PROP 19 — DID NOT PASS
Owning any amount of marijuana for personal use remains illegal, though medicinal use is still permitted. This means that, although cannabis use is prevalent in California, the state government, and by extent, the UC system, cannot tax the state’s biggest cash crop.
PROP 20 — PASSED
The power to reconfigure voting districts has moved from the Legislature to the Citizens Redistricting Commission. This commission comprises Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The aim of Proposition 20 is to eliminate gerrymandering, the practice of drawing voting districts specifically designed to favor certain candidates. The proposition’s passing has no significant effect on the state budget.
PROP 21 — DID NOT PASS
Vehicle registration fees will remain the same, and state parks and beaches will not receive the extra funding they need. However, the state will continue spending about $200 million a year to maintain the parks.
PROP 22 — PASSED
There is now a stricter hold on money intended for transportation services. Whereas before, legislators had the power to repurpose the money for education if they felt it necessary, that flexibility no longer exists. This means that receiving adequate funding for the UC could be even harder.
PROP 23 — DID NOT PASS
Voters preserved AB 32, a law passed by the state legislature in 2006 aimed at reducing greenhouse gases by charging companies that emit them. This means that California will remain among the states with the most progressive environmental policy in the country.
PROP 24 — DID NOT PASS
The failure of the proposition maintains current tax laws that allow businesses to use their losses to reduce taxable profits and transfer tax credits to a partner business are two of the recent changes. Businesses operating in more than one state will continue to decide how they are taxed in California.
PROP 25 — PASSED
This proposition will lower the vote needed to pass the state budget from the current two-thirds to a simple majority, 50 percent plus one. State lawmakers will permanently lose salary plus living and travel expenses for every day the budget is late. This will stop opposition-party lawmakers from controlling the budget. The proposition does not change the two-thirds vote required for lawmakers to raise taxes.
PROP 26 — PASSED
Many state and local fees will now require a two-thirds vote from lawmakers or local voters to go into effect. Affected fees include those regarding health, environmental and economic concerns. Before the proposition passed, politicians could avoid the required two-thirds vote on taxes by calling them “fees.” Enacting the proposition will close that loophole. The proposition keeps state environmental and consumer protection laws intact.
PROP 27 — DID NOT PASS
The job of drawing districts for state offices will remain in the hands of the Citizens Redistricting Commission. In 2008, Propositon 11 created the commission to establish new guidelines for drawing district maps. Proposition 27 would have undone this change. The failure of the proposition means that savings in redistricting costs will not result.
