What propositions might appear on California’s 2026 ballots?
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LAND OF NEVER-ENDING PROPS
Via Nicole Nixon...
Now that the Proposition 50 campaign is wrapped, here’s a look at potential propositions cooking for California’s 2026 ballot:
Research funding bond: Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Monday announced a $23 billion bond to fund scientific research in the state. The lawmaker – who recently announced a campaign to replace longtime Rep. Nancy Pelosi – said “California needs to go in the other direction” from President Donald Trump, who moved swiftly this year to cancel billions in funding for science and higher education institutions. Wiener’s bill, SB 607, would require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature and then voter approval. It would distribute the funds to the state’s public universities, as well as public and private institutions in the state conducting scientific or health research.
Voter ID: Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is halfway to his goal to qualify a voter ID measure for next year’s ballot, he announced late last week. The measure would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID to vote in person, or the last four numbers of a government-issued ID to vote by mail. It would also require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Many Democrats oppose such barriers, arguing they reduce voter participation, but a majority of California voters support some form of voter ID, a Berkeley IGS poll found earlier this year. “We’ll get it qualified,” DeMaio told The Bee recently. “And it’s the only ray of hope that we’re going to have to make elections fair and competitive in California.”
At least two dozen other potential initiatives are either in the signature-gathering or legal review phase, according to the Secretary of State’s office. They include measures to limit new local taxes, cap compensation for health care CEOs, and another attempt at CalExit after a proposal earlier this year failed to get enough signatures.
And three that state lawmakers have already approved for the November 2026 ballot: Changes to succession in the event a sitting governor is recalled; a proposal requiring ballot measures that increase the percentage of required voter approval, such as three-fifth or four-fifths majority, also meet that same threshold (inspired by the threat of an anti-tax measure last year); and a question of whether the state should lift bans on publicly-financed campaigns.
BONTA SEEKS SNAP CLARIFICATION
While it appears that Congress is poised to end the longest government shutdown, the legal saga over whether the Trump administration will fund the food assistance program SNAP continues.
Since federal government funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California, ran out earlier in the shutdown, low-income families have faced uncertainty over whether they will receive financial assistance to pay for food.
Adding to that uncertainty is the incongruous guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Attorney General Rob Bonta during a Monday press conference.
On Monday, the California Department of Justice, along with several other state’s attorneys general, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, asking a federal district court to order the Trump administration to clarify conflicting guidance issued earlier in November.
Last Friday, the USDA sent out guidance to states, informing them that officials could begin dispersing full benefits to SNAP recipients and California took steps to get money in the pockets of hungry families.
But over the weekend, the USDA directed states to undo full payments made to SNAP recipients after the Supreme Court granted a request by the Trump administration to block a lower court’s order to issue that money. On Monday, a district court in Massachusetts paused the latest guidance from USDA from going into effect.
“Those contradictory messages underscore that USDA’s actions have been arbitrary, they’ve been capricious, and it demonstrates why we need the court to step in to provide clarity and concrete guidance,” Bonta said Monday.
The withholding of food assistance from hungry Americans — including over 1 million veterans — is unprecedented, said Crystal FitzSimons, president of the anti-hunger organization Food Research and Action Center. She said SNAP has a variety of benefits beyond reducing hunger: “It improves health, it reduces poverty, it supports kids’ education.”
“The last 10 days have been horrific to watch what’s happened as families have really struggled with the chaos, and states have really worked to try and alleviate that,” FitzSimons said during Monday’s press conference.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.’”
— President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post, criticizing some air traffic controllers and recommending others who worked without pay during the government shutdown receive a $10,000 bonus.
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Newsom: Senate Democrats risk squandering Election Day momentum in shutdown deal, via Lia Russell
California’s Padilla, Schiff oppose Senate plan to end the government shutdown, via David Lightman