GOVERNMENT RELATIONS An Early Look at Next Year’s Ballot

By Dave Ackerman If you think some of the laws the legis-

lature passes are strange – then take a look at some of the initiatives being proposed for the 2016 June and November statewide ballots. Even though the 2016 elections are

about a year away, efforts are already un- derway to qualify dozens of measures to put before voters. As a voter, this could be your chance to take the place of your legis- lature to determine what new laws should or should not govern California. As you will see in the following, the

ideas for new laws range from the legaliza- tion of marijuana to the repeal of the ban on plastic bags. Several other measures are somewhat laughable, but

their sponsors

appear to be serious in their intent. To make it onto the ballot as an initia-

tive, valid signatures must be collected from registered voters. To enact or amend a state statute, 365,880 signatures are re-

quired. To go a step higher and amend the California Constitution, 585,407 valid sig- natures are required. The June primary ballot already has a

measure enacted by the legislature that was the result of three Senate indictments in 2014. This measure will expressly per- mit the legislature to suspend a current member and require forfeiture of pay and benefits of the legislator accused of wrong- doing. The November ballot looks like it may

be crowded with several significant mea- sures depending on how the collection of signatures goes. The legislature has already placed one measure on the November bal- lot to amend and repeal various provisions of Proposition 227 of 1998, including re- pealing the requirement that all children be taught English by being taught in Eng- lish and instead allows school districts to determine the best language instruction methods to implement.

Measures that appear to have already qualified for the November Ballot include: School Bonds. Funding for K-12

School and Community College Facilities. The California Building Industry Associa- tion is in the final stages of collecting the necessary signatures to place a $9 billion school bond on the ballot. Reuseable Plastic Bags. A mea-

sure to repeal the law banning reusable plastic bags is undergoing the final signa- ture check. Hospital Fees. An initiative to in-

crease the required vote to two-thirds for the legislature to amend a certain existing law that imposes fees on hospitals for the purpose of obtaining federal Medi-Cal matching.

Still Collecting Signatures Those people outside Walmart or Home

Depot standing behind ironing boards are still gathering signatures for more than 30

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6 September/October 2015

 Legislative Update Record Keeping  Prevailing Wage Advanced Mechanics Liens

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