Ballot Measures, June 5, 2012
California voters decided 2 statewide ballot measures on June 5, 2012.
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition 28 | Removes the limit of two 4-year terms for state senators; removes the limit of three 2-year terms for state representatives; creates a lifetime term limit of twelve years in the state legislature | Passed (61.02% yes) |
| Proposition 29 | Increases the tax on cigarettes to fund cancer research | Failed (49.77% yes) |
General Election, November 6, 2012
California held its general election on November 6, 2012, deciding 100 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Democrats won two-thirds majorities in both chambers, which they had last held together in 1883, giving them the votes to raise taxes, override vetoes, and place constitutional amendments on the ballot without Republicans. The Assembly finished 55-25 and the Senate 29-11, though resignations, including two senators who won seats in Congress, soon cost Senate Democrats that margin until they regained two-thirds in 2013 special elections.
- Voters approved Proposition 30, on which Gov. Jerry Brown had staked his political reputation, with about 55% voting yes. It raised the sales tax by a quarter cent for four years and income taxes on earners above $250,000 for seven years. A rival school income tax, Proposition 38, drew about 29%.
- The Assembly supermajority rested on two narrow Democratic wins:
- Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) unseated Chris Norby (R), the only Republican incumbent to lose, by about 4 points in Assembly District 65.
- Steve Fox (D) won the open Assembly District 36 by fewer than 150 votes over Ron Smith (R).
- This was the first general election under the top-two primary, and two of the 3 defeated incumbents lost to fellow Democrats:
- Marc Levine (D) beat Assemblyman Michael Allen (D) by about 4,400 votes in Assembly District 10.
- Richard Bloom (D) beat Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D) by about 1,700 votes in Assembly District 50.
- Voters passed 5 of 11 measures, approving changes to the three-strikes sentencing law (Proposition 36) and keeping the new state Senate map (Proposition 40). They narrowly rejected repealing the death penalty (Proposition 34) and labeling genetically engineered food (Proposition 37), and defeated a ban on political contributions through payroll deductions (Proposition 32).
Legislature
- Assembly (80 seats): 52 D, 28 R before the election, 54 D, 26 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
- Senate (40 seats): 25 D, 15 R before the election, 26 D, 12 R, 2 other or vacant after; control stayed with Democrats.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition 30 | Increases the state sales and income taxes for seven years | Passed (55.37% yes) |
| Proposition 31 | Establishes a two-year budget cycle; prohibits the state legislature from expending more than $25 million without creating budgetary offsets or other spending cuts; permits the governor to enact budget cuts during declared fiscal emergencies; requires performance reviews of state programs; and allows local governments to change procedures for locally administered programs that are state-funded | Failed (39.48% yes) |
| Proposition 32 | Bans unions and corporations from contributing payroll-deducted funds to state and local candidates; bans government contractors from contributing to candidates that may award government contracts | Failed (43.4% yes) |
| Proposition 33 | Allows insurers to set prices based on whether the driver previously carried insurance coverage with any insurance company over the last five years | Failed (44.99% yes) |
| Proposition 34 | Abolishes the death penalty and replaces it with a maximum life sentence without the opportunity for parole; applies the abolition and new sentencing retroactively; allocates $100 million to law enforcement for rape and homicide investigations | Failed (48.05% yes) |
| Proposition 35 | Increases maximum sentencing for human trafficking to 15 years to life and $1.5 million in fines; allocates collected fines to victims of human trafficking and law enforcement; requires persons convicted to be registered as a sex offender; requires human trafficking training for law enforcement | Passed (81.35% yes) |
| Proposition 36 | Changes the three-strikes sentencing system established by a 1994 ballot initiative, Proposition 184, to impose life sentences when new felony convictions are serious or violent; allows resentencing for convicts serving life sentences for felonies that were not serious or violent, except in the case of rape, murder, or child molestation | Passed (69.3% yes) |
| Proposition 37 | Requires labeling for foods that are genetically modified and prohibits labeling such foods as "natural" | Failed (48.59% yes) |
| Proposition 38 | Increases state income taxes (using a sliding scale) by .4% for lowest individual earners to 2.2% for individuals earning over $2.5 million to fund education and early childhood programs | Failed (28.72% yes) |
| Proposition 39 | Requires out-of-state businesses to calculate income taxes based on percentage of sales in California; repeals current law that allowed out-of-state businesses to choose tax liability formulas; dedicates half of the revenue ($500-$550 million) annually for five years from the expected increase in revenue under the initiative to fund fhe Clean Energy Job Creation Fund, which was designed under the initiative to "support projects intended to improve energy efficiency and expand the use of alternative energy" | Passed (61.1% yes) |
| Proposition 40 | Upholds or rejects the State Senate districts drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission, which were certified by the commission on August 15, 2011, and that took effect on June 5, 2012 | Passed (71.94% yes) |