Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

19 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

22 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

23 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

23 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

23 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

23 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

23 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

24 hours ago
Walters: High-Octane Ballot Measures Lining up for 2020
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 6 years ago on
October 10, 2019

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week vetoed a perennial effort by his fellow Democrats to hamstring business and conservative groups’ use of statewide ballot measures.
Assembly Bill 1451 would have prohibited qualifying ballot measures by paying professional circulators on a per-signature basis, but gave Democrats’ union allies a carveout.


Dan Walters
Opinion
Paraphrasing former Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of a virtually identical bill, Newsom said AB 1451 “would make the qualification of many initiatives cost-prohibitive. …”
With AB 1451 out of the way, the lineup of 2020 ballot measures becomes a little clearer — but only a little.
One initiative, removing some of Proposition 13’s property tax limits from commercial property, has already qualified, but its sponsors — labor unions, primarily — are setting it aside and will seek signatures on a replacement they hope will prove more palatable to voters.
The California School Boards Association says it will propose another tax measure as well, one that would raise income taxes on large corporations and the state’s highest-income residents to raise about $15 billion a year for schools.

Another Potentially High-Octane Measure

One referendum to repeal a law that eliminates cash bail for those accused of crimes has also been qualified. The bail bond industry will tell voters that eliminating cash bail will mean more criminals running free on the streets — a message that advocates of another pending crime measure will echo.
Backed by some law enforcement and victims’ rights groups, the proposal would undo portions of Proposition 57, a 2016 initiative that Brown sponsored to reduce penalties for some crimes deemed to be “non-violent,” although critics say it benefited some clearly violent felons as well.
Still another potentially high-octane measure would repeal or change Assembly Bill 5, the highly contentious legislation that implements a state Supreme Court decision and would convert hundreds of thousands of contract workers into payroll employees.
Three “gig economy” firms that rely on contract drivers, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, have publicly pledged $90 million for such a ballot measure. If they proceed, it potentially becomes leverage for a legislative compromise, but the timeline for qualifying an initiative looms, so if Uber, et al, are going to move, they’d better do it soon.
This year, Newsom and the Legislature enacted a relatively mild rent control law that applies only to older apartment houses and allows annual increases of 5% plus inflation.

Another Hot Issue: Personal Privacy

One motive was to stave off another ballot measure war over rent control, but the prime mover behind a failed 2018 measure, Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is collecting signatures for a new version.
There’s a similar scenario regarding another hot issue, personal privacy.
Bay Area developer Alastair Mactaggart qualified an initiative for last year’s ballot aimed at protecting private data from commercial exploitation but set it aside as Brown and the Legislature enacted their own version. Mactaggart has now filed a new measure to restrict use of children’s data.
Finally, a coalition headed by Consumer Attorneys of California — lawyers who handle personal injury cases — wants to hollow out a law that Brown signed in 1975, dubbed MICRA, that limits pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases to $250,000.
Their initiative renews the lawyers’ 44-year political war with medical providers and their insurers and, like several other proposals, could become leverage for a legislative compromise.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

15 minutes ago

Supreme Court’s Conservatives Leaned Into US Culture Wars With Transgender Cases

17 minutes ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

25 minutes ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

32 minutes ago

There Are Fresno Area Fireworks Shows Galore Through Sunday

38 minutes ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

38 minutes ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

16 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

16 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

16 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

16 hours ago

US Imposes New Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah, Treasury Dept Says

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday against a business network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, as well as sanc...

2 minutes ago

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump?s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 minutes ago

US Imposes New Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah, Treasury Dept Says

5 minutes ago

Keep Pets Safe on 4th of July: Fresno County Animal Shelter Offers Tips

A view shows the dome of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 minutes ago

US House Republicans Head Toward Final Vote on Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut Bill

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. (Reuters File)
15 minutes ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

Demonstrators attend a Transgender Day of Visibility rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 31, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 minutes ago

Supreme Court’s Conservatives Leaned Into US Culture Wars With Transgender Cases

A wildfire near New Cuyama in San Luis Obispo County has burned more than 35,000 acres, prompted multiple evacuation orders, and is just 5% contained as crews from several agencies battle the blaze. (CalFire)
25 minutes ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

Nvidia products are displayed after its CEO Jensen Huang made a keynote speech at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 19, 2025. (Reuters File)
32 minutes ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

38 minutes ago

There Are Fresno Area Fireworks Shows Galore Through Sunday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend