California Watch: 2020 November Ballot Initiatives

Michael D. TannerCalifornia ’s ballot measures can be more than a little confusing. Commonly referred to by their numbers, and sometimes referencing previous propositions, even knowledgeable voters can be forgiven for having trouble keeping track of which proposition does what. Take this year ’s Prop. 15, for instance: it would roll back 1978’s Prop. 13, which limited property taxes, and which is unrelated to March 2020’s Prop. 13, which would have authorized the state to issue bonds for schools. Some propositions are quite obscure: this year’s Prop. 23 deals with regulations for kidney dialysis clinics, and – believe it or not – this is the second time in two years that California voters will decide on an initiative about that industry.There are, however, several measures on the November ballot that have direct implications on the work we ’re doing at the Cato Project on Poverty and Inequality in California. Specifically, some of the measures relate to our work on housing, criminal justice, and economic inclusion issues. California’s ballot measures provide a unique insight into how voters in the Golden State are thinking about policy issues. It is no exaggeration to say that California ’s ballot measures sometimes set the agenda for nationwide debates, as Prop. 13 did for the nationwidetax revolt. With this in mind, we have compiled an overview here of a few initiatives that are of particular interest to Cato ’s Project on Poverty and In...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs