California Proposition 4, Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure (2024)

California Proposition 4
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Bond issues and Environment
Status a Approved
Type Bond issue	Origin State Legislature

California Proposition 4, the Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure, was on the ballot in California as a legislatively referred bond act on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund state and local parks, environmental protection projects, water infrastructure projects, energy projects, and flood protection projects.

A "no" vote opposed issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund state and local parks, environmental protection projects, water infrastructure projects, energy projects, and flood protection projects.

Election results

California Proposition 4
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		9,055,116	59.80%
No		6,086,414	40.20%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What funding did Proposition 4 authorize?

See also: Text of measure

Proposition 4 authorized the state to issue $10 billion in bonds to fund various environmental, energy, and water projects. The funds were allocated to the following categories and projects:

Click 'Show' below to see the table.

Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure (2024)
Category	Amount
Drought, flood, and water supply	$3.8 billion
Increase quantity and quality of water supply	$1.9 billion
Flood reduction measures	$1.1 billion
River and lake restoration	$800 million
Forest health and wildfire prevention	$1.5 billion
Sea-level rise and coastal areas	$1.2 billion
Restore coastal areas	$890 million
Improve ocean habitats and marine wildlife	$310 million
Land conservation and habitat restoration	$1.2 billion
Energy infrastructure	$850 million
Wind turbine development	$475 million
Transmission lines	$325 million
Battery development	$50 million
Parks	$700 million
Expand recreational activities	$300 million
Park construction and renovation	$200 million
State park repairs	$200 million
Extreme heat	$450 million
Extreme heat protection	$200 million
Heatwave and disaster shelters	$100 million
Local environmental projects	$150 million
Farms and agriculture	$300 million
Soil health, reduce air pollution, and water conservation	$105 million
Community gardens and farmer's markets	$60 million
Farmland and farmworker support	$135 million
Total	$10 billion

Proposition 4 also required that 40% of the bond revenue be used to fund activities benefiting communities with lower incomes or those affected by environmental changes or disasters. The bond measure required the secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to publish a list of programs and projects on the agency's website for public access. The report was required to list each project.

Had California voters decided on bonds related to the environment before?

See also: Bond issues on the ballot in California

Between 1993 and 2024, California voters decided on six bond measures related to parks and the environment, of which four were approved and two were defeated. The total amount of bonds approved related to parks and the environment was nearly $9.7 billion.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Authorizes bonds for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks. Legislative statute.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

Authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bonds for water, wildfire prevention, and protection of communities and lands. Requires annual audits.

”

Fiscal impact

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:

“

Increased state costs of about $400 million annually for 40 years to repay the bond.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 12, and the FRE is 24. The word count for the ballot title is 19.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 14, and the FRE is 10. The word count for the ballot summary is 19.

Support

Yes on 4 led the campaign in support of Proposition 4.

Supporters

A full list of endorsements can be found here.

Officials

• State Asm. Tina McKinnor (D)
• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (Nonpartisan)
• Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg (Nonpartisan)

Political Parties

• California Democratic Party

Unions

• AFL-CIO
• California Labor Federation
• California Teachers Association
• IBEW Local 569

Organizations

• ACLU of Southern California
• California Council of Land Trusts
• California Fire Chiefs Association
• Clean Water Action
• Environmental Defense Fund
• League of Women Voters of California
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Trust for Public Land

Arguments

• Ariana Rickard, the public policy and funding program manager for Sonoma Land Trust: "Every Californian has felt the impact of the climate crisis, whether it is wildfires, extreme heat, flooding, sea level rise. I feel like this will resonate with voters who want to protect themselves and their communities."
• Katelyn Roedner Sutter, state director of the California Environmental Defense Fund: "We need to be not only helping communities adapt to climate change right now, but we also need to be reducing our climate pollution. This is not a problem that can wait until it's convenient to fund in the budget."
• Horacio Amezquita, serves on the Community Water Center Board of Directors: "It would fund grants and loans to local water agencies to help them provide safe and reliable drinking water. It would fund projects to reduce or treat contaminants in groundwater, to recharge aquifers, to build infrastructure to access clean water, to expand services to communities now poorly served, to protect and restore our rivers, lakes and streams."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Opponents

Organizations

• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Arguments

• State Sen. Brian Jones (R-40): "Before approving more borrowed money, voters deserve to see results from previous investments. Bonds come with long-term financial burdens that eventually can cut into essential public services. Gov. Gavin Newsom has already declared a budget emergency due to the state’s spending outpacing revenue. California also faces a $56 billion deficit, and the addition of Prop. 4’s bond debt would only worsen the situation."
• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association: "This is the $10 billion 'climate bond' that state politicians have long planned. California already has too much bond debt, over $78 billion outstanding as of January 1. Then $6.38 billion was added with Proposition 1 in March. Proposition 4 would add another $10 billion in bond debt to pay for climate “programs.” It’s reckless to use borrowed money, an estimated $18 billion with interest, to pay for 'programs,' including salaries for all the groups that receive the money. Bond financing only makes sense for necessary projects that will last more than the 30 years it takes to repay the debt. The governor has already declared a budget emergency because the state spends more than it takes in. Spending even more 'on the credit card' is a bad idea. VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 4."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for California ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 31, 2024.

Four committees registered to support Proposition 4, and none registered to oppose the measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$11,331,296.01	$409,622.62	$11,740,918.63	$10,650,467.87	$11,060,090.49
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$11,331,296.01	$409,622.62	$11,740,918.63	$10,650,467.87	$11,060,090.49

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Proposition 4
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Yes on Prop 4, Californians for Safe Drinking Water and Wildfire Prevention	$9,510,596.00	$392,074.09	$9,902,670.09	$9,267,250.01	$9,659,324.10
Yes on Props 2 and 4, Sponsored by Nextgen California Action	$1,700,000.00	$0.00	$1,700,000.00	$1,313,500.23	$1,313,500.23
Committee for Clean Water, Natural Resources, and Parks - Yes on Proposition 4	$93,700.00	$17,548.53	$111,248.53	$66,639.38	$84,187.91
Committee to Stop Big Oil, Yes on Prop 4	$27,000.01	$0.00	$27,000.01	$3,078.25	$3,078.25
Total	$11,331,296.01	$409,622.62	$11,740,918.63	$10,650,467.87	$11,060,090.49

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the support committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
The Nature Conservancy	$2,000,000.00	$8,878.79	$2,008,878.79
Kat Taylor	$1,700,000.00	$0.00	$1,700,000.00
California Council of Land Trusts Action Fund	$1,500,000.00	$0.00	$1,500,000.00
The Trust for Public Land	$1,175,000.00	$0.00	$1,175,000.00
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria	$1,000,000.00	$0.00	$1,000,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

The following media editorial boards published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:

• Bay Area Reporter Editorial Board: "Prop 4 prioritizes projects benefiting disadvantaged communities. It appropriates money from the state general fund to repay the bonds. This measure is a sensible attempt to mitigate climate effects and protect communities. Vote YES on Prop 4."
• The Bakersfield Californian Editorial Board: "Two large bond measures will appear on California’s Nov. 5 statewide ballot. One proposes to fund long-delayed school improvements and the other responds to the consequences—such as massive wildfires, floods and droughts—of our changing climate. Both deserve voters’ support."
• San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board: "We can’t allow bureaucracy and infighting to derail urgently needed solutions to the climate crisis. Voters should approve Prop 4 — and state and local officials should take pains to demonstrate that they’ve learned their lesson from the Los Vaqueros fiasco."

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Board: "Proposition 4 on California’s November ballot calls for borrowing $10 billion to fund scores of environmental proposals that unfortunately are more the product of politics than good policy. Voters should reject the measure. After this year’s state budget debacle, elected leaders should not be eyeing new bonds and more debt for an unfocused spending plan."
• The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board: "The rule of thumb is that such borrowing normally doubles the long-term cost to taxpayers. So a vote for Proposition 4 is a vote to commit the state to spending about $20 billion at a time when the state faces massive deficits for years to come due to the spending binge that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature went on before revenue cratered. ... An argument can be made that passing a deeply flawed measure responding to the climate crisis is better than rejecting it. But buying that argument requires a degree of trust in state leaders that they have shown they no longer deserve. It is a close call, but we recommend a 'no' vote on Proposition 4."

Polls

See also: 2024 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

California Proposition 4, Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure (2024)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

Public Policy Institute of California	10/07/2024 - 10/15/2024	1,137 LV	± 3.1%	60.0%	38.0%	2.0%
	Question: "Proposition 4 is called “Authorizes Bonds for Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands From Climate Risks.” Legislative Statute. Authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bonds for water, wildfire prevention, and protection of communities and lands. Requires annual audits. The fiscal impact is increased state costs of about $400 million annually for 40 years to repay the bond. Supporters include Clean Water Action; CAL FIRE Firefighters; National Wildlife Federation; The Nature Conservancy. Opponents include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no?"

Public Policy Institute of California	8/29/2024 - 09/11/2024	1,071 LV	± 3.7%	65.0%	33.0%	2.0%
	Question: "Proposition 4 is called “Authorizes Bonds for Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands From Climate Risks”. Legislative Statute. Authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bonds for water, wildfire prevention, and protection of communities and lands. Requires annual audits. The fiscal impact is increased state costs of about $400 million annually for 40 years to repay the bond. Supporters include Clean Water Action; CALFIRE Firefighters; National Wildlife Federation; The Nature Conservancy. Opponents include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no?"

Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Bond issues on the ballot in California

See also: Bond issues on the ballot

Californians cast ballots on 46 bond issues, totaling $200.536 billion in value, from January 1, 1993, through March 5, 2024. Voters approved 34 (74%) of the bond measures—a total of $163.054 billion. Nine of the measures were citizen initiatives, and six of the nine citizen-initiated bonds were approved. The legislature referred 37 bond measures to the ballot, and 28 of 37 legislative referrals were approved. The most common purposes of a bond measure between 1993 and 2024 were water infrastructure and housing, for which there were nine bond measures each.

Click show to expand the bond revenue table.

Year	Measure	Amount	Primary purpose	Origin	Outcome
1993	Proposition 173	$185 million	Housing	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 180	$2 billion	Parks	Initiative	d
1994	Proposition 181	$1 billion	Transportation	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1A	$2 billion	Disasters	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1B	$1 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1C	$900 million	Higher education	Legislature	d
1996	Proposition 192	$2 billion	Disasters	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 203	$3 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 204	$995 million	Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 205	$700 million	Jails	Legislature	d
1996	Proposition 206	$400 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
1998	Proposition 1A	$9.2 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 12	$2.1 billion	Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 13	$1.97 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 14	$350 million	Libraries	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 15	$220 million	Crime labs	Legislature	d
2000	Proposition 16	$50 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 32	$500 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 40	$2.6 billion	Parks; Environment	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 41	$200 million	Voting systems	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 46	$2.1 billion	Housing	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 47	$13.05 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 50	$3.44 billion	Water infrastructure	Initiative	a
2004	Proposition 55	$12.3 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2004	Proposition 57	$15 billion	Deficit	Legislature	a
2004	Proposition 61	$750 million	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2006	Proposition 1B	$19.925 billion	Transportation	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1C	$2.85 billion	Housing	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1D	$10.416 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1E	$4.09 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 81	$600 million	Libraries	Legislature	d
2006	Proposition 84	$5.388 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 10	$5 billion	Energy	Initiative	d
2008	Proposition 12	$900 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 1A	$9.95 billion	Transportation	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 3	$980 million	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2014	Proposition 1	$7.12 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2014	Proposition 41	$600 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2016	Proposition 51	$9 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Initiative	a
2018	Proposition 1	$4 billion	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2018	Proposition 3	$8.877 billion	Environment; Water infrastructure	Initiative	d
2018	Proposition 4	$1.5 billion	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2018	Proposition 68	$4 billion	Parks; Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2020	Proposition 13	$15 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	d
2020	Proposition 14	$5.5 billion	Stem cell research	Initiative	a
2024	Proposition 1	$6.38 billion	Healthcare; Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a

Bond debt in California

The Legislative Analyst's Office reported that California was repaying an estimated $80 billion in bonded debt and was authorized to sell an outstanding $35 billion in bonds. The state spends approximately $6 billion from the General Fund (3% of the total fund) each year to repay bonds.

Path to the ballot

See also: Legislatively referred bond measures in California

A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the California State Legislature to place a legislatively referred bond measure on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 54 votes in the California State Assembly and 27 votes in the California State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Bond measures do require the governor's signature.

This bond measure was introduced as Senate Bill 867 (SB 867) on February 17, 2023. It passed the Senate on May 31, 2023, by a vote of 33-5 with two absent. The state Assembly passed the measure on July 3, 2024, by a vote of 66-6.

Vote in the California State Senate May 31, 2023
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 27  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	33	5	2
Total percent	82.5%	12.5%	5.0%
Democrat	32	0	0
Republican	1	5	2

Vote in the California House of Representatives July 3, 2024
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 54  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	66	6	7
Total percent	83.5%	7.6%	8.9%
Democrat	60	1	1
Republican	6	5	6

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in California

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in California.

How to vote in California

Poll times

All polls in California are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in California, an individual must be a U.S. citizen and California resident. A voter must be at least 18 years of age on Election Day. Pre-registration is available at 16 years of age. Pre-registered voters are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18.

Automatic registration

California automatically registers eligible individuals to vote when they complete a driver's license, identification (ID) card, or change of address transaction through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Learn more by visiting this website.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

California has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

California allows same-day voter registration.

Californians must be registered to vote at least 15 days before Election Day. If the registration deadline has passed for an upcoming election, voters may visit a location designated by their county elections official during the 14 days prior to, and including Election Day to conditionally register to vote and vote a provisional ballot, which are counted once county election officials have completed the voter registration verification process. The state refers to this process as Same Day Voter Registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in California, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

California's constitution requires that voters be U.S. citizens. When registering to vote, proof of citizenship is not required. Individuals who become U.S. citizens less than 15 days before an election must bring proof of citizenship to their county elections office to register to vote in that election. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

As of November 2024, two jurisdictions in California had authorized noncitizen residents to vote for local board of education positions through local ballot measures. Only one of those jurisdictions, San Francisco, had implemented that law. Noncitizens voting for board of education positions must register to vote using a separate application from the state voter registration application.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The secretary of state's My Voter Status website allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

California does not require voters to present identification before casting a ballot in most cases. However, some voters may be asked to show a form of identification when voting if they are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and did not provide a driver license number, California identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number. On September 29, 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 1174 into law prohibiting any jurisdiction in the state from adopting a local law that requires voters to present ID before voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2024. Click here for the California Secretary of State page to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Current and valid photo identification provided by a third party in the ordinary course of business that includes the name and photograph of the individual presenting it. Examples of photo identification include, but are not limited to, the following documents: driver's license or identification card of any state; passport; employee identification card; identification card provided by a commercial establishment; credit or debit card; military identification card; student identification card; health club identification card; insurance plan identification card; or public housing identification card. Any of the following documents, provided that the document includes the name and address of the individual presenting it, and is dated since the date of the last general election…: utility bill; bank statement; government check; government paycheck; document issued by a governmental agency; sample ballot or other official elections document issued by a governmental, agency dated for the election in which the individual is providing it as proof, of residency or identity; voter notification card issued by a governmental agency; public housing identification card issued by a governmental agency; lease or rental statement or agreement issued by a governmental agency; student identification card issued by a governmental agency; tuition statement or bill issued by a governmental agency; insurance plan card or drug discount card issued by a governmental agency; discharge certificates, pardons, or other official documents issued to the individual by a governmental agency in connection with the resolution of a criminal case, indictment, sentence, or other matter; public transportation authority senior citizen and disabled discount cards issued by a governmental agency; identification documents issued by governmental disability agencies; identification documents issued by government homeless shelters and other government temporary or transitional facilities; drug prescription issued by a government doctor or other governmental health care provider; (R) property tax statement issued by a governmental agency; vehicle registration issued by a governmental agency; or vehicle certificate of ownership issued by a governmental agency.

”

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Bond issues on the ballot
• Environment on the ballot

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text