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Tenth Measure Qualifies for November California Ballot

SACRAMENTO - California Secretary of State Debra Bowen today certified a tenth measure for the November 6, 2012, General Election ballot. The measure, which would temporarily increase taxes, joins nine other measures already on the November ballot:

• A water bond measure, which was placed on the ballot by the Legislature;
• A political contribution measure, which qualified through the initiative process;
• An auto insurance measure, which qualified through the initiative process;
• A measure to repeal the State Senate District maps, which qualified through the referendum process;
• A measure to repeal the death penalty, which qualified through the initiative process;
• A measure to increase criminal penalties for human trafficking, which qualified through the initiative process;
• A measure to revise the three strikes law, which qualified through the initiative process;
• A measure requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods, which qualified through the initiative process; and
• A temporary tax measure, which qualified through the initiative process.

In order to qualify for the ballot, the tax for education and early childhood programs initiative needed 504,760 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2010 gubernatorial election. A measure can qualify via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects a number of valid signatures greater than 110 percent of the required number. The temporary tax initiative needed at least 555,236 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold today.

County elections officials have 30 working days to verify the validity of the signatures filed with their offices using a random sampling method. The state Elections Code requires county elections officials to verify 500 signatures or three percent of the number of signatures filed in the county, whichever is greater. Counties receiving fewer than 500 petition signatures are required to verify all the signatures filed in their elections offices.

The Attorney General's official title and summary of the initiative is as follows:

TAX FOR EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Increases personal income tax rates for annual earnings over $7,316 using sliding scale from .4% for lowest individual earners to 2.2% for individuals earning over $2.5 million, ending after twelve years. During first four years, 60% of revenues go to K-12 schools, 30% to repaying state debt, and 10% to early childhood programs. Thereafter, allocates 85% of revenues to K-12 schools, 15% to early childhood programs. Provides K-12 funds on schoolspecific, per-pupil basis, subject to local control, audits, and public input. Prohibits state from directing or using new funds. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state personal income tax revenues beginning in 2013 and ending in 2024. Estimates of the revenue increases vary from $10 billion to $11 billion per fiscal year beginning in 2013-14, tending to increase over time. The 2012-13 revenue increase would be about half this amount. Until the end of 2016-17, 60 percent of revenues would be dedicated to K-12 education and 10 percent would be provided to early care and education programs. These allocations would supplement existing funding for these programs. In 2017-18 and subsequent years, 85 percent would be provided to K-12 education and 15 percent to early care and education. General Fund savings on debt-service costs of about $1.5 billion in 2012-13 and $3 billion in 2013-14, with savings tending to grow thereafter until the end of 2016-17. In 2015-16 and subsequent years with stronger growth in state personal income tax revenues, some of the revenues raised by this measure—several hundred million dollars per year—would be used for debt-service costs, resulting in state savings. (11-0100)

The proponents of this initiative, Molly Munger, Roberta B. Johansen and James C. Harrison, can be reached at (510) 346-6200.

For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, go to www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-to-qualify-an-initiative.htm.

Keep up with the latest California election news and trivia by following @CASOSvote on Twitter. To sign up for ballot measure updates via email, RSS feed or Twitter, go to www.sos.ca.gov/multimedia.

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