California Proposition 54, Prohibit State Classification Based on Race in Education, Employment, and Contracting Initiative (October 2003)
| California Proposition 54 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date October 7, 2003 | |
| Topic Affirmative action | |
Status Defeated | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
California Proposition 54 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in California on October 7, 2003. It was defeated.
A "yes" vote supported prohibiting the state and local governments from classifying prospective students, contractors, or employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment. |
A "no" vote opposed prohibiting the state and local governments from classifying prospective students, contractors, or employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment. |
Overview
Proposition 54 would have prohibited the state and local governments from classifying prospective students, contractors, or employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment. Proposition 54 would have defined classifying as "the act of separating, sorting, or organizing by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin including, but not limited to, inquiring, profiling, or collecting such data on government forms."[1]
Proposition 54 would have also prohibited classifying persons based on race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in other state operations (besides education, contracting, or employment), unless the California State Legislature determined the classification served a compelling state interest, two-thirds of the House and Senate approved the classification, and the governor approved the classification.[1]
Election results
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California Proposition 54 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 3,144,145 | 36.20% | ||
|
|
5,541,314 | 63.80% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 54 was as follows:
| “ | Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color, or National Origin. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
| ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Fiscal impact statement
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[1]
| “ |
The measure would not result in a significant fiscal impact on state and local governments.[2] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, California Constitution
The ballot measure would have added a Section 32 to Article I of the California Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
SEC. 32. (a) The State shall not classify any individual by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment.
(b) The State shall not classify any individual by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of any other state operations, unless the Legislature specifically determines that said classification serves a compelling state interest and approves said classification by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature, and said classification is subsequently approved by the Governor.
(c) For purposes of this section, "classifying" by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin shall be defined as the act of separating, sorting, or organizing by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin including, but not limited to, inquiring, profiling, or collecting such data on government forms.
(d) For purposes of subdivision (a), "individual" refers to current or prospective students, contractors, or employees. For purposes of subdivision (b), "individual" refers to persons subject to the state operations referred to in subdivision (b).
(e) The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) shall be exempt from this section with respect to DFEH-conducted classifications in place as of March 5, 2002.
- (1) Unless specifically extended by the Legislature, this exemption shall expire 10 years after the effective date of this measure.
- (2) Notwithstanding DFEH's exemption from this section, DFEH shall not impute a race, color, ethnicity, or national origin to any individual.
(f) Otherwise lawful classification of medical research subjects and patients shall be exempt from this section.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prevent law enforcement officers, while carrying out their law enforcement duties, from describing particular persons in otherwise lawful ways. Neither the Governor, the Legislature, nor any statewide agency shall require law enforcement officers to maintain records that track individuals on the basis of said classifications, nor shall the Governor, the Legislature, or any statewide agency withhold funding to law enforcement agencies on the basis of the failure to maintain such records.
(h) Otherwise lawful assignment of prisoners and undercover law enforcement officers shall be exempt from this section.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting action which must be taken to comply with federal law, or establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, where ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds to the State.
(j) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as invalidating any valid consent decree or court order which is in force as of the effective date of this section.
(k) For the purposes of this section, "State" shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the State itself, any city, county, city and county, public university system, including the University of California, California State University, community college district, school district, special district, or any other political subdivision or governmental instrumentality of or within the State.
(l) This section shall become effective January 1, 2005.
(m) This section shall be self-executing. If any part or parts of this section are found to be in conflict with federal law or the United States Constitution, the section shall be implemented to the maximum extent that federal law and the United States Constitution permit. Any provision held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of this section.[2]
Support
Supporters
Organizations
- American Civil Rights Coalition[3]
Individuals
- Ward Connerly
- Joseph Coors[3]
- Virginia Manheimer[4]
- John W. Uhlmann[3]
Opposition
Opponents
Organizations
- American Cancer Society[5]
- California Federation of Teachers[5]
- California Teachers Association[5]
- National Education Association[5]
- NAACP[6]
- SEIU California State Council[5]
Tribes
- Morongo Band of Mission Indians[5]
- Pechanga Band of Mission Indians[5]
- San Manuel Tribal Administration[5]
Businesses
Path to the ballot
Proposition 54 was proposed as an initiated constitutional amendment. In California, initiated constitutional amendment requires a number of signatures equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous election. Proponents needed to collect 670,816 valid signatures for Proposition 54.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 California Secretary of State, "Voter Guide, October 2003," accessed July 6, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cal-Access, "American Civil Rights Coalition Committee," May 16, 2003
- ↑ Cal-Access, "Yes on Proposition 54 / Racial Privacy Initiative Sponsored by American Civil Rights Coalition," accessed July 6, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Cal-Access, "Coalition for an Informed California - No on Proposition 54," accessed July 6, 2020
- ↑ Cal-Access, "NAACP National Voter Fund - No on Prop. 54," accessed July 6, 2020
