Once the requisite number of signatures has been collected, the petitions must be filed with the appropriate county elections official(s). Counties then have eight working days to report the raw count of signatures to the Secretary of State.
If the raw count of signatures equals 100% or more of the total number of signatures needed to qualify the initiative or referendum measure, the Secretary of State notifies the county elections officials that they will have to randomly sample signatures for validation, to ensure petitions were signed by registered voters. If the result of the random sample indicates that the number of valid signatures represents between 95% and 110% of the required number of signatures to qualify the initiative or referendum measure for the ballot, the Secretary of State directs the county elections officials to verify every signature on the petition. This process is referred to as a full check of signatures. If the total number of valid signatures is less than 95% of the number of signatures required to qualify the initiative or referendum measure, the proposed measure will fail to qualify for the ballot. For an initiative measure, if the number of valid signatures is greater than 110% of the required number of signatures, the initiative measure will be eligible for the ballot. Eligible initiative measures will become qualified for the ballot on the 131st day prior to the next statewide general election unless withdrawn by the proponent(s) prior to its qualification by the Secretary of State. For a proposed referendum measure, if the number of valid signatures is greater than 110% of the required number of signatures, the referendum measure is considered qualified without further verification. A referendum can qualify up to 31 days prior to a statewide general election. Spreadsheets containing the progress of a proposed initiative or referendum measure in the signature verification stage are updated regularly.
Random Check
1963. (23-0021A1)
RESTRICTS SPENDING BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS MEETING SPECIFIED CRITERIA. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Random Sample Count 04/17/2024 (PDF)
Summary Date: 11/03/23 | Circulation Deadline: 05/01/24 | Signatures Required: 546,651
(25% of Signatures Reached 12/12/2023 (PDF))
Proponent(s): Thomas Bannon
Requires certain health care providers to spend 98% of revenues from federal discount prescription drug program on direct patient care. Applies only to health care providers that: spent over $100,000,000 in any ten-year period on anything other than direct patient care; and operated multifamily housing with over 500 high-severity health and safety violations. Penalizes noncompliance by revoking health care licenses and tax-exempt status. Permanently authorizes state to negotiate Medi-Cal drug prices on statewide basis. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased costs to state government, potentially up to the millions of dollars annually, to review entities’ compliance with the measure and enforce the measure’s provisions. These costs would be paid for by fees created under the measure. Uncertain fiscal impacts to state and local government health programs, depending on how the affected entities respond to the measure’s requirements. (23-0021A1.)
1964. (23-0022)
ADDS ONE-SEMESTER PERSONAL FINANCE COURSE TO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Random Sample Count 04/17/2024 (PDF)
Summary Date: 11/09/23 | Circulation Deadline: 05/07/24 | Signatures Required: 546,651
(25% of Signatures Reached 12/12/2023 (PDF))
Proponent(s): Christopher Lee Kaufman, Timothy J. Ranzetta
Adds one-semester personal finance course to existing graduation requirements for public high school students (including those attending charter schools) beginning with the graduating class in 2030. Requires schools to begin offering the course by the 2026-27 school year. This course would be in addition to currently required one-semester economics course, which may—but is not required to—include personal finance curriculum. Students may fulfill new requirement by completing an existing University of California-approved personal finance course, or a new course approved by a school’s governing body. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potential increased costs to schools that could reach in the high tens of millions of dollars annually in the first few years and then likely decline over time. Costs could be related to additional teachers, curriculum development, and instructional materials and would depend on how the measure is implemented. (23-0022)
*Elections Code section 9034 requires that once proponent(s) of a proposed initiative measure have gathered 25% of the number of signatures required (currently 136,663 for an initiative statute and 218,661 for a constitutional amendment) proponent(s) must immediately certify that they have done so under penalty of perjury to the Secretary of State.
