This year, California voters will be presented with ten ballot measures that could dramatically impact law, policy, and day-to-day life across the state. Here, we will provide a brief overview of these ballot measures and their potential implications.

Broadly speaking, the ballot measures can be grouped into four general categories:

• Ballot measures that would either approve bonds for schools and infrastructure, or lower the voter threshold for future bond measures that would finance housing and infrastructure.
   
• Ballot measures that would address issues that impact the cost of living for Californians, including a measure that would give local governments the opportunity to expand rent control, measures that target healthcare taxes and expenditures, and a measure that would increase minimum wages.
   
• Ballot measures that would address fundamental civil rights, including the right to marriage and the right to be free from involuntary servitude.
   
• And finally, a ballot measure that would roll back a number of criminal justice reforms that were approved by voters when Proposition 47 was adopted in 2014.

With some arguable exceptions, which we will discuss later, these ballot measures reflect and respond to 21st century challenges. Public officials, industry leaders, residents, and other stakeholders are working to identify new ways to provide key services and to address the skyrocketing cost of living as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. California voters will have the opportunity to vote on ballot measures that could potentially address these issues. Some of these measures will likely have an immediate impact on day-to-day life, while others may yield results years in the future.

No matter which way the people vote this year, 2024 will likely be remembered as a highly consequential election with some potentially groundbreaking ballot measures.

Financing for Schools, Housing and Infrastructure:

In the midst of a budget cycle aimed at “tightening the state’s belt and stabilizing spending following the tumultuous COVID-19 pandemic,” public agencies across the state are looking for new ways to finance critically needed infrastructure, schools, and housing. Proposition 2 and Proposition 4 could provide exciting new opportunities to develop infrastructure that will secure a more stable future for water suppliers and school districts. Likewise, Proposition 5 could make it easier to secure financing to address California’s housing crisis and infrastructure challenges.

Prop 2: This bond measure would authorize California to borrow $10 billion for the construction and modernization of elementary, high schools, community colleges, and career technical education programs.

Prop 4: This bond measure would offset recent statewide budget cuts by approving $10 billion in general obligation bonds for water, wildfire prevention, and infrastructure that would address sea level rise.

Prop 5: This measure would change the voter approval threshold for bonds that fund affordable housing, supportive housing, or public infrastructure. Proposition 5 would allow these bonds to be approved with a 55% vote of the local electorate, rather than the current two-thirds approval requirement.

Cost of Living (Wages, Rent Control, and Healthcare):

Polling shows that economic issues are a top concern for voters across the country. Voters are increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living, inflation, and their long-term implications. Californians will be presented with several ballot measures that are broadly related to wages, housing costs, and the regulation of healthcare expenditures and taxes. The effects of these measures are being debated by experts, but it is clear that lawmakers and voters will likely continue to grapple with these contentious topics for many years to come.

Prop 32: This measure would raise California’s minimum wage to $18 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage would be raised to $17 per hour. Those wages would be raised in future years based on inflation.

Prop 33: This measure would repeal a law that prohibits local governments from imposing new rent control regulations on buildings that were occupied after 1995. In other words, California law would no longer limit the kinds of rent control regulations cities and counties could adopt locally.

Prop 34: Nominally, this measure creates new rules for how certain health care entities spend revenue from the federal drug discount program. However, commentators have described this bill as a “revenge initiative” designed to limit political advocacy by the proponent of Proposition 33 (the AIDS Healthcare Foundation).

Prop 35: This measure would permanently implement a tax (currently set to expire in 2026) that would raise funds for Medi-Cal, and prevent legislators from using the tax revenues to avoid cuts to other programs.

Civil Rights:

In recent years, California lawmakers have advanced several proposals to advance equity and inclusion in our state. These measures address fundamental rights related to marriage equality and involuntary servitude.

Prop 3: This measure would recognize a fundamental right to marry, regardless of sex or race. It would remove language in California Constitution stating that marriage is only valid “between a man and a woman.”

Prop 6: This measure would prohibit involuntary servitude in state prisons.

Criminal Justice:

Crime and criminal justice are also hot topics in California. Ten years ago, Californians approved sweeping criminal justice reforms through Proposition 47. Now, Californians may be poised to roll back some portions of Proposition 47. The legislature recently approved a package of bills that increase penalties for retail theft, and voters will now choose whether to impose harsher penalties for certain types of crimes.

Prop 36: This measure would partially repeal Proposition 47.

Pulse on the Polls