By Roran Ausman, Legislative Team member
The upcoming presidential election has made for some colorful headlines in recent months. But most people haven’t heard quite as much about state and local issues that will be on the same ballot on November 5th (or sooner if you vote by mail!). To read the SanDiego350 voter guide, check your voter registration, or even learn how to vote, visit the SanDiego350 vote page.
As a climate focused organization, we have been working to promote San Diego County Measure G, also known as Let’s Go! San Diego. We are also endorsing California State Proposition 4 -the Climate Bond. But in this post, I want to focus more on our non-climate endorsements.
First of all- why endorse more than the climate related measures? While our main focus as an organization is fighting climate change, those values do not exist in a vacuum. Our work is rooted in fighting injustice. And while we may stay focused on climate change the majority of the time, it is important for us to promote and incorporate fighting other struggles wherever possible.
Now, onto the measures.
California State Proposition 6 helps to close a loophole that allows for slavery in California. While slavery was declared unconstitutional in the US with the 13th amendment, an exception was allowed for ‘forced labor’ of prisoners. The California State Constitution has this same loophole. People of color are disproportionately imprisoned -for example while only 6% of the population of California is black, 29% of the California prison population is black- which makes this not only an issue of rights, but a racial justice issue as well.
The amendment would still allow for inmates to work if they wish, but bans punishment if they refuse. Some labor from inmates is already compensated, and this bill would likely give more of these workers leverage to be compensated for their work. While it is hard to know what the exact financial impact will be, the official analysis projects that the most it will cost the state is in the tens of millions of dollars (less than 1% of the state budget). A small price to pay to allow people the choice to work or not, and the dignity of being compensated for it.
California State Proposition 3 would protect marriage equality in the state of California. It does so by amending the State constitution to take away wording that specifies marriage as between one man and one woman, put into place by Prop 8 in 2008. While such restrictions on same-sex marriage were rendered unenforceable by the Federal Supreme Court Ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, this proposition would ensure marriage equality in the State of California in the event that Obergefell is overturned.
California State Proposition 5 would make it much easier for local governments to fund affordable housing measures and public infrastructure. As of right now, local governments need a two-thirds voter majority in order to create bonds. This bill would lower that threshold to 55% for affordable housing construction and public infrastructure projects, including those for water management, local hospitals, fire stations, and parks. It also would implement close oversight into the spending of the bonds. The bill itself has no direct cost, but the bonds it would enable could potentially cause billions to go towards such projects- which would come out of property taxes.
California State Proposition 32 effectively raises the state minimum wage by an extra dollar from current legislation. As of right now, the California minimum wage is $16 and will be $17 an hour by 2026. This proposition increases that to $17 for the rest of 2024 and $18 by 2026 then increases with inflation, with some exceptions for small businesses. Doing so would help to support those making lower incomes- when the minimum wage is raised, most wages on the lower end of the pay scale follow suit. The original idea behind minimum wage was a simple one: that everyone deserves to be able to support themselves and their family. This proposition helps to move California back in that direction.
I hope that hearing my thoughts on some of our state propositions has helped prepare you for our upcoming election. Check out the SanDiego350 voter information and make sure you know the important dates for the election. And be sure to get out there and vote!
