FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2023

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

 Limits State’s Ability to Set Statewide Land-Use and Housing Policy.
Initiative Constitutional Amendment

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponents of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on September 18, 2023.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponents and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponents and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

LIMITS STATE’S ABILITY TO SET STATEWIDE LAND-USE AND HOUSING POLICY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Provides that local laws automatically override conflicting state land-use and zoning laws (including affordable housing laws), unless such state laws address specified statewide concerns. For state laws enacted after 2016 to prevail over local laws, they must include specific findings of statewide concern, which may require recent laws to be re-enacted or amended. Prohibits state from changing, granting, or denying funding to local governments based on their implementation of this measure. Repeals Article XXXIV of the California Constitution, which requires local voter approval for publicly funded low-rent housing projects. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Fiscal effects of the measure depend on future decisions by the cities and counties and therefore are unknown. (23-0011.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1953 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0011.

The proponents of the measure, John Heath, Peggy Huang, Jovita Mendoza, Dennis Richards, Susan Candell, Anita Enander, and Kalimah Priforce, must collect signatures of 874,641 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than March 18, 2024. The contact information for the proponents is c/o Amber Maltbie, amaltbie@nossaman.com, and (213) 612-7800.

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