California Proposition 1B, Supplemental Education Appropriations Amendment (May 2009)

California Proposition 1B
Election date May 19, 2009
Topic Education and State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

California Proposition 1B was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in California on May 19, 2009. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported making supplemental appropriations for K-12 schools and community colleges annually beginning in 2011-12 until reaching a total disbursement amount of $9.3 billion.

A "no" vote opposed making annual supplemental appropriations for K-12 schools and community colleges annually beginning in 2011-12.

Election results

California Proposition 1B
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,834,242	38.14%
No		2,975,560	61.86%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Measure design

Proposition 1B would have required the state to make supplemental payments of $9.3 billion to schools and community colleges. This figure was the difference between the amount appropriated in the state budget and the amount that was required to be appropriated under Proposition 98 (1998). If approved by a popular vote majority, Proposition 1B would only have been enacted if Proposition 1A (May 2009) had also won. Proposition 1A would have allowed an extension of tax increases imposed as part of the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget agreement, resulting in an additional tax increase of some $16 billion.

2009 budget propositions

Six statewide ballot propositions concerning the California state budget were referred to the May 2009 ballot by the California State Legislature. The six measures were designed to close a $42 billion gap between state spending and expected revenues. The measures were supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). Five of the six measures (Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E), were defeated with an average of 65% of voters voting against each measure. Proposition 1F, which was designed to prohibit pay raises for state legislators in years when there is a state budget deficit, was approved by a vote of 74% in favor to 26% opposed.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 1B was as follows:

“

EDUCATION FUNDING. PAYMENT PLAN.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

Requires supplemental payments to local school districts and community colleges to address recent budget cuts. Annual payments begin in 2011–12. Payments are funded from the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund until the total amount has been paid. Payments to local school districts will be allocated in proportion to average daily attendance and may be used for classroom instruction, textbooks and other local educational programs.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Fiscal impact

See also: Fiscal impact statement

The estimate of net state and local government fiscal implications of Proposition 1B provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:

• Fiscal impact would depend on how current constitutional provisions would otherwise be interpreted.
• Potential state savings of up to several billion dollars in 2009–10 and 2010–11.
• Potential state costs of billions of dollars annually thereafter.

Support

Budget Reform Now, a coalition assembled by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), led the campaign in support of the six 2009 budget ballot measures. A full list of supporters of all six measures can be found here. The following is a list of Proposition 1B supporters.

Supporters

• Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
• California Teachers Association
• California Retired Teachers Association
• David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association
• The California Democratic Party
• California Asian Peace Officers Association
• Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
• Association of California School Administrators
• California State University Board of Trustees
• Small School Districts’ Association
• Small Business Action Committee

Arguments

Official arguments

The following supporting arguments were presented in the official voter guide:

“ California schools have been hit very hard by the state budget crisis. Education spending has been cut by over $12 billion. These horrific cuts have forced the layoff of more than 5,000 teachers and threaten the jobs of at least 13,000 more. These cuts have increased class sizes, left classrooms with out-of-date textbooks and provided school children with too few teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians. Important student programs like vocational education, art and music have been eliminated in many schools. Prop. 1B starts the process of paying back to the schools and community colleges some of the money lost by these devastating cuts. Instead of permanently losing these vital education funds, Prop. 1B sets up a repayment plan to ensure schools and community colleges are paid back as economic conditions improve. If we don’t pass 1B, California will be permanently downgrading its public school system. That is why the California Teachers Association urges you to vote Yes on Prop. 1B. In 1988, voters passed Proposition 98 which provides a minimum guarantee of funding for K–12 education and community colleges. Prop. 98 is a safety net that provides the bare minimum funding necessary to keep our schools open . . . but we still rank 47th in the nation in per pupil spending. These recent budget cuts will push California even lower. 1B provides a way for schools to continue to get the minimum funding already set out in voter approved Prop. 98 by establishing a repayment schedule starting in 2011. This will allow local school districts to rehire teachers, reduce class sizes, purchase up-to-date textbooks and restore critical education programs. 1B requires strict accountability for education funding repayment and guarantees that the funding will go to local school districts to be spent in the classroom. School districts are audited annually by law. During a crisis we all understand that every state program will receive cuts. But Californians have long recognized that high quality education leads to more prosperous and healthy communities for all of us. The future of our state depends on the investment we make in our public schools. For future economic recovery and stability, California businesses need a well-educated workforce. California schools and community colleges must have adequate funding to educate our children to be vital members of this state’s workforce. We cannot afford to lose jobs to other states. Prop. 1B is part of a package of reforms that will provide short-term solutions to get us through these difficult economic times and long-term solutions to ensure we never again face the type of deficits we faced this year. Prop. 1B is only a part of the solution, but it’s a step we need if we are going to provide a quality public education to all students and keep public education a top priority in California. Vote YES on Prop. 1B. ”

Opposition

Opponents

Stop Taxing Us: No on 1A-F registered with Cal-Access to oppose the six 2009 budget ballot measures. The committee did not report campaign finance activity.

Arguments

Official arguments

Opponents of Proposition 1B did not submit any arguments to the official voter guide.

Media editorials

Support

• San Francisco Chronicle: "This measure was designed to both settle a legal dispute about how much the state owes public schools under Proposition 98 - the funding guarantee passed by voters in 1988 - and to compensate for the effects of current budget cuts to education."

Opposition

• The Los Angeles Times: "It could ratchet up the autopilot spending that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he's trying to stop."

• KSBW-TV: [Prop 1A and 1B are] "no more than a hocus-pocus twosome of unintended consequences waiting to happen."

• La Prensa San Diego: "Fix Proposition 98 and take away the Governor’s ability to suspend education payments to the school districts and there won’t be a need for Proposition 1B."

• Ventura County Star: "It's just another in a long line of voter initiatives that has led to California’s current budget fiasco, with voters locking in spending and automatic increases with no concern about fiscal impacts later on. It does not address the current state budget shortfall."

Polls

See also Public opinion polling for all May 2009 statewide ballot propositions

• The Field Poll conducted a public opinion research survey between February 20 and March 1 on Proposition 1B and the other five budget-related measures set to appear on the May 19 ballot.

• A Public Policy Institute of California poll that concluded in late March showed declining support for Proposition 1B.

• On April 20-21, SurveyUSA conducted a poll of 1,300 California adults for KABC-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KGTV-TV San Diego, and KFSN-TV Fresno. 15% of the registered voters they spoke with had already cast their vote. SurveyUSA said that for Proposition 1B, "support is flat, but opposition is up 12 points from an identical SurveyUSA tracking poll 6 weeks ago."

• Field conducted a second poll between April 16-26 on five of the six budget measures on the May 19 ballot, including Prop 1B.

Date of Poll	Pollster	In favor	Opposed	Undecided
February 20-March 1	Field	53 percent	30 percent	17 percent
March 10-17	PPIC	44 percent	41 percent	15 percent
March 11-12	SurveyUSA	38 percent	30 percent	32 percent
April 20-21	SurveyUSA	37 percent	42 percent	22 percent
April 16-26	Field	40 percent	49 percent	11 percent
April 27 - May 4	PPIC	40 percent	47 percent	13 percent
May 8-10	SurveyUSA	41 percent	50 percent	10 percent
May 15-17	SurveyUSA	37 percent	54 percent	9 percent

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the California Constitution

A two-thirds vote was needed in each chamber of the California State Legislature to refer the constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

The California State Legislature voted to put Proposition 1B on the ballot via Assembly Constitutional Amendment 2 during the 2009-2010 Third Extraordinary Session. Vote totals are displayed below.

Legislative vote for Proposition 1B
Chamber	Ayes	Noes
Assembly	68	11
Senate	28	10

See also

2009 Measures

• 2009 Measures
• Education on the ballot
• 2009 legislative sessions

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• May 2009 Special Election Voter Guide
• Official Voter's Guide to Proposition 1B
• PDF of the mailed May 19, 2009 voter guide for Proposition 1B
• May 19, 2009 ballot proposition election returns
• Proposition 1B in the Smart Voter Guide
• Analysis of Proposition 1B (dead link) from the Institute of Governmental Studies
• Guide to Proposition 1B from the California Voter Foundation
• Summary of donors to and against Proposition 1B from Cal-Access
• Donors for and against Proposition 1B from Follow The Money
• California Secretary of State's announcement about May 19 ballot measures

Support

• Yes on 1B
• Budget Reform Now, official website in favor of Prop 1B
• Campaign finance reports of Budget Reform Now
• Campaign finance reports of "Yes on 1B"

Opposition

• Peace and Freedom Party