Election 2020: The Merced Sun-Star’s recommendations on California propositions

The Sun-Star Editorial Board recommends the following positions on California’s 12 state propositions on the November ballot. This is a running list that will be updated.

Recommendations, like editorials, represent the collective opinion of the Sun-Star’s Editorial Board, which operates independently from the news editors and reporters.

Recommendations for Merced mayor and City Council have already been published. The Sun-Star’s recommendations for mayor and City Council can be found here.

California state propositions

Prop. 14: Yes

Stem-cell research is making a difference in finding cures and treatments for tough diseases. The previous funding is ending. This would provide $5.5 billion to keep California on the cutting edge of research. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 15: No

California’s taxing process is unfair and in need of a long-overdue overhaul. But with the economic carnage created by the coronavirus pandemic, this is not the right time to begin the process. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 16: Yes

Passage would allow state universities like Fresno State, along with government agencies, to consider race and gender in recruitment, admissions, hiring and contracting. California is known as one of the most progressive states, yet it’s one of only 10 states that ban affirmative action. It is time to change that.

Prop. 17: Yes

Lots of lip service is given to rehabilitating prisoners for life outside the bars. This measure is a good step toward that goal. Allowing parolees to vote once they are released puts them on the path of good citizenship. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 18: Yes

Anything that would encourage voting is good, and that’s what this does. Anyone turning 18 by the time a November election occurs can go ahead and vote in the primary and special elections as 17 year olds. Young voters have the most at stake in elections. This gets them involved.

Prop. 19: Yes

Seniors who want to downsize from the homes they raised their children in can do so and keep their current property tax rate under this measure. Plus a portion of the proceeds would be dedicated to firefighting agencies. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 20: No

California embraced criminal justice reform because the state’s prisons had become humanitarian disaster zones that cost billions of dollars a year to maintain. That’s working; last year, in fact, crime in California fell to its lowest level in recorded state history. Any necessary improvements can be handled without Prop. 20’s attempt to scare voters and restore the ghastly prison industrial complex.

Prop. 21: No

The measure would allow cities to limit rental increases. But California desperately needs more housing, not measures that discourage building. Besides, the state last year enacted the nation’s toughest rent-control law. It should have a chance to work first. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 22: No

The gig economy offers new ways for people to work, and the services they provide are wonderful. But this is special-interest legislation for a weighty issue: what labor protections and benefits should gig workers receive? That is a matter for the Legislature. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 23: No

This would require kidney dialysis clinics to have licensed physicians on-site when treatments are given. But the current system uses specially trained technicians and nurses, and works well. Clinics could close because Prop. 23 will create higher costs. This is a special-interest fix for what’s not broken. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 24: Yes

Would strengthen consumer privacy law by giving online consumers more rights to limit use of their data. It would also create a new state agency to enforce privacy laws at an estimated cost of $10 million year; set new fines; and close loopholes in the existing state law that took effect this year. This is an effort to play catch-up. While it’s not the last word in consumer protection, it will provide meaningful safeguards and, equally important, the means to enforce the rules. Read the full recommendation here.

Prop. 25: Yes

Outdated, unfair and racist are words to describe California’s cash-bail system. This measure would uphold reforms launched in Senate Bill 10 by replacing cash bail with risk assessments made by law officers and judges. In so doing, poor people would not be unfairly kept behind bars before their cases are considered. Read the full recommendation here.