California Proposition 1D (May 2009)

From Ballotpedia

California Proposition 1D was on a special statewide May 19, 2009 election ballot in California, appearing as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was defeated.^[1]

Prop 1D was part of the 2009-2010 California state budget and tax increase agreement.^[2],^[3]

• Yes: 1,633,107 (34.0%)
• No: 3,157,680 (66.0%)

To avoid additional cuts in general fund-supported state spending, Proposition 1D would have authorized a fund-shift of $268 million in annual tobacco tax revenue currently earmarked for "First Five" early childhood development programs under the terms of California Proposition 10 (1998). That revenue, plus $340 million in unspent "First Five" tobacco tax money now held in a reserve fund, would instead have been used to pay for other state government health and human services programs that serve children, including Medicaid, foster care, child care subsidies, preschool programs, and more. Money for these programs currently comes from the state general fund.^[4]

Currently, 80 percent of "First Five" money is distributed to county governments for similar programs, including government "school readiness" programs for pre-schoolers, Medicaid health coverage to children whose family income is above the cap for that program, government parent-education training, food and clothing subsidies, and more. Under Proposition 1D, that revenue stream would cease for five years, essentially ending most First Five programs. However, it's likely that the state will use general fund money to continue some of these. For example, a prime candidate would be the "First Five" expanded Medicaid coverage, since under the SCHIP program the federal government pays more than half its cost.

Background

Proposition 1D is one of six statewide ballot propositions placed on the May 2009 ballot. They are part of the 2009-2010 California state budget and tax increase agreement (Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F). They are intended to close an approximately $42 billion gap between desired spending and expected revenues. In absolute terms, however, as of March, 2009 projections, when the budget deal's $10 billion tax increase and the $5 billion in borrowed money proposed by Proposition 1C are included, total general fund spending in the 2009-2010 budget will only decline by around 2 percent, from $94.089 billion to $92.206 billion.^[5] However, the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst's Office which is the source of those figures, also said in early March that tax revenues flowing into the state treasury are "well below" the projections it used earlier in the year, and that California's government now faces an additional $8 billion gap betweeen expected revenue and the amount appropriated. ^[6]

Supporters

Main article: Supporters of California Proposition 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E or 1F (May 2009)

Supporters of Proposition 1D may use the title given it by its legislative proponents, the "Children and Families Trust Fund Act." They include:

• "Budget Reform Now," a coalition of groups assembled by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to support the overall 2009-2010 budget agreement and tax increases.

On April 26, the California Democratic Party, meeting in its annual convention, rejected a recommendation from their party's legislative leaders to support Proposition 1D and instead adopted a position of neutrality on the measure.^[7]

Opponents

Opponents of Proposition 1D include:

• League of Women Voters
• Health Access California
• Prevent Child Abuse California
• California Nurses Association
• National Association of Social Workers
• California Family Resource Association
• Junior League of San Jose
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.^[8]
• Peace and Freedom Party

Arguments against 1D

Arguments that have been made for voting "no" on Proposition 1D include:

• If 1D passes, it will take funds from programs such as FIRST 5 that support health coverage for the state's at-risk children up to age 6.^[9]

• Some feel the ballot language is misleading, appearing to protect and expand services while actually cutting funding.^[10]

• According to Rusty Selix, the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in California, "Prop 1D will force deep cuts to child abuse prevention programs, at a time when child abuse is soaring while the economy sours. This alone will cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in the years ahead, since it’s a hundred times more expensive to deal with the consequences of child abuse than it is to prevent it."^[11]

Opponents criticize ads

Dave Fratello, the campaign manager for the "NO on Prop 1D and 1E" campaign, objects to the television ads that Budget Reform Now is running that urge a "yes" vote on 1D and 1E. He says, "These statements aren't true. Prop. 1D & 1E take money out of voter-approved mental health and children's programs, then put that money into the state general fund. These measures then allow the Legislature and the Governor to spend that money with none of the accountability required by the original, voter-approved initiatives. Furthermore, the money taken won't be repaid."^[12]

Polling information

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 1D and the other five budget-related measures that will appear on the May 19 ballot.^[13],^[14]

• A Public Policy Institute of California poll that concluded in late March showed declining support for Proposition 1D.^[15],^[16]

• 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. They concluded that for Proposition 1D, "Any outcome is possible on 1D, but momentum at this hour is against."^[17]

Date of Poll	Pollster	In favor	Opposed	Undecided
February 20-March 1	Field	54 percent	24 percent	22 percent
March 10-17	PPIC	48 percent	36 percent	16 percent
March 11-12	SurveyUSA	40 percent	28 percent	32 percent
April 16-26	Field	40 percent	49 percent	11 percent
April 20-21	SurveyUSA	37 percent	39 percent	24 percent
April 27 - May 4	PPIC	43 percent	45 percent	12 percent
May 8-10	SurveyUSA	37 percent	50 percent	13 percent
May 15-17	SurveyUSA	35 percent	54 percent	11 percent

Newspaper opinions

Yes on 1D

Newspapers endorsing a "yes" vote on Proposition 1D include:

• The Los Angeles Times, which wrote, "...we cannot be as cheerful as the campaign ads that began running last week...but the good outweighs the bad...But without 1D, the state would have to cut other programs that children and their families rely on -- foster care, in-home care, health and hospitalization."^[18]

External links

Basic information

• Ballot title, summary and analysis
• Arguments in favor and against in the official Voter's Guide
• Text of Proposition 1D
• California Secretary of State's announcement about May 19 ballot measures
• Institute of Governmental Studies Library Hot Topic: Proposition 1D
• California Voter Foundation Guide to Proposition 1D

Supporters

• Budget Reform Now, official website in favor of Prop 1D
• Campaign finance reports of Budget Reform Now

Opponents

• Vote No on Proposition 1D, website opposing Proposition 1D
• Campaign finance filings of organization opposing 1D
• Peace and Freedom Party

References

Additional reading

• California can't afford Propositions 1D and 1E
• California Props. 1D, 1E would divert child, health funds

	v • d • e State of California Sacramento (capital)
Ballot Measures	History of I&R | City and county ballot initiatives | School district bond issues | Laws governing initiatives | Recall process |
Ballot measures by year	1912 • 1914 • 1916 • 1920 • 1922 • 1978 • 1980 • 1982 • 1984 • 1986 • 1988 • 1990 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2006 (local) • 2007 • 2008 • 2008 (local) • 2009 • 2009 (local) • 2010
Government	California State Constitution | Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | State assembly | State senate |
Elections	Recalls | Vote fraud | 2010 elections |
Judiciary	California Supreme Court | Courts of Appeal | Superior Courts | District Courts | Judicial selection in California | Judicial News |
Transparency Topics	Public Records Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts, A - L | List of School Districts, M - Y | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |