"The elections have recently come and gone, and in honor of this, we should talk about the significance of it, or rather that of the propositions on the ballot. Seven propositions appeared on the California ballot this year, with three of them passing. But What were the significance of these laws? How will they affect us?" --Donovan Harris, 10th grade
Proposition 1, the ballot fighting for guaranteed abortion rights was passed with 65% voting yes. With Roe Vs. Wade being overturned back in June, any situation involving contraception is getting more dire. Since the law passed, it prohibits the state from Interfering with any situation involving contraceptives, and people can continue to not worry about having to travel long distances for abortions and contraceptives. California is now one of three states to have abortion rights enshrined in the constitution.
Another prop on the ballot worthy of a mention is Proposition 28, which will fund arts and music education across the state. This proposition was passed by a margin of over 60%. Now that it has passed, half the amount of Prop 98, which funds general education to contribute 1% of the funds to arts and music education, is estimated to accumulate to 1 billion dollars set aside annually. This will mostly fund schools with higher amounts of students and students from low income households.
Among propositions that didn’t pass, Prop 30 was one of the most significant and most controversial, mostly due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition. The prop would have taxed Californians with an annual income over 2 million an extra 1.75%. Newsom, along with the State Republican Party opposed this proposition, since wealthy residents will be driven out of state to fund Lyft. Now that this law has passed, this will no longer be the case, but it will sacrifice money going towards electric cars and firefighting, which is not going to be beneficial to studies that have shown that 90% of Californians are breathing unhealthy levels of pollution.
Sports betting was also on the ballot twice this month with Prop 26 and 27. Prop 26 would’ve legalized sports betting at tribal casinos and horse race tracks in California, as well as roulette and dice games, while Prop 27 would’ve legalized online sports betting outside of Native American tribal lands. The money generated from Prop 26 would’ve funded schools, gambling regulations, and mental health programs, while money from Prop 27 would’ve gone towards housing the homeless with additional funds going towards Native American tribes with no involvement in sports betting. Both of these propositions failed, with opponents arguing that it will increase the risk of gambling addiction, lawsuits against tribal casinos, as well as most of the money from Prop 27 going towards gaming companies outside of California.
After this fall, Californians can now expect the ability to maintain abortions and contraceptives, as well as improvements in arts and music education due to the funds being generated towards it. However, now that sports betting remaining Illegal in the state, we still hope that the money will go towards housing homeless and assisting Native American tribes as promised.
Another prop on the ballot worthy of a mention is Proposition 28, which will fund arts and music education across the state. This proposition was passed by a margin of over 60%. Now that it has passed, half the amount of Prop 98, which funds general education to contribute 1% of the funds to arts and music education, is estimated to accumulate to 1 billion dollars set aside annually. This will mostly fund schools with higher amounts of students and students from low income households.
Among propositions that didn’t pass, Prop 30 was one of the most significant and most controversial, mostly due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition. The prop would have taxed Californians with an annual income over 2 million an extra 1.75%. Newsom, along with the State Republican Party opposed this proposition, since wealthy residents will be driven out of state to fund Lyft. Now that this law has passed, this will no longer be the case, but it will sacrifice money going towards electric cars and firefighting, which is not going to be beneficial to studies that have shown that 90% of Californians are breathing unhealthy levels of pollution.
Sports betting was also on the ballot twice this month with Prop 26 and 27. Prop 26 would’ve legalized sports betting at tribal casinos and horse race tracks in California, as well as roulette and dice games, while Prop 27 would’ve legalized online sports betting outside of Native American tribal lands. The money generated from Prop 26 would’ve funded schools, gambling regulations, and mental health programs, while money from Prop 27 would’ve gone towards housing the homeless with additional funds going towards Native American tribes with no involvement in sports betting. Both of these propositions failed, with opponents arguing that it will increase the risk of gambling addiction, lawsuits against tribal casinos, as well as most of the money from Prop 27 going towards gaming companies outside of California.
After this fall, Californians can now expect the ability to maintain abortions and contraceptives, as well as improvements in arts and music education due to the funds being generated towards it. However, now that sports betting remaining Illegal in the state, we still hope that the money will go towards housing homeless and assisting Native American tribes as promised.
