With the 2020 Presidential Election approaching in nine months, residents will also be voting on crucial nationwide legislation. After more than 24 ballot application submissions for proposed campaigns, only four have been qualified and passed in the State of California as Nov. 3, 2019.
Considering that 21 proposition measures were at some level of review and then denied by the Senate, it is looking scarce for California’s voting ballot. Some proposed ballot measures include Proposition 57 Prisoner Parole, Proposition 13 Commercial property tax, and Proposition 10 Rent Control.
The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act known as Proposition 57, if passed will allow nonviolent offenders who have served their full sentence to be released based on their original offense. This also permits the parole board to negotiate parole status based on good behavior and positive rehabilitation for non-violent offenders, explained by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Proposition 13 is a Tax reform that establishes a yearly based value for all properties and exempts commercial properties. Under Prop. 13, the property is assessed for tax purposes only when it changes ownership.
“As long as the property is not sold, future increases in assessed value are limited to an annual inflation factor of no more than 2%” according to California Tax Data.
With Proposition 10 pertains to rent control in California. This measure permits local governments to implement rent control for housing units, that is in opposition to the Costa-Hawkins Housing Act from 1995. The outdated act allows landlords to increase rent prices with no regulations to meet market rates.
“California is one of 16 states that requires a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot” according to Ballotpedia.
In other words, there are two approaches in which a proposition can be approved and put on the ballot which is 2/3rds of the voters in that jurisdiction must agree, or if the citizens fighting for the approval of the proposition collect enough signatures from which is called the ‘Initiative Process’.
Propositions can often be complex for voters who may not understand components and overall intent of the legislation. Paid advertisements on the television and radio also can create a point of confusion, after all, measures cover many topics from schools, community, funding, government systems, and transportation. Staying up to date and informed on the propositions is what will result in a progressed voting election within the States.