The document summarizes 16 California ballot propositions that will be voted on in the November 2016 election. It provides brief descriptions of each proposition, including proposals relating to school bonds, healthcare funding, criminal justice reforms, firearms regulations, marijuana legalization, death penalty reforms, and more. Historical data on statewide and local voter registration trends from 1991 to 2016 is also presented.

1. CCCA Fall Conference
Election Updates & Analysis
September 10, 2016
By James R. Bozajian
Mayor, City of Calabasas

2. Proposition 51
School Bonds. Funding for K-12 School and
Community College Facilities.
• Authorizes $9 billion in general obligation bonds for
the construction and modernization of K-12 public
school facilities, charter schools and vocational
education facilities, and community college
facilities.

3. Proposition 52
Medi-Cal Hospital Fee Program.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Extends indefinitely an existing statute (otherwise
set to expire 1-1-18) that imposes fees on private
hospitals to fund Medi-Cal health care services, care
for uninsured patients, and children’s health
coverage.

4. Proposition 53
Revenue Bonds. Statewide Voter Approval.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Requires statewide voter approval before any revenue
bonds can be issued or sold by the State for certain
projects, if the bond amount exceeds $2 billion.
• Applies to projects that are funded, owned, or managed
(in whole or in part) by the State.
• Prohibits dividing projects into multiple separate projects
to avoid the statewide voter approval requirement.

5. Proposition 54
Legislature. Legislation and Proceedings.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Except in cases of public emergency, prohibits the State Legislature from
passing any bill unless it is provided to legislators and published on the
Internet for at least 72 hours before the vote.
• Applies to changes/alternations to an existing bill.
• Requires the Legislature to record its public proceedings and post them on
the Internet, except for closed session.
• Authorizes any person to record legislative proceedings by audio or video
means, except for closed session.
• Allows recordings of legislative proceedings to be used for any legitimate
purpose, without payment of any fees to the State.

6. Proposition 55
Tax Extension to Fund Education and Healthcare.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Extends by 12 years (through 2030) the temporary
personal income tax increases enacted in 2012 (and
otherwise set to expire after 2018) on earnings over
$250,000.
• Allocates revenues to K-12 public schools,
community colleges, and health care programs.

7. Proposition 56
Cigarette Tax to Fund Healthcare, Tobacco Use
Prevention, Research, and Law Enforcement.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Increases the cigarette tax by $2 per pack (e.g., from $0.87
to $2.87), with equivalent increases on other tobacco
products and electronic cigarettes containing nicotine.
• Revenues would be used primarily to augment spending
for health care for low-income Californians, tobacco use
prevention/control programs, and tobacco-related disease
research/law enforcement.

8. Proposition 57
Criminal Sentences. Parole. Juvenile Criminal
Proceedings and Sentencing.
• Constitutional amendment.
• Allows earlier parole consideration for certain non-violent
felons.
• Authorizes additional sentence credits for rehabilitation,
good behavior, and/or educational achievements.
• Provides juvenile court judges with sole discretion to decide
whether juveniles should be prosecuted as adults.

9. Proposition 58
English Proficiency. Multilingual Education.
• Preserves the requirement that public schools ensure
students obtain English language proficiency.
• Requires school districts to solicit parent and community
input in developing language acquisition programs.
• Eliminates the requirement that schools teach English
learners in English-only programs. Instead, schools could
teach their English learners by using a variety of programs,
including bilingual programs.

10. Proposition 58
English Proficiency. Multilingual Education.
• Authorizes school districts to establish dual-
language immersion programs for both native and
non-native English speakers.
• Allows parents/legal guardians of students to select
an available language acquisition program for their
children.

11. Proposition 59
Corporations. Political Spending.
Federal Constitutional Protections.
Legislative Advisory Question.
• Advisory measure only.
• Asks voters whether California’s elected officials should use
their authority to propose and ratify an amendment to the
U.S. Constitution overturning Citizens United v. Federal
Election Commission (2010), which ruled that laws placing
certain limits on political spending by corporations and
unions are unconstitutional.
• No direct impact on California law.

12. Proposition 60
Adult Films. Condoms. Health Requirements.
• Requires adult film performers to use condoms during
the filming of sexual intercourse.
• Requires producers to pay for performer vaccinations,
testing, and medical examinations.
• Requires producers to obtain State health licenses, and
to post the condom requirement at film sites.
• Imposes liability on producers, distributors, agents, and
performers for certain violations.

13. Proposition 61
State Prescription Drug Purchases.
Pricing Standards.
• Prohibits State agencies from buying any prescription drug
from a drug manufacturer at any price over the lowest
amount paid for the drug by U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs.
• Applies to any program where the State agency is the ultimate
payer for a prescription drug, even if the State agency does
not itself buy the drug.
• Exempts purchases of prescription drugs under managed care
programs funded through Medi-Cal.

14. Proposition 62
Death Penalty.
• Repeals the death penalty as a sentencing
option, replacing it with life imprisonment.
• Applies retroactively to all current death row
inmates.

15. Proposition 63
Firearms. Ammunition Sales.
• Requires background checks and California Department
of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition.
• Prohibits possession of large-capacity ammunition
magazines (e.g., those holding more than 10 rounds of
ammunition).
• Requires that most ammunition sales be made through
licensed ammunition vendors and reported to the
California Department of Justice.

16. Proposition 63
Firearms. Ammunition Sales.
• Requires that lost or stolen firearms and ammunition be
reported to law enforcement.
• Increases penalties for persons convicted of stealing a
firearm.
• Establishes new procedures for enforcing laws prohibiting
firearm possession by specified persons.
• Requires the California Department of Justice’s
participation in the federal National Instant Criminal
Background Check System.

17. Proposition 64
Marijuana Legalization.
• Legalizes marijuana under State law, for use by adults 21 years
or older.
• Designates State agencies to license and regulate the
marijuana industry.
• Imposes State taxes on sales and cultivation. This includes an
excise tax of 15% on retail sales of marijuana, and State
cultivation taxes on marijuana of $9.25 per ounce of flowers
and $2.75 per ounce of leaves.
• Exempts medical marijuana from some taxation.

18. Proposition 64
Marijuana Legalization.
• Establishes packaging, labeling, advertising, and marketing
standards and restrictions for marijuana products.
• Prohibits marketing and advertising marijuana directly to
minors.
• Allows local regulation and taxation of marijuana.
• Authorizes resentencing and destruction of criminal records for
prior marijuana convictions.
• Does not affect federal laws with respect to marijuana sales,
transportation, furnishing, possession, or use.

19. Proposition 65
Carryout Bags. Charges.
• Redirects money collected by grocery and certain other
retail stores through mandated sales of carry-out bags.
Presently, such revenue can be used by retailers to cover
the costs of providing carry-out bags, complying with the
measure, and educational efforts to encourage the use of
reusable bags.
• Requires stores to deposit bag sale proceeds into a
special fund to support specified environmental projects.

20. Proposition 66
Death Penalty. Procedures.
• Changes the procedures governing State court appeals
and petitions challenging death penalty convictions and
sentences.
• Establishes a time frame and standards for State court
death penalty review.
• Streamlines California’s death penalty appellate process
to eliminate successive petitions and other delays.

21. Proposition 66
Death Penalty. Procedures.
• Exempts prison officials from the existing regulation
process for developing execution methods.
• Voids any other voter-approved measure (e.g.,
Proposition 62) related to the death penalty if this
measure (e.g., Proposition 66) receives more
affirmative votes.

22. Proposition 67
Ban on Single-use Plastic Bags.
• Referendum.
• Asks voters whether they approve (“yes”) or reject (“no”)
a statute (previously approved by the State Legislature
and signed by the Governor in 2014) that prohibits
grocery and certain other retailers from providing
customers with single-use plastic or paper carry-out bags.
• Permits sale (at a minimum price of $0.10 each) of
recycled paper bags and reusable bags.

23. Historical Statewide
Voter Turnout

24. California Primary Elections
Year Registered Eligible
Voters Voters
1992 47% 34%
1994 35% 26%
1996 42% 31%
1998 42% 30%
2000 54% 37%
2002 35% 25%
2004 44% 31%
2006 34% 23%
2008 58%/28% 40%/20%
2010 33% 24%
2012 31% 22%
2014 25% 18%
2016 48% 34%

25. California General Elections
Year Registered Eligible
Voters Voters
1992 75% 55%
1994 60% 47%
1996 66% 53%
1998 58% 41%
2000 71% 52%
2002 51% 36%
2004 76% 57%
2006 56% 39%
2008 79% 59%
2010 60% 44%
2012 72% 55%
2014 42% 31%
2016 ??% ??%

26. Historical Voter
Registration Statistics
1991 --- 2016

27. State of California
1991 2016
Democrat 49% 45%
Republican 39% 27%
Other 11% 28%

28. Los Angeles County
1991 2016
Democrat 54% 52%
Republican 36% 19%
Other 11% 29%

29. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
Artesia 1991 55% 37% 9%
Artesia 2016 47% 21% 32%
Avalon 1991 43% 51% 6%
Avalon 2016 39% 33% 29%
Bell 1991 60% 30% 10%
Bell 2016 62% 10% 28%
Calabasas 1991 42% 48% 11%
Calabasas 2016 44% 29% 27%
Claremont 1991 43% 46% 11%
Claremont 2016 47% 29% 25%

30. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
Commerce 1991 79% 12% 9%
Commerce 2016 67% 9% 24%
Downey 1991 48% 45% 7%
Downey 2016 51% 22% 27%
Duarte 1991 45% 44% 11%
Duarte 2016 48% 25% 27%
Glendora 1991 33% 58% 9%
Glendora 2016 31% 44% 25%
Hawaiian Gardens 1991 68% 23% 9%
Hawaiian Gardens 2016 55% 14% 32%

31. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
La Canada-Flintridge 1991 23% 68% 9%
La Canada-Flintridge 2016 32% 42% 26%
Lawndale 1991 50% 37% 13%
Lawndale 2016 54% 17% 29%
Lomita 1991 42% 45% 12%
Lomita 2016 43% 31% 25%
Malibu 1991 44% 42% 14%
Malibu 2016 43% 28% 30%
Montebello 1991 66% 24% 9%
Montebello 2016 60% 14% 26%

32. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
Norwalk 1991 66% 27% 7%
Norwalk 2016 55% 17% 28%
Palmdale 1991 35% 54% 11%
Palmdale 2016 49% 27% 24%
Paramount 1991 63% 28% 9%
Paramount 2016 61% 11% 28%
Pico Rivera 1991 74% 19% 8%
Pico Rivera 2016 63% 13% 24%
Pomona 1991 57% 33% 11%
Pomona 2016 51% 17% 32%

33. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
Rolling Hills Estates 1991 26% 65% 10%
Rolling Hills Estates 2016 29% 47% 24%
Rosemead 1991 58% 30% 12%
Rosemead 2016 47% 15% 38%
San Dimas 1991 37% 53% 10%
San Dimas 2016 35% 40% 26%
Santa Fe Springs 1991 72% 21% 6%
Santa Fe Springs 2016 57% 18% 26%
South Gate 1991 60% 30% 10%
South Gate 2016 63% 11% 27%

34. Comparative Municipal Voter Registration Statistics
Democrat Republican Other
Temple City 1991 40% 50% 10%
Temple City 2016 37% 26% 37%
Walnut 1991 41% 45% 14%
Walnut 2016 35% 26% 39%
West Covina 1991 49% 41% 10%
West Covina 2016 48% 23% 29%

35. The End
Sources: California Secretary of State,
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder