November 2020 brings us a full ballot, with California Assembly candidates in every district, presidential candidates, and several ballot measures specific to California.
Prop. 16: Ending the ban on affirmative action
Author: The Legislature, via a bill by San Diego Democrat Assemblymember Shirley Weber
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Allow schools and public agencies to take race and other immutable characteristics into account when making admission, hiring or contracting decisions.
Prop. 17: Restoring the right to vote to people on parole
Author: The Legislature, via a bill by Sacramento Democrat Assemblymember Kevin McCarty.
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Allow Californians who are currently on parole to vote.
Prop. 18: Letting (some) 17 year olds vote (some of the time)
Author: The Legislature, with a bill introduced by San Mateo Democrat Assemblymember Kevin Mullin.
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Allow 17-year-old U.S. citizens to vote in a primary and special election as long as they will turn 18 by the subsequent general election.
Prop. 15: Split roll
Author: Citizens. Campaign largely funded by the California Teachers Association, SEIU California and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Tax some commercial property based on its market value, rather than the price at which it was purchased. This would raise property taxes on many large businesses across the state, increasing funding for schools and local government.
Prop. 19: Property tax breaks and closing the “Lebowski loophole”
Author: The Legislature, via a bill by San Mateo Democrat Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, but sponsored by the California Realtors.
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Allow homeowners who are over 55, disabled or victims of natural disaster to take a portion of their property tax base with them when they sell their home and buy a new one. It would also limit the ability of new homeowners who inherit properties to keep their parents’ or grandparents’ low property tax payments. Most of the additional money raised would go into a state fire response fund.
Prop. 21: Rent Control (Again)
Author: Signatures, collected via an effort mostly funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Type: Statute
What it would do: Allow cities to introduce new rent control laws, or expand existing ones.
Prop. 25: Ditch or keep cash bail
Author: Signatures, via a campaign largely funded by the bail bond industry.
Type: Referendum
What it would do: Ask voters to either approve or strike down a state law that banished money bail from the state criminal justice system.
Prop. 20: Rolling back Brown-era “leniency”
Author: Signatures, via a campaign largely funded by law enforcement agencies.
Type: Constitutional amendment
What it would do: Allow prosecutors to charge repeat or organized petty theft as a felony, require probation officers to seek tougher penalties for those who violate the term of their parole three times, and exclude those who have been convicted of domestic violence and certain nonviolent crimes from early parole consideration.
Prop. 22: Self-employment for ride-hail and other app-drivers
Author: Signatures, via a campaign mostly funded by Lyft, Uber and Doordash
Type: Statute
What it would do: Turn “app-based” drivers into independent contractors, exempting companies such as Lyft and Uber from standard wage and hour restrictions. It would also guarantee these drivers an earnings floor, a stipend to purchase health insurance and other minimum benefits.
Prop. 23: Regulating dialysis clinics
Author: Signatures, via an effort funded entirely by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West
Type: Statute
What it would do: Require dialysis clinics to have at least one physician on site at all times and to report patient infection data to California health officials.
Prop. 24: Stronger consumer privacy laws (again)
Author: Signatures, via a campaign funded entirely by Alastair and Celine Mactaggart.
Type: Statute
What it would do: Strengthen California’s already strongest-in-the-nation consumer privacy law and establish a California Privacy Protection Agency
Prop. 14: Borrowing for stem cell research
Author: Signatures via an effort mostly funded by Robert Klein, JDRF International and Open Philanthropy
Type: Bond
What it would do: Borrow $5.5 billion to fund stem cell research