A war of words on CA ballot props
Voters fill out their ballots at a polling place inside Assumption Church in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020. Photo by Kyle Grillot, Reuters It’s one of the battles within California’s ballot measure wars: The wording that voters see about the propositions. Monday marked the end of the public inspection period for the state’s official Voter Guide, so there was a flurry of activity. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association was waiting to hear Monday night what a state appeals court decided on a Sacramento County judge’s ruling that the ballot label for Proposition 5 needed to be rewritten. Critics have long complained that the state’s elected attorney general — they’ve all been Democrats since 1999 — skews the label, title and summary of ballot measures to match their political preferences. The taxpayers association argued that the Prop. 5 label should say that it would lower the majority required to approve local borrowing measures from two-thirds to 55%. The original label — a condensed version of the title and summary — only included the 55% figure, so voters might believe that the threshold is being raised from a simple majority, the taxpayer group says. The ruling last week, which the attorney general’s office appealed, found that the label “fails to inform” voters the main purpose of Prop. 5, and that without “additional clarifying language,” the label could mislead voters. (Labels are allowed to run 75 words long and Prop. 5’s label is 65 words.) Laura Dougherty, the association’s director of legal affairs, said in an email to CalMatters that the attorney general “has a duty to inform the public of the chief points and purposes of every measure” and that “there are plenty of words left for the printer to add the information.” In his appeal, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the office is afforded “substantial deference” in determining ballot labels. Not only is Prop. 5’s label accurate, Bonta argued, but also that the court “seemingly invented a new” standard of review that granted his ballot materials less consideration “if he does not use all available words.” Rent control: It’s not just the title and summary: Supporters and opponents can also go to court about the official ballot arguments. The same judge on Monday found that four of the six statements made by the California Apartment Association about Prop. 33, a rent-control measure that the association opposes, must be deleted or amended. The court order called for language that hedges the association’s claims: For example, its argument must say Prop. 33 would “weaken,” not “repeal” renter protections, and “undermines,” not “eliminates” a statewide rent control law. School bond: There’s another battle brewing, this one on Prop. 2, which would let the state borrow $10 billion to fix and build schools and community colleges. The state Republican Party is weighing whether to endorse it, and a recommendation for “yes” from the party’s 14-member Initiatives Committee is drawing fire from California College Republicans and some Republican legislators. The college group says Prop. 2 violates the party platform and also points out that the state party had a neutral position on Prop. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health measure on the March ballot that included $6.4 billion in bonds — and that barely passed. (The state Democratic Party is supporting Prop. 2.) GOP delegates can reject the committee’s recommendation with a two-thirds majority and have until Aug. 28 to vote. Ellie Hockenbury, California GOP spokesperson: “The CAGOP’s ballot initiative endorsement process is still underway, and we have not yet taken a position on Proposition 2. The party greatly respects our delegates and values their opinion as part of that process.” November election: Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote. More honors: Sisi Wei, now chief impact officer at CalMatters, won the leadership in diversity and solidarity award from the Asian American Journalists Association for her work as editor in chief of The Markup, which joined CalMatters earlier this year. Speaking of the AAJA, it partnered with CalMatters for the second year of JCal, a summer training program for high school journalists. Read more on both from our engagement team. CalMatters covers the Capitol: We have guides and stories to keep track of bills and your lawmakers; find out how well legislators are representing you; explore the Legislature’s record diversity; and to make your voice heard. Other Stories You Should Know Time is short on insurance fix State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara speaks during a press conference with labor leaders and advocates in Commerce on Sept. 26, 2022. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters From CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara bypassed the Legislature and announced changes that could mean insurance companies’ requests to raise premiums would get approved more quickly. As the state scrambles to deal with problems with property insurance availability and affordability, a planned trailer bill by Gov. Newsom proposed speeding up insurance rate reviews to get insurance companies to start or resume writing more policies here. (Trailer bills are attached to the state budget, and sometimes change policy with minimal public discussion.) But apparently even this shortcut was not fast enough: On Friday, the Insurance Department and the governor’s office said they needed to act immediately, so Lara issued a bulletin that does the same thing as the trailer bill. “We do not have the luxury of time,” Lara said in a press release. The Legislature actually took no action on the trailer bill, according to two sources familiar with the matter. They said the proposal was more about policy and not about the budget, so lawmakers — who are having to make difficult choices as they deal with a multibillion-dollar deficit — didn’t even consider it. Democratic Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa did not seem to mind that Lara issued a bulletin instead. “The importance is intensifying as wildfires continue to take lives, destroy homes, and level communities,” he said in a statement. The changes Lara announced in the bulletin establishes a tighter timeline for rate reviews and are one part of his broader plan to try to fix the state’s insurance woes. The Insurance Department must respond within 60 days of a rate review, with room for two 30-day extensions, once its new rate-reconciliation tool that will help with the process is up and running. This is expected to be in January, according to department spokesperson Michael Soller. Insurance companies have complained about rate reviews taking too long, so some representatives of the insurance industry have said the changes are necessary. But Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that often challenges rate reviews, is looking into the commissioner’s authority to make such changes. Carmen Balber, the group’s executive director, told CalMatters the stricter timelines for rate reviews might “limit consumers’ voice in oversight.” Speaking of insurance: Rising insurance costs don’t just impact single-family homeowners. Levi dives into how insurance companies have nearly stopped writing policies for apartment and commercial properties, too. And landlords could pass higher insurance premiums onto tenants, further worsening the state’s housing crunch. Uwe Karbenk, a landlord who co-owns a building in San Bernardino, said soaring premiums are especially hard for mom-and-pop landlords. Landlords are already limited by state laws over how much they’re allowed to raise rent each year, and another rent-control measure is on the Nov. 5 ballot. To be a landlord in the state is like “death by a thousand cuts,” said Karbenk. Read more about the impact of rising insurance costs in Levi’s story. Should CA schools build housing? Carolina Sanchez Garcia cooks with her daughter, Berthalinda Hernandez, 6, at their home in San Diego on Aug. 7, 2024. Photo by Zoë Meyers for CalMatters To address the state’s high cost of living and looming teacher shortage, California’s schools chief Tony Thurmond laid out an ambitious plan in July to develop more housing for teachers using land owned by school districts. While some teachers have benefited greatly from similar housing projects, some superintendents remain wary, writes CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones. Thurmond’s plan includes financial incentives for districts that pass bonds to build staff housing. But many districts can’t even pass bonds to repair existing school buildings. Some superintendents also say they’re already spread too thin — to expect them to undertake complex real estate projects is a tall ask. Mendocino County Superintendent Nicole Glentzer: “When you’re the superintendent and the principal and head of maintenance and you’re teaching Spanish, how are you supposed to find the bandwidth for this? I have a degree in education. I never took a real estate course.” But supporters of the plan point to teachers such as Carolina Sanchez Garcia, a San Diego preschool teacher. For more than a decade, she said she commuted from Tijuana, waking up at 2 a.m. to get to work on time. After landing a three-bedroom apartment through San Diego Unified, it now takes her 15 minutes to get to work. She pays $1,300 a month in a city where the median rent is $3,156 a month. Garcia: “It’s changed my life. … It’s made me a better mother and a better teacher. Now, I start my day feeling positive and energized.” Learn more about affordable housing for teachers in Carolyn’s story. California Voices CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Gov. Newsom is quick to blame local governments for not doing enough to reduce homelessness, but experts and local officials say withholding state funds is the biggest impediment. California Voices intern Kate McQuarrie: Seven years after the #MeToo movement galvanized women in the state Legislature, accusations of sexual assault within the San Francisco Democratic Party underscore how prevalent sexual misconduct remains in California politics. Other things worth your time: Some stories may require a subscription to read. CA Legislature passes bills to curb retail theft // Los Angeles TimesDemocrats strip party switcher Alvarado-Gil of leadership, committee posts // KCRA Sen. Atkins, 2026 candidate for governor, missed retail theft bill votes // The Sacramento Bee Environmental justice cause is drawing Harris both cheers and attacks // Politico New CA laws take effect as the school year begins // EdSource Widely felt 4.4 earthquake rattles Los Angeles // Los Angeles Times CA’s oldest family-owned rice farm is closing // San Francisco Chronicle Fentanyl is getting weaker, making users more desperate // The San Francisco Standard Where LA stands on key transit projects for 2028 Olympics LAist Golden Gate Bridge protesters surrender to face controversial charges // KQED
It’s one of the battles within California’s ballot measure wars: The wording that voters see about the propositions. Monday marked the end of the public inspection period for the state’s official Voter Guide, so there was a flurry of activity. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association was waiting to hear Monday night what a state appeals […]
It’s one of the battles within California’s ballot measure wars: The wording that voters see about the propositions.
Monday marked the end of the public inspection period for the state’s official Voter Guide, so there was a flurry of activity.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association was waiting to hear Monday night what a state appeals court decided on a Sacramento County judge’s ruling that the ballot label for Proposition 5 needed to be rewritten.
Critics have long complained that the state’s elected attorney general — they’ve all been Democrats since 1999 — skews the label, title and summary of ballot measures to match their political preferences.
The taxpayers association argued that the Prop. 5 label should say that it would lower the majority required to approve local borrowing measures from two-thirds to 55%. The original label — a condensed version of the title and summary — only included the 55% figure, so voters might believe that the threshold is being raised from a simple majority, the taxpayer group says.
The ruling last week, which the attorney general’s office appealed, found that the label “fails to inform” voters the main purpose of Prop. 5, and that without “additional clarifying language,” the label could mislead voters. (Labels are allowed to run 75 words long and Prop. 5’s label is 65 words.)
Laura Dougherty, the association’s director of legal affairs, said in an email to CalMatters that the attorney general “has a duty to inform the public of the chief points and purposes of every measure” and that “there are plenty of words left for the printer to add the information.”
In his appeal, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the office is afforded “substantial deference” in determining ballot labels. Not only is Prop. 5’s label accurate, Bonta argued, but also that the court “seemingly invented a new” standard of review that granted his ballot materials less consideration “if he does not use all available words.”
Rent control: It’s not just the title and summary: Supporters and opponents can also go to court about the official ballot arguments. The same judge on Monday found that four of the six statements made by the California Apartment Association about Prop. 33, a rent-control measure that the association opposes, must be deleted or amended. The court order called for language that hedges the association’s claims: For example, its argument must say Prop. 33 would “weaken,” not “repeal” renter protections, and “undermines,” not “eliminates” a statewide rent control law.
School bond: There’s another battle brewing, this one on Prop. 2, which would let the state borrow $10 billion to fix and build schools and community colleges. The state Republican Party is weighing whether to endorse it, and a recommendation for “yes” from the party’s 14-member Initiatives Committee is drawing fire from California College Republicans and some Republican legislators.
The college group says Prop. 2 violates the party platform and also points out that the state party had a neutral position on Prop. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health measure on the March ballot that included $6.4 billion in bonds — and that barely passed. (The state Democratic Party is supporting Prop. 2.)
GOP delegates can reject the committee’s recommendation with a two-thirds majority and have until Aug. 28 to vote.
- Ellie Hockenbury, California GOP spokesperson: “The CAGOP’s ballot initiative endorsement process is still underway, and we have not yet taken a position on Proposition 2. The party greatly respects our delegates and values their opinion as part of that process.”
November election: Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote.
More honors: Sisi Wei, now chief impact officer at CalMatters, won the leadership in diversity and solidarity award from the Asian American Journalists Association for her work as editor in chief of The Markup, which joined CalMatters earlier this year. Speaking of the AAJA, it partnered with CalMatters for the second year of JCal, a summer training program for high school journalists. Read more on both from our engagement team.
CalMatters covers the Capitol: We have guides and stories to keep track of bills and your lawmakers; find out how well legislators are representing you; explore the Legislature’s record diversity; and to make your voice heard.
Other Stories You Should Know
Time is short on insurance fix
From CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay:
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara bypassed the Legislature and announced changes that could mean insurance companies’ requests to raise premiums would get approved more quickly.
As the state scrambles to deal with problems with property insurance availability and affordability, a planned trailer bill by Gov. Newsom proposed speeding up insurance rate reviews to get insurance companies to start or resume writing more policies here. (Trailer bills are attached to the state budget, and sometimes change policy with minimal public discussion.)
But apparently even this shortcut was not fast enough: On Friday, the Insurance Department and the governor’s office said they needed to act immediately, so Lara issued a bulletin that does the same thing as the trailer bill. “We do not have the luxury of time,” Lara said in a press release.
The Legislature actually took no action on the trailer bill, according to two sources familiar with the matter. They said the proposal was more about policy and not about the budget, so lawmakers — who are having to make difficult choices as they deal with a multibillion-dollar deficit — didn’t even consider it.
Democratic Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa did not seem to mind that Lara issued a bulletin instead. “The importance is intensifying as wildfires continue to take lives, destroy homes, and level communities,” he said in a statement.
The changes Lara announced in the bulletin establishes a tighter timeline for rate reviews and are one part of his broader plan to try to fix the state’s insurance woes. The Insurance Department must respond within 60 days of a rate review, with room for two 30-day extensions, once its new rate-reconciliation tool that will help with the process is up and running. This is expected to be in January, according to department spokesperson Michael Soller. Insurance companies have complained about rate reviews taking too long, so some representatives of the insurance industry have said the changes are necessary.
But Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that often challenges rate reviews, is looking into the commissioner’s authority to make such changes. Carmen Balber, the group’s executive director, told CalMatters the stricter timelines for rate reviews might “limit consumers’ voice in oversight.”
Speaking of insurance: Rising insurance costs don’t just impact single-family homeowners. Levi dives into how insurance companies have nearly stopped writing policies for apartment and commercial properties, too. And landlords could pass higher insurance premiums onto tenants, further worsening the state’s housing crunch.
Uwe Karbenk, a landlord who co-owns a building in San Bernardino, said soaring premiums are especially hard for mom-and-pop landlords. Landlords are already limited by state laws over how much they’re allowed to raise rent each year, and another rent-control measure is on the Nov. 5 ballot. To be a landlord in the state is like “death by a thousand cuts,” said Karbenk.
Read more about the impact of rising insurance costs in Levi’s story.
Should CA schools build housing?
To address the state’s high cost of living and looming teacher shortage, California’s schools chief Tony Thurmond laid out an ambitious plan in July to develop more housing for teachers using land owned by school districts.
While some teachers have benefited greatly from similar housing projects, some superintendents remain wary, writes CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones.
Thurmond’s plan includes financial incentives for districts that pass bonds to build staff housing. But many districts can’t even pass bonds to repair existing school buildings. Some superintendents also say they’re already spread too thin — to expect them to undertake complex real estate projects is a tall ask.
- Mendocino County Superintendent Nicole Glentzer: “When you’re the superintendent and the principal and head of maintenance and you’re teaching Spanish, how are you supposed to find the bandwidth for this? I have a degree in education. I never took a real estate course.”
But supporters of the plan point to teachers such as Carolina Sanchez Garcia, a San Diego preschool teacher. For more than a decade, she said she commuted from Tijuana, waking up at 2 a.m. to get to work on time. After landing a three-bedroom apartment through San Diego Unified, it now takes her 15 minutes to get to work. She pays $1,300 a month in a city where the median rent is $3,156 a month.
- Garcia: “It’s changed my life. … It’s made me a better mother and a better teacher. Now, I start my day feeling positive and energized.”
Learn more about affordable housing for teachers in Carolyn’s story.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Gov. Newsom is quick to blame local governments for not doing enough to reduce homelessness, but experts and local officials say withholding state funds is the biggest impediment.
California Voices intern Kate McQuarrie: Seven years after the #MeToo movement galvanized women in the state Legislature, accusations of sexual assault within the San Francisco Democratic Party underscore how prevalent sexual misconduct remains in California politics.
Other things worth your time:
Some stories may require a subscription to read.
CA Legislature passes bills to curb retail theft // Los Angeles Times
Democrats strip party switcher Alvarado-Gil of leadership, committee posts // KCRA
Sen. Atkins, 2026 candidate for governor, missed retail theft bill votes // The Sacramento Bee
Environmental justice cause is drawing Harris both cheers and attacks // Politico
New CA laws take effect as the school year begins // EdSource
Widely felt 4.4 earthquake rattles Los Angeles // Los Angeles Times
CA’s oldest family-owned rice farm is closing // San Francisco Chronicle
Fentanyl is getting weaker, making users more desperate // The San Francisco Standard
Where LA stands on key transit projects for 2028 Olympics LAist
Golden Gate Bridge protesters surrender to face controversial charges // KQED