Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on October 13.
The attorney general prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the attorney general forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The secretary of state then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The attorney general’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
ELIMINATES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS, POLICE OFFICERS, NURSES, FIREFIGHTERS, AND OTHER PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Eliminates collective bargaining between state/local governments and labor organizations (including unions) representing teachers, police officers, nurses, firefighters, and other public employees about wages, benefits, hours, labor disputes, or other work conditions. Requires the Governor-appointed State Personnel Board to establish wages and benefits for state employees. Prohibits new or amended public-employee labor agreements, including extensions, but does not impact existing agreements. Authorizes state/local governments to provide up to 12 months of severance pay to employees who resign within three months of measure’s enactment. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: One-time costs, potentially in the range of hundreds of millions to low billions of dollars, across state and local governments. Long-term fiscal effect depends on future actions by state and local policy makers. (21-0008A2.)
The secretary of state’s tracking number for this measure is 1902 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 21-0008A2.
The proponent of the measure, Timothy Draper, must collect signatures of 997,139 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2018 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 11, 2022.
