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Below, you will find my recommendations on the seven statewide propositions that voters will consider on Election Day, February 5th. Many of the ballot measures are written in ways that are intentionally confusing to voters in order to serve the interests of career politicians or special interest groups. I’ve studied these measures, discussed them with policy experts who don’t have a financial axe to grind and humbly offer the following advice to my fellow citizens who care about improving this Golden State. Prop 91 NO – The goal of this measure – making it more difficult for state politicians to divert the sales tax on gasoline and other transportation funds for non-transportation purposes – is the right one, but this measure is no longer needed. As this measure was being qualified for the ballot, the governor and legislators crafted Proposition 1A, to achieve the same purpose, and 77% of voters approved it in November 2006. Because of the passage of Proposition 1A, hundreds of millions of dollars from the sales tax on gasoline are going to local communities to repair roads and fund public transit. If Proposition 91 were to pass, it would make funding for public transit less stable. It would also create additional interest costs to the state’s General Fund by requiring that a loan from the transportation fund be paid back in 2017 rather than 2016. Let’s give Proposition 1A a few years to work and then amend it if it’s not sufficiently protecting our transportation funds.
Prop 92 NO – Most community colleges do a great job in providing
educational opportunities. However, as the state faces a $14.5 billion
budget deficit, it is financially unwise to put into the state
constitution an automatic funding formula for community colleges that
will cost the state an addition $300 million per year. And despite the
fact that California’s community college (CCC) fees have consistently
been the lowest in the nation ($20 per unit this year), this measure
would lower those fees to $15 per unit and make it almost impossible to
raise the fee to reflect the higher costs of paying instructors and
maintaining the facilities. About 25% of all CCC students don’t pay
any education fees because they qualify as low- to middle-income.
Lowering these fees for students from upper-income families during
these times of financial and economic distress doesn’t make any sense.
Another “ballot-box budgeting” measure will not help us enact the
needed reforms to truly balance the state’s budget while extending
educational opportunity. Prop 93 NO – State legislators want to
have their cake and eat it too. Two years ago, the legislative
leadership promised voters that they would pass legislation to reform
the corrupt and rigged game, which allows them to select which voters
they want to represent in order to guarantee their own re-election.
They never passed the reform bill because they don’t want electoral
competition or to be accountable to the voters. They broke their
promise to voters and now they want us to reward them by extending
their time in office. This measure would reward these incumbent
legislators by allowing over 80% of them to serve longer in office,
including the current leadership, which prefers expensive junkets in
France and around the world to solving serious public policy problems
faced by hard-working Californians. Keep these legislators accountable
by keeping the current term limits in place. Prop 94-97 NO –
These four propositions would grant to four of the wealthiest tribes in
the state the right to expand their casinos with up to 17,000 new slot
machines. This represents one of the largest expansions of gambling in
U.S. history. If one were to add up all the slot machines at a dozen
Las Vegas casinos, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mirage, and
Mandalay Bay, they still wouldn’t add up to the 17,000 additional slot
machines that these proposed deals authorize. Expanded gambling would
increase the number of low-income people who lose their paychecks to
games of chance and increase the numbers of broken families and
substance abuse. Taxpayers foot the bill for people who deluded
themselves into thinking that they could beat the house. Gambling
teaches the wrong lesson, that wealth comes from luck instead of hard
work and saving. These measures will also erode our political
institutions by allowing further infusions of millions of dollars to
buy politicians willing to expand gambling at Indian casinos. Instead
of expanding gambling, we need to build stronger communities by
returning to the virtues of hard work and saving, combined with reforms
that help ensure clean and issue-based elections in this great state
and country. Kevin Hanley serves on the Auburn City Council and as Chief Consultant
on health and insurance legislation with the California Legislature.
Send your comments to Kevin at
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