California

California Propositions: Everything you need to know about the 10 measures on your ballot

By Nicole Nixon

November 5, 2024 10:04 AM

How California voters weigh in on the 10 statewide propositions on the ballot this year will send a signal to state lawmakers and the governor about their priorities.

Democrats have held control of California’s state government for over a decade, ushering in stronger protections for the environment, workers, undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ+ youth.

At the same time, the state faces a severe housing shortage, a worsening homelessness crisis and high prices for food and other basic necessities.

Voters list all of these issues – affordability, housing costs, and homelessness – as the most important ones facing Californians. And sixty percent of Californians said the state is heading in the wrong direction, according to an October survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

“People are unhappy in California, and it’s largely driven by these core issues of safety and affordability,” veteran ballot campaign strategist Brandon Castillo said during a discussion on ballot propositions hosted by The Sacramento Bee last month. “People can’t afford to live here and they don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods.”

Advisors to lawmakers and the governor “will be watching very, very carefully to see how voters express their sentiments on those issues,”’ said Dan Schnur, a political science professor with USC.

Here’s a look at the 10 measures Californians are voting on this election:

Proposition 2, school facilities bond

Prop. 2 asks voters to approve $10 billion in bond financing for aging educational facilities. If approved, $8.5 billion would go toward updating or building new K-12 buildings. The remaining $1.5 billion would be used for community colleges. It’s the second time in five years voters are being asked to allow the state to take on debt for school infrastructure – voters rejected a $15 billion school bond in March 2020.

Proposition 3, marriage equality

This ballot measure would repeal outdated language from California’s Constitution that says marriage is a union between one man and one woman. Voters enshrined this definition, effectively banning same-sex marriages, when they approved Proposition 8 in 2008. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down the decision when it ruled in favor of the right to marry for same-sex couples in 2015, but the Prop. 8 language remains on California’s books.

Proposition 4, climate infrastructure bond

Similar to Prop. 2, lawmakers placed Prop. 4 on the ballot to request $10 billion in bond funds for a variety of climate projects. The bond comes after two years of significant budget deficits which saw California’s climate spending scaled back. If approved, $3.8 billion would go toward safe drinking water and drought and flood resilience projects; $1.5 billion for wildfire resilience; $1.2 billion to protect against sea level rise; and other allocations for biodiversity, outdoor access, clean air and more.

Proposition 5, local bonds threshold

Prop. 5 would lower the supermajority vote required by voters to approve local bonds to finance housing and infrastructure projects in their communities. Currently, a two-thirds vote is needed, but this constitutional amendment would lower the threshold to 55%.

If passed, it would be easier for local governments to issue bonds to develop affordable housing and other projects in their jurisdictions. Opponents argue there should be broad consensus among voters before a local government goes into debt to take out bonds.

If voters approve Prop. 5, it would apply concurrently to any local bonds on the 2024 ballot.

Proposition 6, involuntary servitude

Prop. 6 asks voters to remove language allowing involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. If it passes, labor in California prisons would become voluntary and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from punishing inmates who refuse a work assignment.

The proposition was placed on the ballot by California lawmakers and was a priority for the legislature’s Black Caucus. Its members said California is one of just 16 states that still allows involuntary servitude for incarcerated people.

Proposition 32, minimum wage

Prop. 32 would increase California’s minimum wage to $18 an hour over the next couple years. If it passes, all minimum wage workers would immediately get a pay bump. The $16 minimum wage would reach $18 per hour for all workers, besides contract and self-employed workers – by Jan. 1, 2026.

The measure requires larger businesses with more than 25 employees to reach $18 at a faster pace, by the start of 2025. However, if an economic downturn occurs, the Governor has the power to delay those increases up to two times.

Proposition 33, rent control

A vote in favor of this measure would allow cities to expand rent control in California. If the proposition passes, it would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which bans rent control for housing built after 1995 and for single-family homes.

Cities and counties would have more power to limit rent increases for incoming and existing tenants, making it harder for landlords to hike up prices. The measure would also insert new language into California law that prohibits the state from limiting how cities and counties expand or maintain rent control. This is the third time since 2018 that voters will decide on the issue: Similar ballot initiatives, in 2018 and 2020, failed by 19 and 20 points, respectively.

Proposition 34, funding for patient care

Prop. 34 requires organizations that use a federal drug discount program to spend at least 98% of that money on direct patient care. Proponents who put the measure on the ballot say it is meant to go after the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which critics accuse the nonprofit of spending millions on political causes (such as Prop 33), rather than patient care and housing. The AHF has called Prop 34 “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Proposition 35, permanent Medi-Cal funding

Prop. 35 would make permanent a tax on health insurers – also known as the MCO tax – which is currently set to expire in 2026. Newsom and legislative leaders recently renewed the tax to help fill budget deficits. Implementing the MCO tax also allows the state to draw down additional federal funds to pay for Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program for poor residents.

The measure would require funds from the tax to be used specifically for Medi-Cal and prohibits the state from using the money to replace existing funds. The MCO tax is expected to bring in between $6 and $9 billion by the end of 2026, but analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office said the long-term fiscal effects of the measure are uncertain, in part because the tax requires regular federal approval and isn’t guaranteed under future administrations.

Proposition 36, criminal penalties

Prop. 36 aims to revise Prop. 47, a 2014 ballot initiative that downsized some lower-level crimes to misdemeanors and put in place a $950 threshold for shoplifting felonies.

The proposed changes would raise penalties and sentences for some drug and theft offenses. For example, fentanyl would be added to the list of drugs that warrant a felony charge if the person is also carrying a gun, increasing the punishment from up to one year in jail to up to four years in prison. Other major revisions would bump up punishments for convicted shoplifters with two or more prior theft-related convictions, and create a new “treatment-mandated felony” classification, where people could have drug charges dismissed in exchange for completing treatment.

Prop. 36 has divided Democratic leaders across the state; some mayors and moderate lawmakers broke with Newsom and legislative leaders to support the measure.