California 2008 ballot propositions

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Twenty-one (21) statewide ballot propositions were on the 2008 ballot in California.

• Seven measures were on the ballot on February 5, 2008. Four were approved and three were defeated.
• Two measures were on the ballot on June 3, 2008. One was approved and one was defeated.

Twelve measures were on the ballot on November 4, 2008. Seven were approved and five were defeated. Cumulative spending on the November statewide ballot proposition campaigns was about $227 million.

Of the 21 propositions on the California ballot in 2008 (including all three election dates):

• Fifteen were citizen-initiated measures. Six were approved and nine were defeated.
• Two were legislative referrals. Both were approved.
• Four were veto referenda. All were approved, thereby upholding the targeted legislation.

On the ballot

February 5

See also: California 2008 presidential primary election results

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Proposition 91	Transportation	Prohibits funds generated from certain gas taxes dedicated for transportation projects from being deposited into the state's general fund	d
CICA/SS	Proposition 92	Education	Changes the existing formula for community college funding; reducing the credit fee from $20 per unit to $15 per unit; and establishing independent community college districts and board of governors	d
CICA	Proposition 93	Term limits	Amends the state's term limits to limit state legislators to a maximum of 12 years in office without regard to what chamber they were serving in	d
VR	Proposition 94	Gambling	Upholds or rejects an amendment to the gaming compact between the state and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians to allow them to operate an additional 5,500 slot machines and require the tribe to pay $42.5 million and a portion of the additional slot revenue to the state	a
VR	Proposition 95	Gambling	Upholds or rejects an amendment to the gaming compact between the state and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians to allow them to operate an additional 5,500 slot machines and require the tribe to pay $36.7 million and a portion of the additional slot revenue to the state	a
VR	Proposition 96	Gambling	Upholds or rejects a gaming compact enacted in early 2007 between the state of California and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation	a
VR	Proposition 97	Gambling	Upholds or rejects an amendment to the gaming compact between the state and the Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to allow them to operate an additional 3,000 slot machines and require the tribe to pay $23.4 million and a portion of the additional slot revenue to the state	a

June 3

• See June 3, 2008 ballot measures in California for local ballot measures (cities, counties, school districts).
• Ballotpedia's complete list of June 3 election results.

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Proposition 98	Eminent domain	Places limits on the power of government to take property from one private owner through the process of eminent domain and give it to another private owner; prohibiting any future rent control measures; phases out rent control measures enacted prior to January 2007s	d
CICA	Proposition 99	Eminent domain	Prohibits state and local governments from acquiring an owner-occupied residence for the purpose of conveying it to another person with certain listed exceptions, including, "protecting public health and safety; preventing serious, repeated criminal activity; responding to an emergency; or remedying environmental contamination that poses a threat to public health and safety"	a

November 4

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
BI	Proposition 1A	Bonds	Authorizes $9.95 in bonds for high-speed rail	a
CISS	Proposition 2	Animal rights	Establishes minimum space requirements based on square feet for calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens	a
CISS	Proposition 3	Bonds	Issues $980 million in bonds for children's hospitals	a
CICA	Proposition 4	Abortion	Requires parental notification before a minor can receive an abortion	d
CISS	Proposition 5	Law enforcement	Changes to drug crime policy, sentencing, and rehabilitation programs	d
CISS	Proposition 6	Law enforcement	Changes to gang-related criminal laws, law enforcement funding, and parole agent caseloads	d
CISS	Proposition 7	Environment	Changes the state's renewable portfolio standards	d
CICA	Proposition 8	Marriage	Defines marriage as between one man and one woman, thus reversing a state judicial ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in California	aot
CICA/SS	Proposition 9	Law enforcement	Adds specific rights of crime victims, together known as Marsy's Law, to the California Constitution	a
CISS	Proposition 10	Environment	Authorizes the state to issue $5 billion in bonds for alternative fuel projects	d
CICA/SS	Proposition 11	Redistricting	Transfers the legislative redistricting power from elected representatives to a 14 member commission; establishes a process for selecting commissioners; and requiring a supermajority vote to approve redistricting map	a
BI	Proposition 12	Bonds	Issues $900 million in bonds to provide loans to veterans to purchase homes or farms	a

Getting measures on the ballot

Legislative referrals

The California State Legislature may refer constitutional amendments to the ballot with a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber.

The legislature can refer statutes and bond issues with a simple majority vote, but the governor's signature is also required.

In California, changes to voter-approved ballot initiatives need to be referred to voters for approval or rejection unless the changes further the initiative's purpose.

Initiatives

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in California

The number of valid signatures for citizen-initiated measures in California are based on the votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election, which are held every four years. Initiated constitutional amendments require 8% of that total while initiated state statutes and veto referendums require 5%. The requirements for each type in 2008 were as follows:

• Initiated constitutional amendment (ICA): 694,354
• Initiated state statute (ISS): 433,971
• Veto referendum (VR): 433,971

Cost of signatures

See also: California ballot initiative petition signature costs

Ballot measure	Subject	Signature collection company	Cost	Signatures required	CPRS
Proposition 91	Transportation			694,354
Proposition 92	Education	Arno Political Consultants	$38,000	694,354
Proposition 93	Term limits	Kimball Petition Management	$2,238,538	694,354	$3.22
Proposition 94	Gambling	Arno Political Consultants	$926,133	433,971	$2.13
Proposition 95	Gambling	Arno Political Consultants	$926,133	433,971	$2.13
Proposition 96	Gambling	Arno Political Consultants	$926,133	433,971	$2.13
Proposition 97	Gambling	Arno Political Consultants	$926,133	433,971	$2.13
Proposition 98	Eminent domain	Arno Political Consultants	$1,583,000	694,354	$2.28
Proposition 99	Eminent domain	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$3,559,970	694,354	$5.13
Proposition 2	Animal rights	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$416,756	433,971	$.96
Proposition 3	Bonds	Arno Political Consultants	$1,028,000	433,971	$2.37
Proposition 4	Abortion	Bader & Associates, Inc.	$2,555,000	694,354	$3.68
Proposition 5	Marijuana	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$1,762,000	433,971	$4.06
Proposition 6	Criminal justice	National Petition Management	$1,022,000	433,971	$2.35
Proposition 7	Energy	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$1,367,000	433,971	$3.15
Proposition 8	Marriage	Bader & Associates, Inc.	$882,900	694,354	$1.27
Proposition 9	Criminal justice	Bader & Associates, Inc.	$2,258,000	694,354	$3.25
Proposition 10	Energy	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$3,078,263	433,971	$7.09
Proposition 11	Redistricting	Kimball Petition Management	$2,332,988	694,354	$3.36
		TOTAL:	$27,826,947

Not on the ballot

Title	Subject	Description
Drinking Water Bond Act	Bonds	Issues $6,835,000,000 ($6.835 billion) in bonds for water projects
College Affordability Act	Education	Freezes, for five years, mandatory fees paid by undergraduates for attending state universities
Teacher Recruitment	Education	Prohibits school districts from paying any employee a salary higher than that of highest-paid classroom teacher
Protect Marriage	Marriage	Defines marriage as between one man and one woman
Eminent Domain Protection	Eminent domain	Restricts the use of eminent domain
Water Storage & Reliability	Bond issue	Issues $11,690,000,000 ($11.69 billion) bond issue for water projects
Human Embryo Research	Stem cells	Bans "destructive human embryo research"
Human Cloning Ban	Stem cells	Bans human cloning
Abortion regulations	Abortion	Ban on abortions at viability
Fair Districts Act	Elections	Changes how state legislative district boundaries are drawn
Healthcare for Veterans	Healthcare	Concerns veteran healthcare funding
Health Security	Healthcare	Establishes a California Health Security Plan
Voter Restoration Act	Election reform	Changes how state legislative district boundaries are drawn
Prisoner Rehabilitation	Law enforcement	Allows inmates more access to educational, treatment, and visitation programs
Dietary Supplement Expense	Taxes	Creates a medical expense deduction on state income tax for dietary supplements and special foods
Repeals marijuana penalties	Marijuana	Decriminalizes marijuana
Tangible Ballots	Elections	Requires votes on a direct-recording electronic device to result in a tangible ballot
Prohibits sterilization	Animal rights	Forbids sterilization of animals or humans
Domestic Partnerships	Marriage	Recognizes marriage as between one man and one woman
Property Ownership	Property rights	Forbids local governments from denying land ownership
Animals are Property	Animal rights	Defines animals as property
Prohibition of Identification Devices	Animal rights	Prohibits placing identification devices under animal or human skin
Animal license fees	Animal rights	Forbids local governments from charging more than $50 for an animal license
Stray and relinguished animals	Animal rights	Establishes statewide standards for animal euthansia at shelters
Right to Health	Healthcare	Declares that health is a fundamental constitutional right
Health insurance	Healthcare	Concerns health insurance for children
Taxpayer Protection Act	Elections and campaigns	Prohibits government-to-government lobbying
Political Party Nomination	Elections	Selects presidential electors by proportional plurality vote under certain conditions
Corporate Crimes	Business regulation	Requires business execs to report corporate crimes in writing
Electoral College Reform	Elections	Requires parties to nominate a presidential elector from each congressional district
National Popular Vote Act	Elections	Gives the state'spresidential electors given to winner of national popular vote
Healthy Californians Act	Healthcare	Adds "and affordable health care" to the statebill of rights
Class Action Reform Act	Judicial reform	Reforms class action regulations
Non-Profit Plaintiffs Act	Judicial reform	Allows certain nonprofits to be plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits
Shareholder Approval of Compensation	Business regulation	Requires that if a public company does business in California, its shareholders must approve the compensation plans for the top 10 highest-paid executives
Corporate Accountability Act	Business regulation	Compensates the public for the harm inflicted by corporate fraud
Prison Population Reduction Act	Law enforcement	Reduces the prison population through work time credit and resentencing
Prisoner Rights Act	Law enforcement	Concerns rehabilitation education for prisoners
Nuclear Energy Regulations	Nuclear power	Repeals existing restrictions on state approval of construction of nuclear power plants
Redistricting Proposal	Redistricting	Establishes a citizens redistricting commission
Wealth Tax	Taxes	Imposes 45% tax on value of property exceeding $40 million
Child Abuse Reporting	Welfare	Requires training on recognizing child abuse and neglect to all those that are required to report it by law
Redistricting Proposal	Redistricting	Establishes Citizens Redistricting Commission
Worker's Compensation	Healthcare	Allows employees to choose medical treatment centers without company approval when injured because of work
Legislature Reimbursement	Admin of gov't	Restricts legislators' reimbursements to travel expenses; reduces expenses by $4.5 million annually
Lobbying Gifts	Elections	Bans legislatures from accepting gift from lobbyists or trade associations
Class Action Lawsuits	Judiciary	Concerns class action lawsuits
Corporate Crime Reporting	Business regulation	Concerns crime reporting
Treatment of Farm Animals	Animal rights	Requires enclosed animals to be able to fully extend their limbs or wings, lie down, stand up, and turn around
Internet Poker Statute	Gambling	Creates a state-owned poker website
Limit on Marriage	Marriage	Defines marriage as between one man and one woman
Pension reform	Healthcare	Reduces pension and retirement health care benefits for all public employees hired after July 9th, 2009
Personal Income Tax Abolishment	Taxes	Abolishes the state personal income tax; increases state sales and use tax by 5.5%
Universal Healthcare Reform	Healthcare	Creates universal health care
Candidate Vote Requirement	Election Reform	Mandates a runoff election when no candidate in a state or federal election receives more than 50% of the total votes
Uninsured motorist	Law enforcement	Requires police officers who issue a citation for failure to provide proof of insurance to remove the vehicle’s license plates

See also

• 2008 ballot measures
• List of California ballot measures
• Laws governing ballot measures in California

External links

Suggest a link

• California Secretary of State
• California State Legislature
• Official Voter Information Guide February 5, 2008
• Official Voter Information Guide June 3, 2008
• Official Voter's Guide November 4, 2008
• PDF of the mailed February 5, 2008 voter guide for Propositions 91-93
• PDF of the mailed February 5, 2008 voter guide for Propositions 94-97
• PDF of the mailed June 3, 2008 voter guide
• PDF of the mailed November 4, 2008 voter guide
• Election returns: February 5, 2008
• California Voter Foundation: February 5, 2008 propositions
• California Voter Foundation: June 3, 2008 propositions
• California Voter Foundation: November 4, 2008 propositions
• Directory of California's 2008 state propositions on Smart Voter