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California Proposition 211, Laws Governing Retirement Savings Securities Fraud Initiative (1996)
| California Proposition 211 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 1996 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
Status Defeated | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
California Proposition 211 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in California on November 5, 1996. It was defeated.
A "yes" vote supported changing state laws concerning retirement savings securities fraud and prohibiting limits on attorney-client arrangements. |
A "no" vote opposed changing state laws concerning retirement savings securities fraud and prohibiting limits on attorney-client arrangements. |
Election results
|
California Proposition 211 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 2,414,216 | 25.65% | ||
|
|
6,997,003 | 74.35% | ||
Measure design
If Proposition 211 had been approved, it would have made various changes to the laws governing fraud with respect to retirement savings and would have also prohibited restrictions on attorney-client fee agreements in all types of cases. Specifically, Proposition 211 would have:
- changed California's laws governing securities fraud to apply them to any person involved in the buying or selling of securities, including accountants and lawyers;
- allowed individuals to sue for securities fraud rather than requiring a retirement plan or group to initiate such lawsuits;
- awarded punitive damages in retirement savings-related fraud lawsuit to go to the state's General Fund rather than to the damaged parties;
- changed the burden of proof in retirement savings-related fraud to the person accused of fraud; and
- required that any individuals found guilty of retirement savings-related fraud must pay any costs imposed as a result of a successful lawsuit, rather than allowing the business that employed those individuals to bear those costs.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 211 was as follows:
| “ | Attorney-Client Fee Arrangements. Securities Fraud. Lawsuits. Initiative Statute. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
Prohibits restrictions on attorney-client fee arrangements, except as allowed by laws existing on January 1, 1995. Prohibits deceptive conduct by any person in securities transactions resulting in loss to pension, retirement funds, savings. Imposes civil liability, including punitive damages, for losses. Authorizes class actions, derivative suits; adds presumption fraudulent acts by business entities, but may purchase insurance to cover liability. Declares measure conflicts with other ballot measures that restrict attorney fees or securities fraud actions. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In 1996, 433,269 valid signatures were required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
