feet of homes and schools, and operate existing wells without certain pollution controls. This now allows the implementation of a law requiring setbacks, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said.
A referendum that would have increased taxes on personal income over $5 million, which would have paid for pandemic detection and prevention, was withdrawn by its proponents.
Proponents also pulled a ballot question that would have expanded the state’s health care program for children who have certain conditions.
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