Prop 13 – YES. Limits on Property Tax Assessment. Seismic Retrofitting of Existing Buildings. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.
Prop 14 – NO. If it passes the state will switch to a “top two” candidate open primary system. All voters, regardless of party registration, would have the option of voting for any candidate. The primary’s top two candidates for each office, again regardless of political party, would advance to a runoff election in November. If two Democratic candidates each receive more votes than any Republican candidate for the office, the November election would feature a run-off between the two Democrats, or vice versa.
Congressman Tom McClintock made a great statement on Proposition 14, which he called the “distorted primary”: “This was the result of the corrupt deal for the tax increase engineered by [Dis]Abel Maldonado that included this measure to by-pass party primaries in a manner Maldonado believed would enhance his future election prospects. Instead of voters of each party putting their best candidate forward, this jerry-rigged system is designed to disguise the difference between the parties and force those pesky third parties off the general election ballot entirely.”
Proposition 15 – NO. If enacted, will assess fees on registered lobbyists in California and use the additional revenue to provide some funding for political campaigns for those running for the Office of the Secretary of State of California. Proposition 15 was initially sponsored by Loni Hancock, a Democratic state senator from Berkeley. The proposal Californians will vote on in June 2010 is for a pilot project that will only apply to political campaigns for the Office of Secretary of State in 2014 and 2018. In those election seasons, under Proposition 15, candidates for California Secretary of State would qualify for political campaign funds if they agree to spending prohibitions and if they are able to raise $5 contributions from at least 7,500 registered voters. Proposition 15 also repeals California’s voter-approved ban on the public financing of campaigns.
Prop 16 – YES. The Taxpayers Right to Vote Act, would simply require that voters have the final say if a local government chooses to spend public money or to incur public debt to create a government-run electricity business. And like other local special tax and bond decisions in California, a 2/3 vote would be required. In a time of economic challenges, supporters of Prop 16 believe that before local governments use public funds or debt to get into the risky and costly retail electricity business, the public deserves a vigorous discussion and a final vote on the matter. Your choice is basically do you want to have government control the rates or a private business. If you say private business then vote
yes.
Prop 17 – YES, Allows auto insurance companies to base their prices in part on a driver’s history of insurance coverage. An easy no brainer an obvious yes vote on this one. Kiknda suprised we needed an initiative to get this done.