By Kathryn Phillips
Sierra Club California has taken an “Oppose” position on two bad ballot measures on the November ballot: Proposition 3 and Proposition 6.
Proposition 3 is a poorly developed water bond that was crafted via a “pay-to-play” method. That means that the proponents negotiated with various special interests to include pet projects in the bill in exchange for supporting—including with campaign funds—the bond measure.
As a result, the proposition would create a nearly $8.9-billion bond that would be continuously appropriated, without regard for the state of the state’s treasury. And a lot of the projects in the bond, including dams, do not deserve the taxpayer funding that would pay for them. You can see our factsheet about the bond here: bit.ly/NoProp3CA-FactSheet. You can see a more detailed FAQ here: bit.ly/NoProp3CA-FAQ.
Proposition 6, meanwhile, is a cynical effort by political operatives to draw conservative voters to the polls in November. The measure would rescind a gas tax passed by the legislature in 2017, through Senate Bill 1, to fund a range of transportation projects. Transit funding, repairing local roads and bridges, and improving bicycle and pedestrian access are among the projects that would be funded over time as a result of the tax. You can learn more about that bad ballot measure’s impacts at www.noprop6.com.
So, remember, vote NO on Proposition 3 and Proposition 6 in November.
You can find the rest of our November endorsements online here.
Kathryn Phillips is director of Sierra Club California, the legislative and regulatory advocacy arm for Sierra Club chapters in California.