Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize: Pending Initiatives for the 2010 California Statewide Ballot
From Mobilize the Immigrant Vote!
By Basil Robledo of Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN)
Although the ongoing fiasco that is the California state budget makes it difficult for any of us to focus on something other than the budget crisis, we need to begin preparing to educate our communities on initiatives that are likely to be on the ballot next year. There will be two statewide elections next year, in June and November. It is still too early to tell exactly what may be on the November 2, 2010 general election ballot. However, there are a number of initiatives, including budget and/or tax reform measures and some anti-immigrant ones, which may possibly appear on the June 8, 2010 ballot. Below we will highlight, in rough order of impact, those that we assess will have direct consequences for low-income immigrant communities of color.
Measures that Have Qualified for June 2010
The deadline to place a measure on the June 2010 ballot is January 28th. Of the three measures that have qualified for the ballot so far, we will highlight the open primary initiative. (The other two are a seismic retrofitting property tax measure and a fair elections pilot program.). The “Open Primary” initiative would allow voters at a primary election to vote for any candidate for congressional or state elective office without regard to party, and would also allow the top two vote-getters in an open primary, regardless of party, to advance to the general election.
Initiatives in the Signature-Gathering Stage
There are, however, numerous initiatives and referenda that are still in the signature-gathering stage and therefore have a chance of being placed on the June or November 2010 ballot. Here’s a brief review of select proposals along with their deadlines for gathering the required number of signatures.
Denial Of Public Benefits For Persons Who Cannot Verify Lawful Presence. Denial Of Standard Birth Certificate For Children Of Undocumented Parents
Known as the “California Taxpayer Protection Act 2010” by its backers, this anti-immigrant initiative is the latest from Ted Hilton, the infamous anti-immigrant rights activist with ties to right-wing extremist groups and designated hate groups. This initiative would, among other things: require applicants for state, local, and state-administered federal aid to verify their lawful presence in United States; require applications for public benefits submitted by undocumented parents on behalf of their lawful-resident children to be given to federal authorities; require parents to provide proof of legal residence or citizenship and a social security number to obtain a birth certificate for their children; and eliminate benefits for children in child-only CalWORKS cases. Other prominent backers of the measure include Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-Solana Beach) and retired state Senator Bill Morrow. The proponents have until November 20th to gather the required 433,971 signatures to qualify for the June 2010 ballot.
Limits on Voting
This latest initiative from George Runner, the backer of the defeated Proposition 6 from the November 2008 election, would prohibit citizens from voting at the polls unless they present a government-issued photo-identification card. It would also establish provisional voting for citizens at the polls who fail to present these photo ID cards and require that provisional and mail-in ballots be deemed invalid unless the accompanying envelope is marked with the last four digits of a citizen’s California driver’s license, state identification card, or social security number. Finally, it would eliminate the right to vote for citizens on probation for a felony offense. Runner has until November 13th to gather the required 433,971 signatures.
Changes the Vote Requirement to Pass a Budget or Raise Taxes from Two-Thirds to Three-Fifths
This initiative, just recently approved for circulation, would amend the constitution, changing the legislative vote requirement necessary to pass the state budget and to raise taxes, from two-thirds (sixty-seven percent) to three-fifths (sixty percent). It is also known as “The Responsible California State Budget Reform Act. Backers have until December 28th to gather the 694,354 signatures required of a constitutional amendment.
Penalties for Governor and Legislature if Budget Deadline Not Met
This initiative constitutional amendment would provide that the Governor and Legislature be automatically removed from office if the Legislature fails to approve a budget by June 15th or the Governor fails to sign a budget by June 30th. It would also require that 25% of the salaries owed to the Governor and each Legislative member be withheld until a budget is completed for the following year. As an additional penalty, the measure would prohibit officials removed from office for failure to pass a budget from being elected or appointed to state office for two years following their removal. Measure supporters had until July 27th to gather the required 694,354 signatures. As of this date, there has been no confirmation from the Secretary of State as to whether this initiative has in fact qualified.
Part-time Legislature
This initiative constitutional amendment would create a part-time legislature by reducing the total amount of time the Legislature is in session each year to no more than ninety-five days, convening in early January for up to thirty days and again in early May for up to sixty days. Backers have until December 7th to gather 694,354 signatures.
Substitutes Domestic Partnership for Marriage in California Law
One of two measures relating to Proposition 8 from the November 2008 election, this initiative would amend the constitution by replacing the term “marriage” with the term “domestic partnership” throughout California law, while preserving the rights provided in marriage. The measure would thereby repeal the provision in the constitution that states only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California and would apply equally to all couples, regardless of sexual orientation. Proponents had until August 6th to gather 694,354 signatures. As of the writing of this article, the Secretary of State has not yet posted the final signature results for this measure.
Reinstates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry
This measure would repeal Proposition 8 by repealing the current provision in California’s Constitution that states only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. It also provides that the initiative is not intended, and shall not be interpreted, to modify or change the curriculum in any school, or to mandate or require clergy of any church to perform a service or duty inconsistent with his or her faith. Backers have until November 19th to gather 694,354 signatures.
Initiatives Pending at the Attorney General’s Office
The following measures have been submitted to the Attorney General for preparation of the official title and summary and have not yet been approved by the Secretary of State for signature gathering. The process takes approximately 60 days before they can be forwarded to the Secretary of State.
Corporate Taxes
This initiative would repeal three corporate tax loopholes: the “single-sales” factor which gives large corporations the choice of how much income they want to report; the “loss carry-backs” loophole which allows companies with losses to get refunds for taxes paid two years previously; and the “tax credit-sharing” which allows companies with more tax credits than they can use to share the credits with affiliate companies.
The McCauley-Rosen Wealth Tax and Oceans Preservation Act
This initiative would increase taxes on the wealthy with the revenues, however, being used expressly for the creation of an environmental superfund that could only be used for specified purposes.
More Resources
Looking beyond June 2010, the deadline to place a measure on the ballot for the November 2, 2010 General Election is June 24, 2010. At this point, if a 100% signature verification is necessary, a proposal would not qualify for the November 2010 ballot.
To learn more in general about the initiative process, see the Secretary of State’s “Statewide Ballot Initiative Handbook” at the website below. Here are some other helpful links to monitor initiatives.
- Secretary of State: www.sos.ca.gov
- Legislative Analyst’s Office: www.lao.ca.gov
- League of Women Voters of California: www.ca.lwv.org
- The California Attorney General: www.ag.ca.gov/initiatives
MIV appreciates additional analysis from its partner organizations and allies. Please feel free to send additional analysis to info@mivcalifornia.org
Tags: Basil Robledo, June 2010 Elections, Marriage Equality, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote!, November 2010 Elections, Propositions, Same-Sex Marriage, SIREN, Tax Reform
November 13th, 2011 at 8:12 am
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