2014 California Ballot Measure Results!

California voters on Tuesday approved billions in borrowing for water projects, the creation of a tighter budget reserve fund, and lighter penalties for drug crimes and theft while rejecting measures to regulate health insurance rates and to drug test doctors while raising a cap on medical malpractice payouts.

Two ballot initiatives passed by the Legislature and promoted by Gov. Jerry Brown more vigorously than he campaigned for his own re-election – a water bond and a measure creating a rainy day reserve fund for state budgets – passed handily. You can read more about the water bond here.

A pair of health-related measure that ignited massive spending lost by large margins.

Proposition 45 sought to empower California’s elected insurance commissioner to oversee health insurance rates, prompting a well-funded opposition campaign by the insurance industry. Proposition 46 was the latest flareup in a long-smoldering fight between doctors and lawyers over California’s medical malpractice laws. In addition to lifting a $250,000 cap on pain-and-suffering damages recoverable in malpractice lawsuits, the measure would have imposed mandatory physician drug testing.

Proposition 45 lost by nearly 20 points. The gap for Proposition 46 was close to 35 points.

With California in the midst of a years-long effort to reduce prison overcrowding, proponents of Proposition 47 said the measure would improve criminal justice efforts by converting petty theft and drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors, while targeting savings at programs to reduce truancy and substance abuse. Despite law enforcement warnings that the measure would reduce penalties for possession of date-rate drugs and gun theft, Proposition 47 led by 17 percentage points in unofficial returns.

Voters rejected Proposition 48, a referendum that targeted a single casino but carried a broader context.

The “no” vote on the measure blocks a pact with the state to allow the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians to operate a Vegas-style casino miles from the tribe’s existing land. Opponents of the facility warned that the deal would lead to a spike of new casinos near urban areas. Some tribes with nearby casinos poured millions of dollars into the campaign to defeat Propositio 48.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article3577731.html#storylink=cpy

Water Bond Initiative of 2014

Proposition 1, a measure formerly known as Proposition 43, the Water Bond, is slated to be on the November 4, 2014 ballot in California as a legislatively-referred bond act.  A "bond" means security of any kind, including money, given to ensure performance of an obligation arising under an enactment, a license, a permit, a contract or another similar obligation, and includes the terms under which the security may be realized (Source: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96030_01). The measure, upon voter approval, would enact the Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012.

More specifically, Proposition 1 will:

• Authorizes $11.14 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, including surface and groundwater storage, ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration, and Bay-Delta Estuary sustainability.
• Appropriate money from the General Fund to pay off bonds.
• Require certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds.

As many California residents may already know, our state has been undergoing a severe drought for the past several years. Reservoirs are low, groundwater basins and ecosystems are stressed, water quality is impaired, and wildfire risks are extremely high. Three consecutive dry years have pushed California’s water system to its limits and exposed vulnerabilities that must be addressed now if we are to avoid even more dire challenges in the coming years.

Signs of California’s severe water challenges include:

• Drinking water shortages and mandatory rationing in some areas
• Impaired water quality and contaminated groundwater basins
• Water cutbacks to family farms
• Lost farm jobs and reduced economic activity
• Extreme wildfire danger
• Increased food prices

In order to prevent a future where these water challenges continue, the passage of Proposition 1 will help California prepare for droughts, ensure reliable water for farms, clean contamination of water resources, protect against the collapse of our water system in an earthquake, repair the Delta, one of the most important ecosystems on the West Coast, create jobs now by fixing vital infrastructure, and protect taxpayers with strong fiscal safeguards.

Water is essential—we must act now to protect our economy and quality of life. Proposition 43 will be the solution we need to combat drought and create a more resilient water system for California.

For more information on the Water Bond ballot initiative, please visit: http://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_43,_Water_Bond_(2014)