California Donor Disclosure Initiative (2016)
| California Name All Sponsors Candidate Accountability Reform Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Government accountability | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
| Voting on Government Accountability |
|---|
|
| Ballot Measures |
| By state |
| By year |
| Not on ballot |
The Name All Sponsors Candidate Accountability Reform Initiative (#15-0097) was a proposed initiatives that was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in California as an initiated state statute.
This measure was called the "California Is Not For Sale” Initiative by supporters and was also referred to as the "NASCAR" initiative.[1]
The measure would have required committees controlled by a candidate for state office to disclose their top ten donors in all advertisements supporting the candidate or opposing the candidate's opposition.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | Campaign Finance. Donor Disclosure. Initiative Statue.[4] | ” |
Ballot summary
The official ballot summary was as follows:[3]
| “ | Requires committees controlled by a candidate for the Legislature or other elected state office to disclose their top 10 donors in all committee advertisements supporting the candidate or opposing the candidate’s opponents. Requires legislators and other elected state officers, when providing testimony or participating in any vote on state legislation, to display on their persons the identity of the top 10 donors to their controlled committees. Imposes criminal and civil sanctions for violations.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure could be found here.
Fiscal impact
Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is jointly prepared by the state's legislative analyst and its director of finance. The statement was as follows:[3]
| “ | Minor effects on state finances.[4] | ” |
Support
John Cox, the initiative's sponsor, said:[5]
| “ | This initiative will require every state legislator to wear on his coat, stickers, or some kind of logo representing their top ten contributors. It can't be a sign that they hold up. It's funny and it's inventive, but it really is a serious proposal. ... I'd like to tell you that we're doing this so that people can make good judgments about is this a good guy or a bad guy. [But] that's really not part of our motivation. To us, the whole system is the bad guy.[4] | ” |
Cox also said, "The purposes of the initiative is to ridicule an absurd system. Hopefully that leads to a change."[6]
Cox bankrolled the effort to collect signatures for this initiative in the amount of $1 million.[6]
Background
In 2006, an initiative called Proposition 89 was put on the ballot through a successful signature petition campaign, and voters defeated the proposal 74-26. It had a provision requiring every privately funded candidate ad to provide information about the candidate's three largest campaign contributors. Proposition 89, however, also proposed a tax that would fund publicly funded campaigns for qualifying candidates. This 2016 "NASCAR" initiative was not designed to provide public funding for campaigns or impose an additional tax.[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: California signature requirements
- John Cox submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on October 27, 2015.[2]
- A title and summary were issued by California's attorney general's office on December 31, 2015.[3]
- 365,880 valid signatures are required for qualification purposes.
- Supporters had until June 28, 2016, to collect the required signatures.
State profile
| Demographic data for California | ||
|---|---|---|
| California | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 38,993,940 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 155,779 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 61.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 13.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 4.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31.4% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,818 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in California
California voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More California coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in California
- United States congressional delegations from California
- Public policy in California
- Endorsers in California
- California fact checks
- More...
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ California is Not for Sale, "Home," accessed February 13, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 California Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed January 6, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 6, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ SFist, "Ballot Prop Seeks To Have Lawmakers Wear Top Contributors' Names On Their Sleeves," January 8, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fox 40, "So-called NASCAR Initiative Moves Forward," February 12, 2016
- ↑ Napa Valley Register, "Will 'NASCAR Initiative' produce naked lawmakers?" February 8, 2016
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