Tag: california

  • California school board recall petition approved for circulation

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    A petition to recall John Crabtree from his position as president and Trustee Area 4 representative of the Visalia Unified School District Board of Education in California was approved for circulation in August 2020. Recall supporters must collect 2,411 signatures by November 18, 2020, to get the recall on the ballot. The effort began in…

  • Signatures filed for California ballot initiative to reduce and tax single-use plastic packaging

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    On August 11, 2020, signatures were filed for a ballot initiative designed to reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging and foodware in California. Proponents reported filing more than 870,000 signatures. At least 623,212 signatures (around 71.64%) need to be valid for the ballot initiative to appear on the ballot on November 8, 2022. The…

  • California sues Trump administration for changing census procedures

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    California is challenging a Trump administration effort to exclude people who reside in the United States without legal permission from the census numbers used to allocate congressional districts. On July 28, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit arguing that the July 21 presidential memorandum entitled “Excluding Illegal Aliens From the Apportionment Base Following…

  • First 2022 state ballot measure qualifies in California

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    The first state ballot measure for 2022 qualified for the ballot in California on July 21, 2020. The ballot initiative would increase California’s cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits based on changes in inflation since 1975, which is when the cap on noneconomic damages was enacted. In 2021, the damages cap of $250,000…

  • California statewide ballot measures are finalized after one week delay

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    On July 1, 2020, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) announced the list of ballot measures, along with their ballot order and official titles, for the election on November 3, 2020. The deadline for certifications was June 25, 2020, until Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation (SB 300) that extended the deadline to July…

  • California consumer privacy ballot initiative qualifies for November ballot

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    On June 24, the ninth—and final—ballot initiative qualified for the general election ballot in California. Titled the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, the ballot initiative would expand the state’s consumer privacy law that was passed in 2018 and create a new government organization, called the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), to enforce the law.…

  • Californians to vote on ballot measure to provide state stem cell research institute with more money

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    With the signature verification deadline on June 25, the eighth citizen-initiated measure has qualified for the ballot in California. On June 22, the office of Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that enough signatures had been collected for a ballot initiative to fund the state’s stem cell research institute with a $5.5 billion general obligation…

  • Voters in California will decide a ballot initiative to enact new dialysis clinic requirements

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    Californians will vote on a ballot initiative related to dialysis clinics for the second general election in a row unless the proposal is withdrawn. On June 15, the office of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that enough signatures were collected for a dialysis clinic-related ballot initiative to appear on the November 3 ballot.…

  • California Assembly passes bill for ballot measure to repeal Proposition 209, which banned considering race and sex in public jobs, education, and contracting in 1996

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    On June 10, the California State Assembly passed a constitutional amendment to repeal Proposition 209, which received 54.55 percent of the vote in 1996. Proposition 209 prohibited the state from considering race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. In California, a two-thirds vote is…

  • Three states release guidance for reopening schools

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    Officials in three states—California, Massachusetts, and North Carolina—released guidance for reopening schools for the 2020-2021 year. Schools in all three states have been closed to in-person instruction since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. So far, schools in four states (Alabama, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming) have reopened to in-person instruction after closing due to…