California Proposition 148, Water Resources Program Bond Measure (1990)

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California Proposition 148
Flag of California.png
Election date
November 6, 1990
Topic
Bond issues and Water
Status
Defeatedd Defeated
Type
Bond issue
Origin
State Legislature

California Proposition 148 was on the ballot as a bond issue in California on November 6, 1990. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported authorizing the state to issue $380 million for a water resources program and changing provisions of the Water Conservation Bond Law of 1988 related to administrative fees and the Safe Drinking Water Bond Law of 1976 related to water agencies' interest cost on loans.

A "no" vote opposed authorizing the state to issue $380 million for a water resources program and changing provisions of the Water Conservation Bond Law of 1988 related to administrative fees and the Safe Drinking Water Bond Law of 1976 related to water agencies' interest cost on loans.


Election results

California Proposition 148

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 3,024,141 43.76%

Defeated No

3,886,587 56.24%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 148 was as follows:

Water Resources Bond Act of 1990

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

  • This act provides for a bond issue of three hundred eighty million dollars ($380,000,000) to provide funds for a water resources program and make changes in the Water Conservation Bond Law relating to administrative fees and the California Safe Drinking Water Bond Law of 1976 relating to loans.

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Fiscal impact

The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:[1]

I. 1990 Bond Costs

Direct Cost of Paying Off the Bonds. For most of these bonds, the state typically makes principal and interest payments from the General Fund over a period of about 20 years. If the bonds are sold at an interest rate of 7.5 percent, the total cost would be about $735 million to pay off both the principal ($380 million) and the interest (about $355 million). Generally, the interest on bonds issued by the state is exempt from both federal and state taxes. However, due to changes in federal tax law, a portion of the bonds may not be exempt from federal taxes. In this case, these bonds would be issued by the State Treasurer at a higher interest rate. If this occurs, the total cost of paying off the bonds would be higher.

Net State Costs. Part of the total cost of paying off the bonds will be offset by the principal and interest repayments on the various loans. These repayments will total about $205 million over the life of these bonds. (These repayments would be about $70 million higher if the full interest costs were charged on these water loans.) This will reduce the net state cost to $530 million, or an average of about $22 million per year.

II. State Cost From Reducing Interest Rate on 1976 Safe Drinking Water Bond Loans

Between 1976 and 1986, the state made loans of about $120 million to local water agencies from this bond act. The repayments of these loans are used by the state to pay off the bonds. This measure reduces, by 50 percent, the interest rate charged on these loans. That in turn, will reduce the state revenues available to pay off the bonds. Assuming that these loans were to be repaid over a term of 30 years, the loss in state revenue would be about $110 million. This measure does not provide a funding source to offset this state revenue loss. As a result, there will be a corresponding increase in state General Fund costs to pay off the 1976 bonds.[2]

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in California

A simple majority vote was needed in each chamber of the California State Legislature to refer the measure to the ballot for voter consideration. The California State Legislature voted to put Proposition 148 on the ballot with Assembly Bill 1312 (Statutes of 1990, Ch. 919) in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. University of California, "Voter Guide," accessed July 27, 2021
  2. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.