FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2024
New Measure Eligible for California's November 2024 Ballot
Provides Permanent Funding for Medi-Cal Health Care Services.
Initiative Statute.
Sacramento, Calif. – Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. announced that an initiative became eligible for the November 5, 2024, General Election ballot on June 4, 2024.
In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 546,651 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election.
A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 601,317 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.
On June 27, 2024, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 5, 2024, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the measure is as follows:
PROVIDES PERMANENT FUNDING FOR MEDI-CAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Makes permanent the existing tax on managed health care insurance plans, currently set to expire in 2026, which the state uses to pay for health care services for low-income families with children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other groups covered by the Medi-Cal program. Requires revenues to be used only for specified Medi-Cal services, including primary and specialty care, emergency care, family planning, mental health, and prescription drugs. Prohibits revenues from being used to replace other existing Medi-Cal funding. Caps administrative expenses and requires independent audits of programs receiving funding. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Uncertain overall impact on state revenues and spending, including reduced legislative flexibility over the use of MCO tax funds. The extent of this impact depends on whether the measure would result in different state decisions around imposing, structuring, and spending proceeds from the managed care organization tax than in the absence of the measure. (23-0024A1.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1966 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0024A1.
The proponents of the measure are Christina Orr, Dustin Corcoran, and Jodi Hicks. They can be reached c/o Kurt R. Oneto, Nielsen Merksamer LLP, at (916) 446-6752 and koneto@nmgovlaw.com. The address for Nielsen Merksamer LLP is 1415 L Street, Suite 1200, Sacramento, CA 95814.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/.
