California Establish University of California Online Initiative (2024)
| California Establish University of California Online Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Education and Constitutional rights | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Establish University of California Online Initiative (#23-0034) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.
The initiative would have established the University of California Online and state that Californians have a right to audit or take for full-credit public postsecondary courses and programs at no cost.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | Establishes new "University of California Online." Initiative constitutional amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | California’s public higher education systems— University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges— currently offer courses in person and online. This measure would amend the California Constitution to require creation of an online public university named “University of California Online” with two divisions: one providing online courses for credit towards an academic degree, open to anyone who pays tuition; and one providing free public access to all online courses not for credit. Requires tuition for for-credit courses to be based on their cost, and additional fees for most out-of-state students. Requires State Treasurer to issue bonds to fund University of California Online, repaid from tuition.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | Operating a new public online university could cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars to low billions of dollars annually. All of the cost is to be covered through student tuition revenue generated by the new university. The measure is not intended to have any direct fiscal impact on state or local governments.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 27, 2024. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Initiative #22-0007
- Boyd Roberts filed the initiatives on November 3, 2023.[4]
- The initiative was cleared for signature gathering on January 10, 2024.[2]
- The initiative did not submit a sufficient number of sigantures by the circulation deadline.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text #23-0034," accessed November 7, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiatives - Active Measures," accessed November 3, 2023
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
