The California Hospital Association is sponsoring a citizen-initiated state statute that would require healthcare labor unions to inform members annually how member dues are being spent on political activities, specifically spending on state and local ballot measures, and require a majority of members to approve such expenditures. The campaign submitted more than 900,000 signatures for verification on April 29.
The initiative would apply to all healthcare unions in the state with more than 50,000 members. This would include unions such as SEIU Local 2015, California Nurses Association, and SEIU-UHW.
The campaign sponsoring the initiative, Californians for Health Care Workers' Right to Vote, reported $11 million in contributions through April 9, all of which were received from the California Hospitals Committee on Issues, which is sponsored by the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.
During this election cycle, the SEIU-UHW submitted signatures for three initiatives for the November ballot:
- A combined law and constitutional amendment to levy a one-time 5% wealth tax on the state’s billionaires.
- A law to establish a compensation limit for CEOs, executives, administrators, and managers of healthcare corporations.
- A law to prohibit healthcare clinics, specifically federally-qualified health centers and related organizations, from spending less than 90% of their annual revenue on mission-related purposes.
Between the three campaigns, SEIU-UHW reported more than $9.7 million in cash and in-kind contributions as of March 30.
Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, said, “More than 1 million California voters signed our petition to empower health care workers by giving them a right to vote on how their hard-earned dues are spent on political activities. We are confident voters will pass this measure giving health care union members have a greater voice with more transparency and oversight.”
To qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot in California, petitioners need to collect signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election (546,651 signatures). The petition now undergoes a random sample check to verify the raw signatures. The final count is due June 11. The last day to qualify or withdraw from the ballot is June 25 (131 days before the election).
Three initiatives have qualified for the 2026 ballot in California. Voters will decide on:
- An amendment to require a two-thirds vote by the electorate to enact special local taxes and to prohibit charter city real estate transfer taxes;
- An amendment to require voters to present government-issued identification when casting ballots and require election officials to use government data to confirm voter citizenship and report verification rates; and
- A law to establish a second mortgage homebuyer program for qualified homebuyers on qualifying homes and to issue $25 billion in bonds to fund the program.
California voters will also be deciding on three legislative referrals — an amendment related to initiative supermajority requirements, a law to allow the state and local governments to create public campaign finance programs, and an amendment to eliminate the successor election when a state officer is recalled.
Signature verification is also pending for six other ballot initiatives in California. To see the list of measures, click here.
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