AP16:086
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2016
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
New Measure Eligible for California's November 2016 Ballot
Carry-Out Bags. Charges. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced that an initiative is eligible for the November 8, 2016, General Election ballot.
In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 365,880 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 General Election.
An initiative 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 initiative needed at least 402,468 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold today.
On June 30, 2016, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 8, 2016 General Election ballot, unless the proponent withdraws the initiative prior to that date pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the initiative is as follows:
CARRY-OUT BAGS. CHARGES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Redirects money collected by grocery and certain other retail stores through sale of carry-out bags, whenever any state law bans free distribution of a particular kind of carry-out bag and mandates the sale of any other kind of carry-out bag. Requires stores to deposit bag sale proceeds into a special fund administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board to support specified categories of environmental projects. Provides for Board to develop regulations implementing law. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: If voters uphold the state’s current carryout bag law, redirected revenues from retailers to the state, potentially in the several tens of millions of dollars annually. Revenues would be used for grants for certain environmental and natural resources purposes. If voters reject the state’s current carryout bag law, likely minor fiscal effects. (15-0074.)
The proponent of this initiative is Doyle L. Johnson. The proponent can be reached c/o Kurt Oneto at (916) 446-6752.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/
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