Why CA November ballot keeps changing

Coming out of the March primary, it appeared that California’s November ballot could be crowded with more than a dozen propositions, if not more.

But as of Thursday night, the Nov. 5 ballot was down to nine measures, the Secretary of State’s office announced. Then again, that number could still increase by next week, with lawmakers extending the deadline to possibly add two bond issues and a couple of other measures, CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff explains.

Why all the changes?

A bushel of proposed initiatives didn’t get enough signatures. The state Supreme Court nixed an anti-tax measure last week. And this week, proponents made deals with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders and withdrew several more measures, including two on health care and another on financial literacy. 

As Alexei reports, it’s the most liberal use of a 2014 law that allows such late deal-making on ballot measures — and it’s happening against a backdrop of Democratic anxiety over voter turnout and campaign resources for the election.

In addition, the Legislature passed a law last year extending that negotiating to referendums to overturn existing laws. It was immediately used to pull a fast food industry referendum off this November’s ballot. 

And it was used again this week for the oil industry to withdraw its referendum to kill a ban on drilling near homes, schools and other sensitive areas. As CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart explains, despite pouring $20 million to put the measure on the ballot, oil companies plan to challenge the law in court instead. 

They also struck a deal with Assemblymember Isaac Bryan: The Culver City Democrat limited his Assembly Bill 2716 to require low-producing wells near neighborhoods to be plugged or abandoned just to Inglewood Oil Field in his district. 

• Bryan: “The ballot is often weaponized by those who are losing touch with both the people of California and the people’s representatives. That’s where we’re stepping in.”

Under the targeted law, operators of existing wells within these sensitive areas must develop safety plans by 2025. More than 2.5 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an oil or gas well, in communities that are predominantly low-income and non-white. Read more on what happens to these oil wells in Julie’s story. 

The Legislature did add a measure Thursday: A constitutional amendment to limit forced labor in state prisons, reports CalMatters news intern Shaanth Nanguneri. Indentured servitude in prisons is considered one of the last remnants of slavery, and ending the practice is a priority for the California Black Legislative Caucus, which included the proposed amendment in its reparations bill package. 

The measure enables prisoners to volunteer for work assignments and prohibits prisons from forcing inmates to work. Currently, prisoners can earn a maximum of $0.74 an hour. 

• Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and author of the bill: “Let us take this step to restore some dignity and humanity and prioritize rehabilitative services for the often forgotten individuals behind bars.” 

Read more on what voters will be deciding on this issue in Shaanth’s story.

And catch up on all the changes to the November ballot in Alexei’s roundup.

After the Watergate scandal, California voters passed the 1974 Political Reform Act, forcing elected officials to disclose more about their finances. But as the decades pass, political reform groups are divided on whether the law goes far enough, writes CalMatters data reporter Jeremia Kimelman.

While legislators must disclose ownership of stocks, business holdings and income-producing property, they only report in wide ranges of value. Bob Stern, a co-author of the law, now says he’d push for more detail: “If you have somebody who’s worth a billion dollars, versus somebody who’s worth $100 million, that probably is important for the public to know.”

In an analysis of current legislators’ stock brokerage accounts, Jeremia found that they were worth a total between nearly $16 million and $112 million last year, and the median portfolio was valued between $81,005 and $660,000. Nearly 70% of California’s 120 lawmakers, however, reported no investments. 

Learn more about these stock investments in Jeremia’s story — including the most common stock legislators owned (hint: it’s a California company).

In other legislative action:

Drama on LGBTQ bill: There was a floor fight, almost literally, before the Assembly sent Gov. Newsom a bill that would prohibit school districts from enacting policies requiring faculty to notify parents if their child identifies as LGBTQ or non-binary. The conflict arose between Riverside Republican Bill Essayli, a proponent of parental notification policies, and Moreno Valley Democrat Corey Jackson, a co-author of the bill and member of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. 

At one point as Essayli spoke, Jackson said “you better watch yourself” and was restrained by colleagues, who then stood in a wall between the two. Later, San Diego Assemblymember Chris Ward, the bill’s author, delivered closing remarks surrounded by Democratic colleagues in support. 

Media money: Legislators revived a bill Thursday to raise $500 million a year for newsrooms by taxing big tech companies such as Google and Meta. The Senate approved SB 1327 with a two-thirds majority — and with an Assembly journalism funding measure also advancing, that could give legislators some leverage.

Sen. Steve Glazer, the bill’s author, told CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff that he’s open to making a deal with the tech platforms, but they have not made any serious offers. 

• Glazer, an Orinda Democrat, on the bill’s passage: “It’s a resounding acknowledgement of the damage that’s been caused by the hollowing out of these newsrooms.”

CalMatters reporters are covering education in California at all levels — from K-12 through college graduation: 

Tracking discrimination: California’s Department of Education and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California have reached a settlement to ensure that school districts will be more proactive in tracking and curbing discrimination, writes CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones. The agreement calls for monitoring schools to examine whether they discriminate against Black students, English learners and students with disabilities. But the mother whose child was at the center of the 2021 lawsuit that led to the settlement argues it does not go far enough: “What’s the follow-up? How does the next generation of kids not go through the same thing my daughter went through?” she said. Read more about the settlement in Carolyn’s story.

Financial aid marketing: For California’s Student Aid Commission, offering students money to go to college is harder than it looks, explains CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn. With more than a quarter of high school seniors not applying last year for college financial aid, the commission conducted focus groups and surveys to learn how to more effectively market to students and their parents. Among its findings: Avoid too-good-to-be-true phrases like “free money;” images of coins or bags read like a scam; and casual, low-production videos resonate more with students. Read more about the financial aid campaign in Mikhail’s story.

Entering the workforce: For the class of 2024, their college experience was unlike any other: Many of these students graduated high school during the pandemic and attended college classes virtually on Zoom. Now, an uncertain labor market awaits after graduation. Reporters from CalMatters’ College Journalism Network spoke to five recent college graduates — including an Army veteran, a creative writing major contemplating graduate school and an Oakland mother who immigrated from Vietnam — to get a sense of what it’s like to enter today’s workforce. Read more about their experiences.

California is already facing a very active wildfire season. CalMatters has a wildfire tracker for live updates, and reporter Julie Cart has an updated explainer. Now she and producer Robert Meeks have a video version. Watch it here.

The segment is part of SoCalMatters, which airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal and is available on YouTube.