PRESS RELEASE

PR26-40
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2026
Contact: SOSPress@sos.ca.gov

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Announces a Proposed Initiative has Entered Circulation. 

Creates process allowing voters to propose constitutional revisions. Initiative constitutional amendment and statute. 

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on April 8, 2026. 

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(s) 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(s) and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows: 

CREATES PROCESS ALLOWING VOTERS TO PROPOSE CONSTITUTIONAL REVISIONS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Current law allows voters to propose constitutional amendments, but not constitutional revisions (changes that would substantially alter the California Constitution or California’s basic governmental plan), by ballot initiative. Currently, only the Legislature can propose constitutional revisions. This measure:  

  • -allows voters to refer proposed constitutional revisions directly to the Legislature by initiative, and requires the Legislature to take certain actions in response;  
  • -permits the initiative’s proponent to participate in the legislative process for the proposed constitutional revision; and  
  • -allows initiatives to propose enhanced compensation for legislators considering the initiative.  

Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: It is the opinion of the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance that the measure could result, if it went forward, in substantial net changes in state and local finances. 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 2020 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 26-0002. 

The proponent of the measure, Thomas Jefferson Cares, 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 October 5, 2026. The address for the proponent is 12816 Inglewood Ave #383, Hawthorne, CA 90250. The proponent may also be contacted at (310) 929-0260 and Tom@UH.do. 

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