SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters will decide on 10 ballot measures, including one that would make some nonviolent crimes, such as shoplifting, felonies again and another that would make the state minimum wage among the highest in the nation to make.
Here’s a look at some of the most consequential proposals being put before voters:
Proposal 36
This would make shoplifting a criminal offense for repeat offenders and increase penalties for some drug offenses, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It would also give judges the power to order people with multiple drug offenses to seek treatment.
Supporters say the initiative is necessary to close loopholes that have made it difficult for law enforcement to punish shoplifters and drug dealers. The measure will also help the state tackle the homelessness and drug crises, they say.
Opponents, including Democratic state leaders and social justice groups, say it would disproportionately jail poor people and those with substance abuse problems rather than targeting leaders who hire large groups of people to steal goods for online resale. The initiative would also eliminate drug and mental health funding that comes from the savings from incarcerating fewer people.
Proposal 32
This would increase the minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026, up from the current rate of $16 per hour for most people.
Fast food workers already received a pay increase this year at least $20 per hourand some health care professionals are now making one minimum $23 per hour.
If approved, California would have the highest minimum wage statewide. In 2016, it became the first state to adopt one $15 per hour minimum wage. About 40 cities and counties already have a minimum wage higher than the national rate, and six of them will require a minimum wage of more than $18 per hour starting this year.
Hawaii passed a law in 2022 that will increase the minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2028.
Supporters of the measure in California estimate it would benefit two million workers, including hotel and grocery store workers. Opponents say this would raise costs, lead to higher taxes and push companies to cut jobs.
Proposal 4
It asks voters for permission to borrow $10 billion for various climate programs, which would be the state’s largest investment to date in the fight against climate change.
The bulk of the money, $3.8 billion, would go to improving drinking water systems and preparing for droughts and floods. Wildfire preparedness programs would receive $1.5 billion, while $1.2 billion would go toward combating sea level rise.
The remainder would be divided between parks and outdoor recreation programs; air quality; preparedness for extreme heat; protection of biodiversity; and sustainability of farms and ranches.
Supporters of the measure say it would help the state better prepare for a changing climate and the growing threat of wildfires, water pollution and extreme heat.
Opponents say the bond is “the most expensive way” to pay for programs that could be funded through the budget.
It would cost taxpayers about $16 billion to pay it off, in annual installments of $400 million.
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Proposal 6
This would change the state constitution to prohibit forced labor in any form. The Constitution currently prohibits it except as punishment for crime.
That exemption has become a target of criminal justice advocates concerned about prison working conditions. Incarcerated people are often paid less than a dollar an hour to fight fires, clean cells and landscape cemeteries.
The initiative is included in a reparations package introduced by lawmakers as part of an effort to reconcile and provide redress for a history of racism and discrimination against Black Californians.
Several other states, including Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont, have passed constitutional amendments in recent years that eliminate exceptions to slavery and involuntary servitude.
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Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @ sophieadanna