California Oversight of Nonprofit Scientific and Technological Research Organizations Initiative (2026)
| California Oversight of Nonprofit Scientific and Technological Research Organizations Initiative | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Business regulations |
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| Status Pending official review |
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| Type Initiated state statute |
Origin |
The California Oversight of Nonprofit Scientific and Technological Research Organizations Initiative (#25-0032) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
Measure design
- See also: Text of measure
The initiative would create the Charitable Research Oversight Board as an independent board within the state's Department of Justice tasked with overseeing charitable research organizations that meet the followign criteria:[1]
- is or was registered as a nonprofit corporation;
- has stated in its articles of incorporation, by laws, or related documents that it's mission is scientific or technological research for the benefit of humanity or public good;
- has total assets exceeding $1 billion in fair market value; and
- is engaged in or has controlled entities engaged in scientific or technological research.
The board would be composed of seven to nine members, including:[1]
- a nobel prize laureate with expertise in scientific or technological field;
- a tenured professor at an accredited research university;
- a tenured professor from the University of California with scholarship in technology, research ethics, or the governance of emerging technologies;
- three authors or designated representatives of proposals addressing how entities covered by the initiative can best fulfill their charitable missions; and
- up to two former employees of a covered entity that have demonstrated committment to ensuring the entity fulfills its charitable mission.
The initiative would also establish charitable encumbrance, meaning all assets held, developed, or transferreed by a charitable research organization be used in a manner consistent with the charitable purposes for which the asset was originally intended. The initiative authorizes the board, the California Attorney General, a plaintiff with standing, or a holder of an asset who wishes to declare that an asset's proposed use complies with charitable encumberance may enforce it. The board would be authorized to reverse an organization's conversion from a nonprofit to a forprofit organization, including organizations that have done so on or after January 1, 2024.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Sponsors
The Coalition for AI Nonprofit Integrity (CANI) is sponsoring the campaign in support of the initiative.[2]
Path to the ballot
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide for direct initiatives and nine (9) that provide for indirect initiatives (two provide for both). An indirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Initiative #25-0032
- December 1, 2025: Poornima Ramarao filed the initiative with the California Attorney General's Office.[1]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
