FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2023

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Constitutional Requirements on Public Education.
Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on May 30, 2023.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends California Constitution to require the state and its school districts to “provide a high-quality public education to all public school students,” the requirements of which are not defined and will depend on how the measure is implemented by the Legislature, state agencies, and public schools (including charter schools), and interpreted by court decisions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: No direct fiscal effects on the state or public schools because the measure does not require any change to current policies or programs. Depending on how the measure is legally interpreted by the courts and implemented by the state and public schools, there could be fiscal effects that are unknown and highly uncertain. (23-0001)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1943 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0001.

The proponent of the measure, James J. Cowie, must collect signatures of 874,641 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than November 27, 2023. The contact information for the proponent is c/o Roger Salazar, rsalazar@alzamedia.com, and (916) 284-1255.

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