8 Measures Expected to Appear on Nov. 8 Special Election Ballot
The Nov. 8 special election is expected to feature eight measures that have qualified for the ballot or are likely to qualify in the coming weeks. Here are the titles of the initiatives and an analysis of what they would do:
Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. Waiting Period and Parental Notification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. (qualified for ballot)
The measure would ban abortions for unmarried girls 17 or under until 48 hours after a parent or legal guardian was notified. It would permit judges to waive the waiting period if it was in the girl's best interest. It would require doctors to report all abortions performed on minors. This initiative, backed by the "Life on the Ballot" organization, is the wild card on the special election ballot. It qualified after a low-key, low-cost signature campaign that steered clear of the governor's initiative push. But pro-choice and anti-abortion groups will now square off in a high-stakes contest that could overshadow other ballot issues.
Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions. Initiative Statute. (qualified for ballot)
The initiative would ban public employee unions from using dues for political contributions unless the workers provided written consent each year. The initiative is a scaled-down version of 1998's Proposition 226, which would have required all unions in the state to get their members' signed consent before using dues money for political purposes. That measure was defeated after unions across the country spent more than $17 million to defeat it. If the initiative passes, it would be much harder for unions representing teachers, firefighters, prison guards and other public workers to make the contributions, mostly to Democrats, that have made them a growing political power in the state.
Reapportionment. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. (qualified for ballot)
The initiative would take the power to draw new political districts for the state's congressional, state Assembly, Senate and Board of Equalization seats from the Legislature and give it to a panel of retired judges. The judges would be asked to design districts that preserved cities, counties and "communities of interests" and ignored any political considerations. It would require an immediate reapportionment. The redistricting initiative is one of three backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who says it's needed to provide more competitive political contests that give voters a wider choice of representatives. A nonpolitical reapportionment process could scramble the political scene, because the current districts were designed to protect incumbents of both parties.
School Funding. State Spending. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. (qualified for ballot)
This measure would limit state spending to the previous year's spending plus the average revenue growth over the previous three years. Exceptions could be made in times of an emergency. Any money the state took in over the spending limit could be used to build up a reserve or to pay off debts. It could also be put into a school and transportation construction fund. At the end of every quarter, the governor could determine whether revenues were falling short of what the state took in the previous year and declare a fiscal emergency. Lawmakers would then have up to 45 days to fix the imbalance. If they could not reach an agreement, the governor could make unilateral cuts to any program -- including education funding -- not required by federal law.
Teacher Tenure: Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. Dismissal. Initiative Statute. (qualified for ballot)
This initiative would lengthen the time teachers must be in the classroom before becoming a permanent employee from two to five complete consecutive school years. The change would be retroactive to teachers who began their probationary period during or after the 2003-04 fiscal year and would apply to school districts with more than 250 students. A teacher in the probationary period could be fired at any time. In addition, school boards would be authorized to dismiss a permanent teacher who got two consecutive unsatisfactory performance evaluations.
Prescription Drug Discounts. State-Negotiated Rebates. Initiative Statute. (Signatures submitted, but not yet qualified for the ballot)
This initiative would require the state to administer a program that would give poor Californians access to cheaper prescription drugs. It is sponsored by a coalition opposed to Schwarzenegger and a health-care policy group frustrated that the governor vetoed a bill last year that would have given poor Californians access to cheaper drugs. Currently, the state negotiates with drug companies for cheaper prices for the state's Medi-Cal and Healthy Family programs to provide benefits for the state's poor children and the elderly. The measure would allow anyone who earns less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level -- up to $37,000 for an individual or $75,000 for a family of four -- to join a new state program that would provide access to cheaper drugs. The cost to set up such a broad program could be tens of millions of dollars annually, according to a review by the nonpartisan legislative analyst's office.
Prescription Drugs. Discounts. Initiative Statute. (Signatures submitted, but not yet qualified for the ballot)
This initiative, sponsored the by pharmaceutical industry, would provide cheaper drugs to poor residents through voluntary discounts provided by drug companies. It is similar to legislation introduced this year by Schwarzenegger that has been rejected by Democrats in the Legislature. Residents would have to pay a $15 fee annually and, if qualified, would have access to cheaper rates negotiated by the state. The negotiation on the part of the drug companies would be voluntary, and there would be no penalty if they did not participate in the program. The legislative analyst says this program could also cost the state tens of millions of dollars annually. Opponents say the program will reach just a fraction of the millions of Californians who struggle to afford prescription drugs. But drug company officials say the measure balances the needs of patients and the ability of companies to continue to research new and better drugs.
Electric Service Providers. Regulation. Initiative Statute. (Signatures submitted, but not yet qualified for ballot)
The initiative would reregulate California's electricity providers, putting them under the control of the state Public Utilities Commission. It would block customers from leaving utilities to buy power from other providers and would require all electric companies to provide 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2010, instead of the current 2017.