California Proposition 208 (1996)
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California Proposition 208, also known as the Campaign Contributions and Spending Limits Initiative was on the November 5, 1996 general election ballot in California, where it was approved.
A successful lawsuit was filed in federal court challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 208. A federal district judge declared it unconstitutional, so its provisions did not go into effect.[1]
In 2000, voters passed California Proposition 34 (2000). Proposition 34 was regarded as an attempt to accomplish what the unconstitutional Proposition 208 had set out to do, but with significantly more lenient limits on campaign donations. Ross Johnson, now chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, apologized in 2009 for his advocacy in 2000 of Proposition 34.
Election results
| California Proposition 208 (1996) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | ||||
 Yes
| 61.3% | |||
| No | 38.7% | |||
| Total votes | 100% | |||
Text of the proposal
The language that appeared on the ballot:
- Limits a contributor's campaign contributions per candidate to $100 for districts of less than 100,000, $250 for larger districts, and $500 for statewide elections. Committees of small contributors can contribute twice the limit. Contribution limits approximately double for candidates who agree to limit spending. Limits total contributions from political parties, businesses, unions and others. Prohibits transfers between candidates.
- Limits fundraising to specified time before election.
- Prohibits lobbyists from making and arranging contributions to those they influence.
- Requires disclosure of top contributors on ballot measure advertising.
- Increases penalties under Political Reform Act.
Fiscal impact
Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
Adoption of this measure would result in costs to state and local governments for implementation and enforcement of new campaign finance limitations in the range of up to $4 million annually.
The measure would result in unknown, but probably not significant, additional state and local election costs.
See also
External links
- Official Voter Guide to Proposition 208
- Full text of Proposition 208
- November 1996 California election results (PDF)
