California Propositions

Californians will decide on eight statewide ballot measures Tuesday, addressing some of the state’s most consequential political issues.

From campaign finance reform to school vouchers, California voters will wade into some of the nation’s hottest political controversies, with potentially far-reaching results.

Proposition 34 is an effort by California lawmakers to place campaign finance restrictions on themselves--on their own terms. Proposition 38 represents an attempt by Tim Draper, a wealthy Silicon Valley venture capitalist, to take on California’s political establishment and secure state-funded grants for children to attend private schools.

California voters will also try to resolve some of the state’s unique political conundrums. Proposition 39, backed by Gov. Gray Davis and many of California’s high-tech moguls, would lower the vote requirement needed to pass local school construction bonds.

And as always, interest groups will seek political advantage over their foes at the ballot box. Proposition 35, the latest skirmish in a long-simmering war among California’s public and private engineers, would allow private engineers to compete for lucrative road-building projects.

Below is a description of each measure, its supporters and opponents:

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PROPOSITION 32

Bond Act for Veterans

Would provide $500 million in bond money for farm and home aid to California veterans. The money would be used to provide loans through Cal-Vet, the state’s farm and home purchase program for veterans. Participating veterans would pay the cost of retiring the bonds, $858 million over 25 years. If the veterans did not cover the full bond amount, state taxpayers would pick up the difference.

About 400,000 veterans have been able to purchase property through the program, which has been in existence since 1921. California voters have approved the last 25 ballot measures to continue funding Cal-Vet loans by renewing bonds. This bond would allow the program to assist an estimated 2,500 additional veterans.

FOR: Gov. Gray Davis; Assemblyman John Dutra (D-Fremont) and Sen. Maurice Johannessen (R-Redding), the chairs of the Legislature’s two committees on veterans affairs.

AGAINST: Melvin L. Emerich and Gary B. Wesley, co-chairs, Voter Information Alliance.

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PROPOSITION 33

Retirement for Lawmakers

Would allow California lawmakers to participate in the state Public Employees’ Retirement System for the years they serve in the Legislature. Proposition 140, the term limits law enacted by voters in 1990, took that perk away from legislators, leaving them with no pension plan covering their years in office.

The annual state costs of extending the program to lawmakers is estimated at less than $1 million.

FOR: Assemblyman Brett Granlund (R-Yucaipa); Assemblyman Lou Papan (D-Millbrae); Peter Szego, American Assn. of Retired Persons; Allan Zaremberg, President, California Chamber of Commerce.

AGAINST: Lewis Uhler, president, National Tax-Limitation Committee; former Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum, co-author, Proposition 140; Rick Gann, legal affairs director, Paul Gann’s Spirit of 13 Committee.

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PROPOSITION 34

Campaign Limits

Would limit campaign contributions and loans to California lawmakers and candidates for office, though not as strictly as Proposition 208, the ballot measure passed by voters in 1996 and since tied up in court. Would repeal most of the Proposition 208 provisions. Would also provide for voluntary spending limits, increased penalties and public disclosure requirements for state candidates.

Could cost the state several million dollars annually in processing costs.

FOR: Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

AGAINST: Common Cause, League of Women Voters, former acting Secretary of State Tony Miller, Assemblyman Brett Granlund (R-Yucaipa), Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside).

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PROPOSITION 35

Government Contracting

Would allow state and local government agencies to contract with private architectural and engineering firms for public works projects in all situations. The California constitution now allows private contracting only in limited situations, such as when the work is too specialized for state employees. Specifically targets all projects in the State Transportation and Improvement Program, California’s long-term construction blueprint.

Financial estimates vary widely, and would depend on how much the state chose to use the contracting flexibility in building highways and other major public works projects.

FOR: California Society of Professional Engineers, California Chamber of Commerce, California State Assn. of Counties, California League of Cities, Automobile Club of Southern California.

AGAINST: California State Employees Assn., Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., Consumer Federation of California, California State Firefighters Assn., California Federation of Teachers.

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PROPOSITION 36

Drug Probation and Treatment

Would require that adults convicted of using drugs or possessing drugs for personal use generally be sentenced to drug treatment and probation, not jail time. Would authorize that charges be dismissed after treatment is completed. As many as 24,000 nonviolent drug possession offenders per year would be diverted to drug treatment instead of being sent to prison.

Would provide $120 million to counties for expanded drug treatment programs. Estimated savings to the state of $100 million to $150 million and $40 million for local governments, primarily because of lower prison costs. Potential savings of $450 million to $500 million in prison construction costs.

FOR: Financier George Soros, California Nurses Assn., California Psychiatric Assn., Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), American Civil Liberties Union.

AGAINST: California District Attorneys Assn., California Assn. of Drug Court Professionals, San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos, “The West Wing” actor Martin Sheen.

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PROPOSITION 37

Vote Requirements for Fees

Would require two-thirds approval from voters or the California Legislature to impose state or local fees on products such as oil, tobacco and alcoholic beverages to address or study health and environmental effects.

As an example of such a fee, California in 1991 imposed a regulatory fee on paint companies that make or used to make products containing lead. The state uses the money to screen children for lead poisoning and identify sources of lead contamination. Proposition 37 would make such fees more difficult to levy--they can now be approved on a majority vote.

FOR: Philip Morris Inc., Anheuser-Busch Co., the Wine Institute, Western Growers Assn., California Chamber of Commerce, California Beer and Beverage Distributors.

AGAINST: American Cancer Society, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, California League of Conservation Voters, California Nurses Assn.

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PROPOSITION 38

School Vouchers

Would require California to offer a $4,000 school voucher per child to parents who choose to send their children to private rather than public schools. The voucher would be applied to tuition and fees at selected private schools, and would be sent directly to the schools on the parents’ behalf.

To qualify as a voucher school, private schools could not “advocate unlawful behavior” or discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color or national origin. The measure does not prohibit private schools from restricting admission on other bases, including sex, religion and academic performance.

Financial predictions vary widely because the measure’s impact depends on how many students would shift from public to private schools--currently 6 million students attend California public schools, compared to 650,000 in private institutions. Estimates are anywhere from $2 billion in costs to $3 billion in savings.

FOR: Venture capitalist Tim Draper, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Bakersfield), Univision CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio.

AGAINST: Gov. Gray Davis, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., California PTA, California Teachers Assn., Congress of California Seniors, American Assn. of Retired Persons.

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PROPOSITION 39

School Facilities

Would make it easier to pass local school bonds by lowering the vote needed for passage from two-thirds to 55%. Property taxes in California are currently capped at 1% under Proposition 13 and can only exceed that barrier through passage of new construction or improvement bonds, which are paid off by taxpayers.

The measure would lower the two-thirds requirement for bonds covering kindergarten through grade 12 schools, community college districts and county offices of education. The 55% requirement would apply only to school bonds that meet certain requirements, including that the money be used for construction and rehabilitation of school facilities and that the projects come from a specific list that the school board had evaluated beforehand.

Financial estimates vary widely, but the measure could result in a long-term savings to the state as local school districts shoulder a greater burden for new school funding.

FOR: Gov. Gray Davis, former Gov. Pete Wilson, venture capitalist John Doerr, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers, Common Cause.

AGAINST: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.; Dean Andal, chair, State Board of Equalization; venture capitalist Alan Shugart; Univision CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio.