California Proposition 3 (2008)

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Proposition 3 (or the Children's Hospital Bond Act of 2008) is a law that was enacted by California voters by means of the initiative process. It is a bond issue that authorizes $980 million in bonds, to be repaid from state’s General Fund, to fund the construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, furnishing and equipping of children’s hospitals. The annual payment on the debt authorized by the initiative is approximately $64 million a year. Altogether, the measure would cost about $1.9 billion over 30 years out of California's general fund. [1]

California State of the United States of America

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Initiative means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote in parliament called an indirect initiative or via a direct initiative, the latter then being dubbed a Popular initiated Referendum.

Contents

The initiative was presented to the Attorney-General's office in July 2007 and the measure was put to a vote as part of the 4 November 2008 state elections. [2] It now forms Part 6.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

A smaller, but similar, bond measure for hospitals, Proposition 61, was approved by voters in 2004, totalling $750 million. As of June 1, 2008, about $403 million (just over half the total sum) had been spent.

Campaign

Estimate of fiscal impact

The Legislative Analyst estimated that the proposed law would cost about $2 billion over thirty years to pay off both the principal ($980 million) and the interest ($933 million) costs of the bonds. Payments of about $64 million per year would be required.

Supporters

The official committee supporting the initiative was called the California Children's Hospital Association Initiative Fund. The campaign to enact the measure was largely supported by hospitalsall donors to the campaign of over $5,000 were such institutions. [3] It was argued that passing the initiative would help provide the hospitals with enough money for greater bed capacity and to purchase important equipment as well as the most modern technologies. [4] The Los Angeles Times editorialized in favor. [5] Arno Political Consultants was paid about $1,028,000 to conduct the petition drive that qualified the measure for the ballot. [6]

<i>Los Angeles Times</i> Daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper which has been published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It has the fourth-largest circulation among United States newspapers, and is the largest U.S. newspaper not headquartered on the East Coast. The paper is known for its coverage of issues particularly salient to the U.S. West Coast, such as immigration trends and natural disasters. It has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of these and other issues. As of June 18, 2018, ownership of the paper is controlled by Patrick Soon-Shiong, and the executive editor is Norman Pearlstine.

Arno Political Consultants, Inc. (APC) is a political consulting company based in Lincoln, California. The company was founded in 1979 by Michael Arno. The company reports that its former and current clients include the National Rifle Association and R. J. Reynolds.

Opponents

The National Tax Limitation Committee, chaired by Lew Uhler, was the official committee opposed to the measure. The Appeal-Democrat [7] and the Pasadena Star News [8] editorialized against the measure. Against the measure it was argued that

The Appeal-Democrat is a daily broadsheet newspaper printed in Marysville, California, in the United States. It has an estimated circulation of 13,000 copies a day, primarily in Yuba and Sutter counties. The paper also is sold in Colusa County to the west and Butte County to the north.

Polling

Month of PollPolling companyIn FavorOpposedUndecided
September 2008Field47 percent35 percent18 percent

A Field Poll taken in mid-September found that only 18% of 830 likely voters surveyed across the state had heard of Proposition 3 prior to being told of it by the survey interviewer. [9]

Result of vote

Election results by county. CA2008Prop3.png
Election results by county.
Proposition 3 [10]
ChoiceVotes%
Yes check.svg Yes6,984,31955.26
No5,654,58644.74
Valid votes12,638,90591.96
Invalid or blank votes1,104,2728.04
Total votes13,743,177100.00

See also

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References

Further reading