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State Ballot Measure Monthly: December 2022
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By Ballot Measures Project staff
This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers our end-of-year round-up of ballot measure analyses and signature submissions for 2024 proposals since November 11.
2024 signature submissions
California Fast Food Restaurant Minimum Wage and Labor Regulations Referendum
On Dec. 5, the Save Local Restaurants PAC reported submitting more than 1 million signatures for a veto referendum to overturn Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257). At least 623,212 valid signatures must be valid.[1] If enough signatures are verified, AB 257 would be suspended until voters decide on the law on November 5, 2024.
AB 257 would create a fast food council authorized to increase the minimum wage of workers in the fast-food industry to $22 per hour in 2023 and set working hours and conditions for fast-food workers. The minimum wage in California is set to increase to $15.50 on January 1, 2023.[2] AB 257 was approved by the state Senate by a vote of 21-12, and it passed the state House by a vote of 47-19. It was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 5, 2022.
Save Local Restaurants said in a statement, "The FAST Act would have an enormous impact on Californians, and clearly voters want a say in whether it should stand. The measure would establish an unelected council to control labor policy in the counter-service restaurant industry, cause food prices to increase by as much as 20% during a period of decades-high inflation, and harm thousands of small family-, minority-, and women-owned businesses across the state."[3] According to the latest campaign finance filings submitted on Nov. 23, Save Local Restaurants reported over $13.7 million in contributions. The top donors to the committee included Chipotle Mexican Grill ($2 million), In-N-Out Burgers ($2 million), Starbucks ($2 million), Yum! Brands ($1 million), and Wing Stop ($500,000).[4]
SEIU California State Council supports the law. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, said, "Ten years after 200 fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City and galvanized an international movement of workers demanding $15/hr and union rights, the passage of AB 257 is the most significant advance in workers’ fight for fairness on the job in a generation. Workers from coast to coast are stepping into their power, and they’ll take their fight to any company in any industry. It’s time for corporations like McDonald’s, Amazon, Starbucks and Delta to come to a national bargaining table to raise standards across their industries and ensure every worker is respected, protected and paid a living wage."[5]
In 1912, Californians voted on a statewide veto referendum for the first time. The most recent veto referendum was on the ballot in 2022, and voters decided to uphold the law. Californians have voted on 50 veto referendums, upholding laws 21 times (42%) and repealing laws 29 times (58%).
California Oil and Gas Well Regulations Referendum
On Dec. 13, the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), which is leading the campaign Stop the Energy Shutdown, announced that more than 978,000 signatures were collected for a referendum to overturn Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137).[6] At least 623,212 signatures must be valid. If enough signatures are verified, SB 1137 would be suspended until voters decide on the law on November 5, 2024.
SB 1137 would prohibit new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. It would also require companies to monitor leaks and emissions and install alarms. In the California State Legislature, SB 1137 passed 35-0 in the Senate and 46-24 in the House. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 1137 on Sept. 16, 2022.[7]
The California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) released the following statement: "If implemented, SB 1137 would increase CA's already high gas prices by decreasing our energy supply and replacing it with expensive imported foreign oil that tankers must transport from counties that do not uphold the same environmental or labor standards."[8] According to the latest campaign finance filings, Stop the Energy Shutdown reported over $20 million in contributions. The top donors to the committee included Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC ($4.5 million), Signal Hill Petroleum, Inc. ($3.2 million), and E & B Natural Resources Management Corp. ($2.9 million).[9]
Brandon Dawson, director of the Sierra Club of California, responded, "The oil and gas industry knows no bounds when it comes to putting profits over people and subverting the democratic process. California frontline communities have been fighting for protections from toxic oil and gas pollution for decades, and the setbacks mandated by SB 1137 will go a long way towards preserving those communities’ air quality and ecosystems."[10]
Nevada Community-Based School Districts Initiative
On Nov. 24, the Community Schools Initiative PAC reported filing about 220,000 signatures for an indirect initiative to allow municipalities to opt-out of county school districts and form their own school districts, which the initiative would describe as community school districts.[11][12] At least 140,777 signatures need to be valid. Counties have until December 23, 2022, to evaluate the submitted signatures.
As an indirect initiative, the legislature would have the option to pass the initiative into law. Should the legislature reject or not act on the initiative within 40 days after receiving the petition, voters would decide the issue at the general election in 2024.
The Community Schools Initiative PAC stated, “Nevada school districts are some of the largest in size, too bureaucratic, and unresponsive. It’s time to return our public schools back to the community and give students the education they deserve.”[13] The initiative reads, "Individual municipalities or municipalities working together may, in some instances, prefer to form more appropriately-sized school districts, because communities may determine that they can better represent and serve children, parents, and families in smaller administrative units."[12]
Jess Jara, the superintendent of the Clark County School District, said the initiative won't address education needs. Jara said, "Educating our students adequately requires an honest, reasoned, equitable, accountable, and sustainable strategy supported with optimal funding for the new pupil-centered funding formula to produce outcomes other than Nevada’s current 49th in the nation funding levels. This initiative achieves none of these."[14]
Report: 2022 statewide ballot measures
The following are excerpts from the end-of-year report on state ballot measures. You can read the entire report here.
Overview
In 2022, voters decided on 140 statewide ballot measures in 38 states. Voters approved 96 (68.6%) and rejected 44 (31.4%). The average number of statewide measures on the ballot in even-numbered years between 2010 and 2020 was 164.
- On November 8, voters in 37 states decided on 132 statewide ballot measures. Voters approved 90 and rejected 42 ballot measures on November 8.
- On December 10, voters in one state, Louisiana, decided on three ballot measures, all of which were approved.
- Earlier in 2022, voters in four states decided on five ballot measures. Voters approved three and rejected two of these measures.
The following chart shows election results for the statewide ballot measures:
| Date | Approved | Defeated |
|---|---|---|
| May 7 | 2 | 0 |
| May 24 | 1 | 0 |
| June 7 | 0 | 1 |
| August 2 | 0 | 1 |
| November 8 | 90 | 42 |
| December 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 96 (68.57%) | 44 (31.43%) |
Decrease in citizen-initiated measures
There were 30 citizen-initiated measures in 2022, which was the lowest number compared to other even-numbered years since 2010. From 2010 to 2022, the average number of initiatives on the ballot was 53.
The following chart illustrates the numbers of citizen-initiated measures and legislative, commission, or other referred measures for each even-numbered year from 2000 to 2022. The year with the most initiated measures, at 83, was 2006. The year with the most referred measures, at 168, was 2002.
Increase in signature-gathering costs
Campaigns for the 30 citizen-initiated measures spent a combined $118.29 million on signature gathering. The average cost-per-required-signature (CPRS) in 2022 was $12.70, an increase from $8.09 in 2020, $6.19 in 2018, and $6.93 in 2016.
The average total petition drive cost for 2022 was $4.08 million, an increase from previous years. In 2020, the average total petition cost was $2.06 million. In 2018, the average cost was $1.13 million. In 2016, the average cost was $1.03 million. From 2016 to 2022, the average cost of a petition drive increased 297%.
The number of citizen-initiated measures that qualified for the ballot decreased 61% from 2016 to 2022, with 76 in 2016 and 30 in 2022.
Campaigns received more than $1 billion
Ballotpedia identified $1.06 billion in contributions to support or oppose statewide measures on ballots in 2022.
States with most contributions
The following five states had the most ballot measure campaign contributions:
| State | Measures | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| California | 7 | $724,847,875 |
| Michigan | 3 | $102,391,250 |
| Massachusetts | 4 | $71,457,334 |
| Colorado | 11 | $45,640,682 |
| Nevada | 3 | $25,443,272 |
Comparison to prior years
The following graph shows the total contributions to state ballot measure committees in 2018, 2020, and 2022. California, as the state with the most committee contributions, is highlighted.
Measures with most contributions
The campaigns surrounding the following 10 ballot measures had received the most contributions:
Graduate-school reading level for ballot questions
In 2022, Ballotpedia estimated the reading difficulty of ballot measures' titles and summaries using two formulas, the Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). The formulas account for the number of syllables, words, and sentences in the ballot language, but not the difficulty or complexity of the ideas expressed in the ballot language.
The average Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the ballot titles (ballot questions) of all 129 statewide 2020 ballot measures was 19 (third-year graduate school reading level). The average ballot title grade for all measures in a single state averaged together ranged from 7 in Iowa to 44 in Kentucky. Citizen-initiated measures received an average title grade of 17 years of education, and referred measures received an average title grade of 20 years.
See also
- 2022 ballot measures
- Ballot initiatives filed for the 2022 ballot
- Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
- List of ballot measures by state
- List of ballot measures by year
Related articles
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Initiative and Referendum Proposals," accessed September 8, 2022
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Referendum AB 257," accessed September 8, 2022
- ↑ Save Local Restaurants, "Over One Million Californians Sign Petition to Oppose FAST Act Food Tax," December 5, 2022
- ↑ Cal-Access, "Save Local Restaurants," accessed December 5, 2022
- ↑ SEIU, "On Labor Day, Gov. Newsom Signs Landmark Bill to Give Voice to More Than Half Million Fast-food Workers," September 5, 2022
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Will oil well setback law be blocked from taking effect? + Remembering a Bay Area labor champion," December 14, 2022
- ↑ California State Legislature, "SB 1137," accessed September 20, 2022
- ↑ Twitter, "California Independent Petroleum Association," December 13, 2022
- ↑ Cal-Access, "Stop the Energy Showdown," accessed December 14, 2022
- ↑ Sierra Club of California, "Sierra Club California Opposes Oil Industry-Backed Referendum to Repeal Senate Bill 1137, A Historic Health-Protective Law," November 7, 2022
- ↑ The Nevada Independent, "Group submits signatures as part of petition to allow municipalities to opt out of school districts," accessed November 24, 2022
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Nevada Secretary of State's Office, "Initiative Text," accessed January 14, 2022
- ↑ Community Schools Initiative PAC, "Homepage," accessed November 25, 2022
- ↑ Clark County School District, "Statement From CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jesus F. Jara Regarding Community Schools Initiative Signature Submission," accessed November 30, 2022
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