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California 2014 ballot propositions
 California's 2014 elections: • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State Senate • State Assembly • Ballot measures |
Two of the 2014 certified ballot propositions had previously been approved to appear on ballots in earlier years. The Rainy Day Fund Amendment and the Water Bond Measure had previously been scheduled for the state's 2012 ballot. However, when Gov. Brown signed SB 202 on October 7, 2011, the Rainy Day Fund Amendment was moved to the 2014 ballot.
On the ballot
Contents |
| Type | Title | Subject | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CICA | Rainy Day Fund | State budget | Increase amount of potential savings in the state 'rainy day' fund from 5% to 10% of the General Fund |
| LBM | Water Bond | Bonds | $11.1 billion bond for California's water system |
| CISS | Insurance Rate Justification | Insurance | Health Insurance Companies Required to Justify Their Rates to the Public |
Pending initiatives
Cost of processing
It costs the Attorney General of California about $5,000 per filed initiative to implement the required process of issuing a ballot title and summary. Those who file proposed initiatives are only required to pay $200 of this cost, or 4% of the actual cost of processing each initiative. The $200-per-filed-initiative fee was set in 1943.[1]
Political consultant Steven Maviglio commented on the number of filed proposals, "It all boils down to money. There's a $3 million gap, sometimes thankfully, between an idea for the ballot and the reality of getting before the voters. Unfortunately, filing a ballot initiative has become a publicity stunt...This also has become a business operation for many political consultants. Dream up an idea, file a measure, and then see if you can find a Sugar Daddy to fund it. Many of the measures will end up falling by the wayside if they can't attract the millions required to be on the ballot and then approved by voters."[2]
Submitted to Att'y General
- See also: Potential 2014 ballot measures
When an initiative proponent has prepared the text of a ballot initiative they hope to qualify for the ballot, they must submit this text to the "Initiative Coordinator" at the Office of the Attorney General of California with an accompanying letter requesting that the Attorney General's office prepare a ballot title and summary of the proposal.
Once the AG's office has prepared that title and summary, they send a copy of it to the initiative's sponsor and to the California Secretary of State's office. Each initiative is given a "summary date." This date is determined by the Attorney General's office and is the date that they provide the summary to the sponsor. Each initiative then has a circulation deadline that is 150 days after its summary date, while proposed veto referendums have a circulation deadline that is 90 days after the legislation targeted by the referendum was signed by the Governor of California.
As of May 1, 2013, no initiatives are pending review.
| Type | Identifying # | Proponent | Received by AG | Title expected | Working title |
|---|
Cleared for circulation
Once the Office of the Attorney General of California has prepared a ballot title and a summary of a proposed initiative, the initiative is considered to be "cleared for circulation". Its supporters than have 150 days from the date that the title and summary were prepared to collect and submit to election officials the required signatures. Many times, initiative sponsors submit more than one version of a proposed initiative to the Attorney General's office. When this happens, a circulation deadline for an earlier version may elapse with no signatures having been submitted, but the general idea of that initiative is still in play because its sponsors have instead set their sights on circulating a version that filed later on that has, or will have, a later circulation deadline.
- See also: California signature requirements
The signature deadlines for the approved-for-circulation initiatives below are based on when the Attorney General of California provided a ballot title and summary for the proposal.
| Type | Title | Description | 150-day deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISS | #12-0017 | Statewide Public Electrical Utility District | July 1, 2013 |
| CISS | #12-0016 | Nuclear Waste Act | July 8, 2013 |
| CISS | #12-0018 | Tobacco Tax Increase for College Tuition | July 22, 2013 |
| CISS | #13-0001 | Regulation of the Timber Industry | September 10, 2013 |
| CISS | #13-0002 | Severance Tax on Oil and Gas | September 23, 2013 |
Signatures submitted
As of May 1, 2013, no initiatives are in the stage of signature verification.
Pending referrals
Statewide ballot propositions can earn a spot on the ballot either through the initiative process or because the California State Legislature votes to place a measure on the ballot as a legislative referral. The legislative referral process can be long and winding.
As of February 25, 2013, state legislators have proposed 23 constitutional amendments for the 2014 ballot.[3]
These are some of the legislative referrals that have been proposed:
- Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, has introduced a bill to place a measure on the November 4, 2014 ballot to borrow money and use the funds to build and upgrade K-12 public schools.[4]
- Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill to amend the California Constitution so that it only takes a 55% supermajority vote to pass a local parcel tax, rather than the current 2/3rds supermajority requirement.[4]
- Lois Wolk, D-Davis, has introduced a bill to amend the California Constitution so that it only takes a 55% supermajority vote to pass a local general obligation library bond, rather than the current two-thirds requirement.[4]
- Curren Price, D-Los Angeles, has introduced a bill to create a California "Office of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship". This office would "foster the use of bonds to tackle social problems".[4]
Withdrawn/missed deadline
Initiatives
Note that initiative sponsors sometimes file multiple versions of what is essentially the same ballot initiative with the Attorney General of California. Each version is given its own summary date and circulation date. This means that while the circulation deadline may come and go on one version of the initiative without signatures being filed, the initiative itself may still be alive, if its sponsors are pinning their hopes on a later version of the initiative with a deadline farther in the future.
See also
References
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Little initiative for change", February 16, 2012
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Elections 2012: A ballot stew starts to boil again", December 1, 2011
- ↑ San Luis Obispo Tribune, "Capitol Alert: AM Alert: California lawmakers' proposed measures top 2,000", February 25, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bond Buyer, "Bond Proposals Emerge from California's Democrats", December 20, 2012
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