An initiative to establish a first-time homebuyer down payment loan program for University of California staff qualified for the Nov. 7, 2028 ballot in California.
The measure, sponsored by AFSCME 3299, would require the University of California system to establish a down-payment loan program for support staff who have worked for UC for at least five years and are first-time homebuyers. The loans would be equal to 20% of the home's value. Borrowers would repay the loan when they resell or refinance the home, not monthly as with a mortgage. Repayment would equal the loan amount plus 20% of any increase in the house's value upon sale.
AFSCME 3299 filed the initiative for the 2026 ballot, but since the initiative submitted signatures after the suggested random sample count deadline, the campaign chose to submit signatures for a full check for the 2028 ballot instead. To qualify an initiated constitutional amendment, proponents need to collect signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election (874,641 valid signatures). The campaign submitted 1,265,569 raw signatures, of which the secretary of state determined 947,631 signatures were valid in a full check of the petition.
The secretary of state reported the initiative qualified for the 2028 ballot on Oct. 2. In California, the proponents of a citizen-initiated ballot measure, including initiated constitutional amendments, initiated state statutes, and veto referendums, can withdraw their proposal after signatures are verified, as long as the proposal is withdrawn at least 131 days before the general election. The deadline for withdrawing for the 2028 ballot is June 29, 2028.
The University of California currently offers a housing assistance program for senior managers and select faculty that provides loans covering about 90% of the purchase price of a house, with borrowers making a 10% down payment. Borrowers repay UC directly for the home loans.
The proposed program would be limited to 300 loans or the number of loans UC provided to faculty and senior managers in the preceding year through its other program, whichever is greater. The initiative would also require that at least 75% of the new loans issued each year be given to support staff with household incomes at or below the area median income.
Rodney Enis, an executive board member of AFSCME 3299 and employee of the University of California, said, “There’s no cost to the state (of California) whatsoever. It’s just saying, ‘UC … you already have a program. Do right by the rest of your employees.’”
Two other measures have been certified for the ballot in California in 2028 that were placed on the ballot by the state legislature. On March 7, 2028, voters will decide on a bond issue of $7.5 billion to fund grants, make loans, and enter contracts with public and private research entities for scientific and health research and development. On Nov. 7, 2028, voters will also be deciding on a constitutional amendment to remove higher education admissions and enrollment from the list of state operations that are expressly prohibited from engaging in racial discrimination or granting race-based preferential treatment, also known as affirmative action.
Since 1910, California voters have decided on an average of 20 ballot measures in even-numbered years. In 2026, voters will decide on 14 statewide ballot propositions.
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