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AP18:020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2018
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SOS Press Office
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla Assigns Numbers to June Ballot Measures, Invites Ballot Arguments and Candidate Statements

 

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today assigned proposition numbers to the legislative measures set to appear on the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election ballot and invited interested Californians to submit arguments to be considered for inclusion in the statewide Voter Information Guide.

The propositions are listed below, along with Legislative Counsel’s digests and links to their full text.

 

Proposition 68

SB 5 (Chapter 852, Statutes of 2017), De León. California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018.

Under existing law, programs have been established pursuant to bond acts for, among other things, the development and enhancement of state and local parks and recreational facilities. Existing law, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $7,545,000,000 to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. Existing law, the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002, approved by the voters as Proposition 40 at the March 5, 2002, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $2,600,000,000, for the purpose of financing a program for the acquisition, development, restoration, protection, rehabilitation, stabilization, reconstruction, preservation, and interpretation of park, coastal, agricultural land, air, and historical resources.

This bill would enact the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in an amount of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. The bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $100,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1, 40, and 84 to finance the purposes of a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program.

The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

 

Proposition 69 

ACA 5 (Resolution Chapter 30, statutes of 2017), Frazier. Motor vehicle fees and taxes: restriction on expenditures: appropriations limit.

(1) Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from taxes imposed by the state on fuels used in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes, and restricts the expenditure of revenues from fees and taxes imposed by the state upon vehicles or their use or operation to state administration and enforcement of laws regulating the use, operation, or registration of vehicles used upon the public streets and highways, as well as to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes. These restrictions do not apply to revenues from taxes or fees imposed under the Sales and Use Tax Law or the Vehicle License Fee Law.

This measure would add Article XIX D to the California Constitution to require revenues derived from vehicle fees imposed under a specified chapter of the Vehicle License Fee Law to be used solely for transportation purposes, as defined. The measure would prohibit these revenues from being used for the payment of principal and interest on state transportation general obligation bonds that were authorized by the voters on or before November 8, 2016. The measure would prohibit the revenues from being used for the payment of principal and interest on state transportation general obligation bonds issued after that date unless the bond act submitted to the voters expressly authorizes that use. The measure would also prohibit the Legislature from borrowing these revenues, except as specified, or using them for purposes other than transportation purposes.

(2) Article XIII B of the California Constitution prohibits the total annual appropriations subject to limitation of the state and each local government from exceeding the appropriations limit of the entity of the government for the prior year, as adjusted.

This measure would exclude appropriations of certain revenues associated with the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 from the appropriations subject to constitutional limitation.

(3) Article XIX A of the California Constitution requires the deposit of a specified portion of the sales and use tax on diesel fuel in the Public Transportation Account in the State Transportation Fund, and restricts the expenditure of those revenues to certain transportation planning and mass transportation purposes. Article XIX A prohibits the Legislature from borrowing these revenues and from using these revenues other than as specifically permitted by Article XIX A.

This measure would restrict additional portions of the sales and use tax on diesel fuel to expenditure on certain transportation planning and mass transportation purposes and require those revenues to be deposited in the Public Transportation Account. The measure would prohibit the Legislature from temporarily or permanently diverting or appropriating these additional revenues for other than certain transportation planning and mass transportation purposes, or from borrowing, except as specified, these additional revenues.

 

Proposition 70

ACA 1 (Resolution Chapter 105, statutes of 2017), Mayes. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Reserve Fund.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation.

The California Constitution requires appropriations from the General Fund of the state to be passed by a 2/3 vote of the membership of each house of the Legislature and requires a majority vote to pass appropriations for the public schools and appropriations in the Budget Bill and in other bills providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

This measure would create the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Reserve Fund, in which all moneys collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2024, and until the effective date of specified legislation would be deposited. The measure would require all moneys in the fund to be available upon appropriation for specified purposes and would require a bill making those appropriations to be passed by a 2/3 vote of the membership of each house of the Legislature. The measure would require all new moneys collected as part of a market-based compliance mechanism after the effective date of that specified legislation to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The measure would prohibit a specified sales tax exemption from being applied until the effective date of that specified legislation.

 

Proposition 71

ACA 17 (Resolution Chapter 190, Statutes of 2017), Mullin. Ballot measures: effective date

The California Constitution provides that an initiative statute, referendum, or constitutional amendment or revision approved by a majority of votes thereon takes effect the day after the election unless the measure provides otherwise. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to compile the results of all statewide measures, and to prepare, certify, and file a statement of the vote from the compiled results no later than the 38th day after the election.

This measure would instead provide that an initiative statute, a referendum, or a constitutional amendment or revision approved by a majority of votes thereon takes effect 5 days after the Secretary of State files the statement of the vote for the election at which the measure is voted on, and the measure clarifies that an initiative statute, referendum, or constitutional amendment or revision may provide that it becomes operative after its effective date. The measure would also make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

 

Ballot Arguments

Arguments may be submitted for or against the measures. Arguments selected for the statewide Voter Information Guide will be on public display between February 20 and March 12. If multiple arguments are submitted for the proposition, state law gives first priority to arguments written by legislators in the case of legislative measures; subsequent priority goes to bona fide citizen associations and then to individuals. No more than three signers are allowed to appear on an argument or rebuttal to an argument.

Ballot arguments cannot exceed 500 words and rebuttals to ballot arguments cannot exceed 250 words. All submissions should be typed and double-spaced.  Arguments may be hand-delivered to the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at 1500 11th Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, California 95814; faxed to (916) 653-3214; or emailed to VIGarguments@sos.ca.gov. If faxed or emailed, the original documents must be received within 72 hours.  The deadline to submit ballot arguments is February 6 by 5:00 p.m. The deadline to submit rebuttals to the ballot arguments is February 15 by 5:00 p.m.

 

Candidate Statements

Secretary Padilla also invites candidate statements for inclusion in the statewide Voter Information Guide. Candidates for statewide constitutional office or United States Senate may buy space for a 250-word candidate statement in the voter guide. Candidates for statewide constitutional office must accept voluntary campaign expenditure limits in order to purchase space for a candidate statement in the statewide Voter Information Guide.

Candidates for state legislative office or the United States House of Representatives may purchase space for a candidate statement in a county voter information guide. State legislative candidates must accept voluntary campaign expenditure limits in order to purchase space for a candidate statement in a county voter information guide.

The deadline to submit candidate statements to the Secretary of State’s office is February 14 by 5:00 p.m. Candidates for the United States House of Representatives, California State Senate, and California State Assembly have until March 9 to submit candidate statements to the county elections official for the local voter information guide in the county or counties in which the district lies.

For more information on ballot measures, candidate filing requirements, and election deadlines, please visit: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/statewide-direct-primary-june-5-2018/

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