2016 Election Measures

2016 Election Measures (Propositions)

Voted

VOTE

MEASURE click here for $22 BILLION on BAY AREA TRANSPORTATION

yes 80%

YES

Gun Control: This is a package of gun control measures backed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Among its provisions is a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines. It would also require background checks for ammunition purchases. State lawmakers have passed a similar package of laws but neither Newsom nor Senate leader Kevin de León, who pushed the bills in the Legislature, would drop their effort and support the other.

yes 75%

YES

Cigarette Tax: This would place a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes. The money would be used for health care programs as well as tobacco use prevention and control programs. The cigarette tax currently stands at 87 cents per pack. The increased tax would also apply to electronic cigarettes and other products containing nicotine. The measure comes after the California Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown raised the state’s smoking age to 21.

yes 67%

YES

Proposition 30 Tax Extension: If approved, this measure would extend the income tax portion of the Prop. 30 tax increase for another 12 years. It would apply to anyone making more than $250,000 a year. Brown, who campaigned fiercely for Prop. 30 to help bail out the state from a series of huge deficits, has not endorsed the extension.

yes 80%

YES

Criminal Sentences: Measure sponsored by Brown aims to cut the state prison population by giving inmates a chance for earlier parole and allowing judges, instead of prosecutors, to decide whether a minor should be tried as an adult. The initiative faced a court challenge from the California District Attorneys Association, which said Brown improperly amended an existing initiative to get this on the ballot. However, the California Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Brown’s favor.

yes 73%

Why

Plastic Bag Ban Referendum: In 2014, Brown signed the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. The governor touted the ban as a way to stop “the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself.” But the ban never went into effect, as plastic bag manufacturers were able to gather enough signatures a few months later to force a referendum.

no 53%

YES

Carry-Out Bag Revenue: Instead of providing retailers $400 million in revenue every year, - collect the tax for Environmental Spending. Backed by the same plastic bag manufacturers who qualified the referendum, ~~would go into effect only if the referendum campaign is defeated and the plastic bag ban is upheld~~. It would direct money that stores collect from selling paper bags into a special state fund for environmental projects. Proponents say they’re just giving voters a chance to direct paper bag proceeds to “worthy environmental causes.” Critics say the plastic bag makers are trying to force grocers, who support the plastic bag ban, to spend money to defeat this measure.

yes 70%

Recreational Pot: If approved, California would become the fifth state (after Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and Washington) to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and over. Proponents include Newsom and former Facebook president Sean Parker. the research on Marijuana

yes 76

YES

Medi-Cal Hospital Reimbursement: Currently, private California hospitals pay a fee into a state Medi-Cal fund, which is used to bring in matching federal dollars for the state health program. In return, the hospitals receive a reimbursement for Medi-Cal services. The fund is set to expire at the end of the year; this measure would make it permanent.

no 65%

YES

Public Vote on Bonds: Has the potential to spark a number of statewide ballot battles in the near future. The initiative, backed by wealthy San Joaquin Valley farmer/agribusinessman Dean Cortopassi, would require a statewide vote on any project requiring $2 billion or more in revenue bonds. What might that include? Brown’s two “legacy” projects: a high-speed rail system and the proposed twin-tunnel water project in the Delta. voters should love this (LA Times)

yes 81%

Multilingual Education: Placed on the ballot by Democratic lawmakers, would repeal Proposition 227, the 1998 initiative (backed by Ron Unz) that ended bilingual education in the state.

yes 56%

School Bond: After a similar effort fell short in 2014, school districts and developers have qualified a $9 billion bond to fund school construction. Brown is opposed to the measure, which he called “a blunderbuss effort.” He has argued that the current bond system gives an advantage to large districts that are able to quickly complete first-come-first-serve funding applications.

no 64%

Condoms in Adult Films: Proposal would require actors in adult movies made in California to wear condoms while filming sex scenes. Earlier this year, California’s Divison of Occupational Safety and Health rejected proposed regulations that would have mandated condom use.

yes 57%

YES

Prescription Drug Pricing: Sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the same group behind the condom measure, this measure would cap the amount the state can be charged for the prescription drugs it purchases for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, retirees and prison inmates. The pharmaceutical industry is strongly opposed, arguing the measure will limit drug choices for patients.

yes 67%

Death Penalty Repeal: Proponents of eliminating California’s death penalty (and replacing it with a max sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole) are hoping for a different result than in 2012, when voters defeated another repeal measure, Proposition 34. California has executed 15 inmates since its current capital punishment law took effect in 1978, and its current system of carrying out death sentences is the target of multiple legal challenges.

no 62%

YES

Expedite Death Penalty: A group led by former NFL player Kermit Alexander wants to take a completely different approach to reforming California’s death penalty process. The initiative would limit inmate appeals, which in some cases can drag on for decades.

yes 62%

YES

Legislative Transparency: Backed by wealthy GOP donor Charles T. Munger Jr., this effort would require bills be in print for 72 hours before a vote. It would also mandate that video recordings of all legislative proceedings be posted online. A late attempt by a group of state senators to place their own version of this measure on the November ballot fell short.

yes 71%

YES

Citizens United: The path to the ballot for this advisory measure was arguably more interesting than the measure itself. Voters will be asked whether they support legislators using the little power they have to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which struck down limits on independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions. To get on the ballot, the advisory question had to survive a challenge in the state Supreme Court over whether such advisory measures should be allowed on the ballot.

MARIN LOCAL MEASURES

COUNTY

no 63% NO Measure A - County Of Marin
- To support the health, education and safety of underserved children with approximately $12,000,000 in annual local funding the State cannot take away, shall County of Marin expand access to quality preschool education; provide healthcare including early screenings, vision, dental and behavioral/mental health services; expand after-school/summer learning programs promoting reading/writing/math achievement; and provide affordable childcare for infants, toddlers and young children by enacting a 1/4% sales tax for 9 years with independent oversight/audits?
  All very commendable causes but we should be finding funding from other sources. Not disproportionately from the poor (sales tax payer). Our Sales Tax is high enuf . The poorest pay 7% of their income in sales taxes. The wealthiest less than 3%.

SCHOOL

Measure B - Kentfield School District
- To provide stable funding the State cannot take away, ensure excellence in core academic programs, attract and retain highly-qualified teachers, maintain small class sizes, and enhance enrichment programs, shall the Kentfield School District be authorized to levy $1600 per parcel annually for ten (10) years, with a 5% annual increase, provide a senior citizens’ exemption, and have all funds stay local?
Measure E - Mill Valley School District
- Continuation of Mill Valley School District Special Assessment for Educational Programs and Services. To maintain out-standing schools and high-quality teachers with approximately $9.4 million in annual funding, shall Mill Valley School District continue its existing school parcel tax beginning in 2017-18 for twelve years at the rate of $980 per parcel with annual cost-of-living adjustments, maintaining existing accountability measures and with all revenues kept local and used exclusively for Mill Valley elementary and middle schools?
Bond Measure G - Novato Unified School District
- To update aging Novato schools and protect quality education with local funding that cannot be taken by the State, shall Novato Unified School District upgrade classrooms, science labs, libraries and facilities to meet current academic/safety standards; provide dedicated space for science, math, engineering, arts and music instruction; and improve student access to modern instructional technology by issuing $222 million in bonds at legal rates, with independent citizens’ oversight, no money for administrators, and all funds staying local?

MUNICIPAL

Measure C - Town of Fairfax
- Maintaining Quality Fairfax Services. Shall the Town of Fairfax extend the existing one-half percent local sales tax and increase the rate by one-quarter percent to provide funding that cannot be taken by the State, and can be used for a period of 10 years subject to annual independent audits to maintain and enhance quality public safety and general services, improve infrastructure such as repairing sidewalks, pedestrian trails, repaving streets, and enhancing downtown, while retaining Fairfax’s character?
Measure H - City of Mill Valley
- To renew funding exclusively for improved fire safety activities, street maintenance, and road repair, shall the Mill Valley Municipal Service Tax be renewed within the City of Mill Valley Community Facilities District Number 2016-1, at a rate of $266 for single family residential property, with a 2% annual adjustment, raising an average of $1.79 million annually over 10 years, and shall the appropriations limit be established, all as specified in Mill Valley City Council Resolution No. 16-39?
Measure K - Town of Ross
- Shall the voters of the Town of Ross adopt an ordinance to reauthorize from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2025, the annual special tax for maintaining public safety services at a rate of $970 per dwelling unit for single family residences and $970 per parcel for all other uses, with an annual cost of living adjustment on both, providing about $810,000 annually, and increasing the Town’s appropriations limit by the amount of the special tax proceeds?

DISTRICT

Measure L - Muir Beach Community Services District
- Adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-07-13 to impose a special tax for fire protection, including fuel abatement and emergency preparedness, in the Muir Beach Community Services District. To provide critical funding for fire protection services, including fuel abatement, emergency preparedness and equipment upgrades, shall Muir Beach CSD Ordinance No. 2016-07-13, which imposes an annual $213.00 parcel tax for 10 years with annual CPI adjustment, be approved and shall the Muir Beach CSD appropriations limit be increased by the amount of this voter approved tax?
Measure M - CSA #17-1 Kent Woodlands
- Shall the special tax for Sheriff deputy patrol services, levied annually upon living units located within CSA 17 (Kent Woodlands), be increased from $260.00 per year to $360.00 per year, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 3% per year, for each living unit within that area commencing with the 2016-2017 fiscal year?
Measure N - CSA #17-1 Kent Woodlands
- Shall a special tax to purchase and install License Plate Readers (LPR) that record the license plates of vehicles traveling through the Kent Woodlands neighborhood so as to deter criminal activities, such as burglary, be levied in the amount of $100.00 for the 2016-2017 fiscal year and then in the amount of $11.00 annually each fiscal year thereafter for maintenance of the LPR upon living units located within CSA 17 (Kent Woodlands area)?
Measure O - County Service Area #29
- For ongoing maintenance dredging in the principal waterways of Paradise Cay along with the north and south entry channels to San Francisco Bay, shall the existing parcel tax of $1,200 on each original lot be increased to $1,500, providing $204,000 annually for 10 years, commencing in fiscal year beginning July 2017 in County Service Area No. 29, with increases limited to 3% per year?