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<DIV>This is an announcement from the GPCA Contact List. For more
information, or questions related to the topic of the posting, please do not hit
reply. Follow the contact directions listed at the end of the
email.<BR><BR><BR>GPCA STATEWIDE POLL OF COUNTIES--INITIATIVES <BR>FOR NOVEMBER
7 ELECTION.<BR>August 10 - September 8, 10:00
A.M.<BR><BR><BR>PRESENTER:<BR><BR>GPCA Campaigns and Candidates Working Group
(CCWG).<BR><BR>BACKGROUND:<BR><BR>The GPCA uses a poll of all recognized county
Green Parties to determine GPCA<BR>positions on ballot measures. Thirteen
such initiatives have qualified for the<BR>next state election on November 7,
2006. Please be sure that your county<BR>participates by submitting votes
by Friday, September 8, 10:00 a.m.<BR><BR>THE POLL:<BR><BR>This poll contains a
list of all initiatives that have qualified for the Nov. 7<BR>Election. Each
initiative title is followed by a recommendation made by<BR>volunteers from the
Green Party grassroots who have reviewed the measures. Of<BR>course, counties
are free to agree or disagree with the recommended positions.<BR>Following the
list of initiatives is an extensive list of arguments and<BR>resources for
research about each.<BR><BR>PROCESS:<BR><BR>Please provide the Poll Coordinators
(Matthew Leslie, Michael Borenstein) with<BR>vote results from your county in
the following form for each ballot initiative:<BR><BR>"Yes" for the GPCA to
support the initiative<BR>"No" for the GPCA to oppose the initiative<BR>"No
Position" for the GPCA to deliberately remain neutral on the
initiative<BR><BR>Votes may also be cast as "Abstain" if they do not wish to
participate in the<BR>poll. Abstentions will be counted toward
quorum.<BR><BR>Vote on the initiative itself, not the recommendation. For
example, if CCWG has<BR>recommended a position of "No," and your county wishes
to agree and vote "No" on<BR>the initiative, then your county should vote "No"
on the initiative, and not<BR>"Yes" on the recommended "No"
position.<BR><BR>PLEASE SUBMIT VOTES IN THE AMOUNT ALLOTED TO YOUR COUNTY FOR
THE LAKE TAHOE, SEPT. 2006 PLENARY. This list can be found
at<BR>http://www.cagreens.org/liaison/delegates.html. For example, if your
county has<BR>2 delegates, you would submit 2 votes in any combination of
positions. (Votes<BR>from counties with more than one delegate vote need
not be unanimous.) Your<BR>county should rely on its own internal processes to
arrive at its positions. To<BR>find out how many delegate votes your county has,
please check the list included<BR>at the end of this document.<BR><BR>The poll
has an 80% threshold.<BR><BR>TIMELINE:<BR><BR>The voting period begins on
Thursday, August 10 at 10:00 A.M., AND ENDS ON<BR>Friday, September 8, at 10:00
A.M. Votes received after the closing date and<BR>time will not be counted.
Submit all votes to BOTH of the Poll Coordinators at<BR>the following email
addresses:<BR><BR>Matthew Leslie<BR>mrl@greens.org<BR><BR>Michael
Borenstein<BR>thebor@greens.org<BR><BR>Please submit any questions about the
process of the poll to the same addresses.<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR>THE POLL:<BR><BR><BR>Recommended state Green Party positions for this
November's state propositions:<BR><BR><BR>Yes -- 1A -- Transportation Funding
Protection (Constitutional Amendment)<BR><BR>No -- 1B -- Highway
Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, Port Security Bond<BR>Act of 2006
<BR><BR>(No Position) -- 1C -- Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of
2006. <BR><BR>Yes -- 1D -- Education facilities: Kindergarten-University Public
Education<BR>Facilities Bond Act of 2006. <BR><BR>Yes -- 1E -- Disaster
Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006. <BR><BR>No -- 83
-- Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment,
Residence<BR>Restrictions and Monitoring. Initiative Statute. <BR><BR>Yes -- 84
-- Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control. Natural
Resource<BR>Protection. Park Improvements. Bonds. Initiative
Statute.<BR><BR>No -- 85 -- Waiting Period and Parental Notification
Before Termination of<BR>Minor's Pregnancy. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
<BR><BR>Yes -- 86 -- Tax on Cigarettes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and
Statute.<BR><BR>Yes -- 87 -- Alternative Energy. Research, Production,
Incentives. Tax on<BR>California Oil Producers. Initiative Constitutional
Amendment and Statute.<BR><BR>(No Position) -- 88 -- Education Funding. Real
Property Parcel Tax. Initiative<BR>Constitutional Amendment and
Statute.<BR><BR>Yes -- 89 -- Political Campaigns. Public Financing. Corporate
Tax Increase.<BR>Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits. Initiative
Statute.<BR><BR>No -- 90 -- Government Acquisition, Regulation of
Private Property. Initiative<BR>Constitutional Amendment.<BR><BR><BR>1A -- Yes
-- Transportation Funding Protection (Constitutional Amendment) <BR><BR>Prop. 1A
provides for further restrictions on the borrowing of gas taxes from<BR>the
Transportation Investment Fund by the General Fund (or the Governor).
Thus,<BR>it provides further protection for local governments from raiding of
local<BR>transportation funding. It provides for repayment
deadlines. However, it also<BR>loosens the parameters of the current law
by changing the circumstances under<BR>which borrowing may happen from
*emergency* to *severe fiscal hardship* of the<BR>state. In both current
and this proposed law, the Legislature must vote with a<BR>2/3 majority to
approve borrowing, without any unrelated baggage added to
the<BR>bill.<BR><BR>The changes from current law are:<BR>Borrowing in a fiscal
year may take place when ALL of these occur:<BR>* Governor proclaims
*necessity due to severe state fiscal hardship*.<BR>* Legislature passes the
required bill with a 2/3 vote and no riders allowed.<BR>* A statute is enacted
by the Legislature to repay the money with interest<BR>within 3
years.<BR><BR>This prop. would also prohibit borrowing more than twice during
any 10 year<BR>period of consecutive fiscal years and prohibit borrowing in any
fiscal year in<BR>which a previous payment has not been made.<BR><BR>Starting in
2008-2009: the allocation of funds is specified:<BR>20% to mass transport
and public transit<BR>40% to capital improvement programs (read mostly
highways)<BR>20% maintenance and repair, storm damage, rehab, city
reconstruction--done by<BR>cities<BR>20% same-- done by counties (both can
include a joint city or county)<BR>There is no alternative transport or
bicycle/ped money, but that could be done<BR>under capital improvement.
The Legislature may modify the percentages by 2/3<BR>vote; again, a *pure* vote
with no riders allowed. The total dollars would not<BR>change; that is,
the revenue from gas taxes is the total; just the %s can be<BR>moved
around. The Legislature may pass a bond statute secured by
transfer<BR>payments.<BR><BR>I would be in favor of this one. It is
generally reasonable. The voters want<BR>gas taxes to be spent on
transportation, and this does not change that. It is a<BR>use tax for
maintaining and upgrading transportation. It does not increase<BR>CalTrans
power (the biggest and richest department in state government). It<BR>does
not increase taxes or indebtedness. And again, it further protects
local<BR>governments from the raiding of local transportation funds by the
state, along<BR>the lines of our value of decentralization.<BR><BR>Proposition
1A warrants our support.<BR><BR><BR>1B -- No -- Highway Safety,
Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, Port Security Bond<BR>Act of 2006 <BR><BR>ON THE
OTHER HAND, there is Prop. 1B...<BR>Proposition 1B, a Bond Measure, is
entitled *The Highway Safety, Traffic<BR>Reduction, Air Quality, and Port
Security Act*. It specifies that that is what<BR>it is to be called on the
ballot and it eliminates the part played by law in the<BR>Election Code of the
Attorney General. I cannot approve of deliberately<BR>bypassing the
Election Code law, no matter how poorly the Attorney General's<BR>office has
been doing on these titles and analyses in recent years.<BR><BR>This title
pushes all the right buttons, but it is a bond call for<BR>$19,925,000,000 of
our tax money, plus interest of course. Of that, Port<BR>Security gets
$100,000,000. In other words, $19,825,000,000. does NOT go
to<BR>port security. $2 billion is thrown to Dept. of Transportation (DOT)
to augment<BR>other funding for whatever projects they wish. When you
analyze all the $$, you<BR>will see that the elephant's portion of it goes to
highway projects. Again and<BR>again you see the words *freight movement*,
*goods movement*, *trade*.... <BR>Fixing up roads for ingress and egress to
ports and harbors, main<BR>highways--because they are trade routes, airport
access roads, you name it, it's<BR>still a road and their main concern is
clearly really commerce. The parameters<BR>of allocation of funds are more
to enhance the efficiency and speed and capacity<BR>of goods movement than they
are to the lip service of safety or air quality<BR>($200,000,000. for school
buses, to reduce diesel exhaust and emissions--that's<BR>nice, but again,
$19,925,000,000. minus $200,000,000. says that $19,725,000,000.<BR>is NOT going
to the safety of children in CA.<BR><BR>Some of these projects need to be done,
but hardly as emergency items. (The<BR>bill specifies that it is an
urgency measure--the reason? not for the need of<BR>the projects, but for
the need to get it on the ballot in November!) Some of<BR>these should be
on the list of projects in the regular budget for DOT, and I'll<BR>bet some of
them, at least, are or will be. <BR><BR>It seems we have a massive
transportation bond measure every election, and this<BR>one clearly aims to take
advantage of Katrina and security/terrorist concerns<BR>the voters may have...it
is deliberately disingenuous and I can't abide this<BR>kind of sneakiness!
Let's pay for transportation needs with gas taxes and<BR>augment as necessary
from the General Fund, like any other need in the state<BR>would be
funded. If education and state parks only had this pork! Be sure
you<BR>read this one and talk about it!<BR><BR>The Green Party should solidly
oppose proposition 1B.<BR><BR><BR>1C -- (No Position) -- Housing and Emergency
Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006. <BR><BR>A coordination of groups is needed to
provide housing to California residents. <BR>The state provides financial
assistance, while cities and counties are<BR>responsible for the zoning and
approval of new housing. In addition, local<BR>governments are responsible
for providing infrastructure such as water, sewer,<BR>roads, and
parks.<BR><BR>Proposition 1C authorizes the state to sell $2.85 billion of
general obligation<BR>bonds to fund new and existing programs. The major
allocations: 1) Three new<BR>programs aimed development, such as parks,
water, sewage, transportation, and<BR>housing, 2) Assistance to homebuyers to
make downpayment for home ownership, and<BR>3) Construction or renovation of
rental housing projects, such as apartment<BR>buildings.<BR><BR>The first
concern is with the source of funds: general obligation bonds.
They<BR>require state taxpayers to pay the interest on these bonds for perhaps
the next<BR>30 years. Since most of the payers will not end up owning the
properties<BR>themselves, we wonder if they should be required to pay the
costs. <BR><BR>There is also concern with ownership by profit-motivated
entities benefitting<BR>from such taxpayer-paid subsidy. There are
nonprofit entities, whose purpose is<BR>to work with government to provide
benefits for the public, for example, the<BR>California Housing Finance Agency.
We cannot however guarantee that such housing<BR>will not someday get sold off
to profit-motivated owners. It may be better to<BR>create limited equity
arrangements composed of homeowners and local government<BR>to own the housing,
so that individuals can be building equity, instead of<BR>always just paying out
rent, year after year. As an alternative to Prop. 1C,<BR>programs which
will instead allow people to build equity seem to make sense, but<BR>we don't
yet have enough information about them, or knowledge about whether<BR>they've
even been tried before, to definitively recommend them in lieu of 1C at<BR>this
time.<BR><BR>Assistance to low-income residents to afford to pay the down
payment for home<BR>ownership is certainly a benefit for those residents.
It is likely, however,<BR>that there will only be enough funds to help some and
not others. Also, it is<BR>not clear whether the lucky residents could quickly
sell their new homes to get<BR>a quick windfall at taxpayer expense.<BR><BR>In
previous elections, and in line with our key value of social justice,
many<BR>Greens have supported the use of bonds to help finance housing for those
who<BR>need assistance. For example, in 2002, although the state party did
not take a<BR>position on proposition 46, the county Green Parties in Alameda
and San<BR>Francisco counties both endorsed Prop. 46. Now however, some
Greens are having<BR>reservations that these sorts of programs may simply not be
the best use of<BR>public funds, to address the need for decent affordable
housing.<BR><BR>Given these present internal differences in our information and
understanding,<BR>perhaps the wisest thing for the state Green Party to do might
be to simply not<BR>take a position on 1C -- and then, over the next year or so,
further develop and<BR>refine our understanding, analysis and policies on how
best to use public funds<BR>to provide housing assistance.<BR><BR><BR>1D -- Yes
-- Education facilities: Kindergarten-University Public Education<BR>Facilities
Bond Act of 2006.<BR><BR>Here we go again. This nearly 10.5 billion dollar bond
measure would fund K-12<BR>seismic retrofits AND vocational training facilities
(let's leave aside the mere<BR>token funding of voc. ed programs by the state,
we'll have the facilities), as<BR>well as community college and university
facility retrofits.<BR><BR>Money is sorely needed, and it's difficult to
envision anybody in state<BR>government actually allocating funds each year for
10 or 15 years to achieve<BR>these goals; therefore we are left with that old
dilemma. Not the best way to<BR>fund these necessary goals, but perhaps,
politically, the only way we have right<BR>now. (Interestingly, this
measure was authored and sponsored by Nunez in the<BR>Assembly, who is the
author, architect, and driving force behind the attempted<BR>dismantling of
local control (elected School Board) in LA County.)<BR><BR>Increased funding for
public education needs to be a top Green statewide<BR>priority. And
unfortunately it will be a while before significant funding<BR>alternatives can
become a practical reality (although we should of course work<BR>for
them). So in the meantime, let's endorse a "Yes" vote on 1D -- our
students<BR>need to be supported now. <BR><BR><BR>1E -- Yes -- Disaster
Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006. <BR><BR>This Bond Measure
(1E) puts the State in additional debt to the tune of 4<BR>Billion
dollars. At first read, we Green voters are excited by the fact
that<BR>the measure recognizes as a goal: "the control and elimination of
exotic<BR>species". But reading further we find only 300 million is
available for those<BR>projects, where feasible, and only when someone else (the
Federal government?)<BR>is putting up at least half the money.<BR><BR>The vast
majority of the money, 3 Billion, goes to repairing the state
levee<BR>system. Our levees are old and, like much of California's
non-highway public<BR>infrastructure, do not receive the attention they
deserve. Literature on this<BR>measure claims that an earthquake in the
Central Valley could create significant<BR>flooding. The supporters of
this measure are betting we all have seen too many<BR>pictures of New Orleans
this year to take a chance that an earthquake wouldnÕt<BR>cause
flooding.<BR><BR>The Democrats bill this as part of "rebuild California" and
when it works, it<BR>will do just that. But like many bonds that
call for infrastructure rebuilding<BR>this one has the usual shortcoming: no
details. For direction on how to decide<BR>where to spend the money, the
bill reads: "Prioritize project selection and<BR>project design to achieve
maximum public benefits from the use of these<BR>funds." The
decision is left up to the legislature and the Governor. So,
in<BR>reality, this measure just says "Hey, you folks in Sacramento, we'd like
you to<BR>borrow 4 Billion and spend it on, ya know,
prevent-Katrina-in-California looking<BR>stuff". We can conclude that some
projects will be sorely needed, put local<BR>workers to work, and help
strengthen the infrastructure while others will just<BR>be the usual pet
projects of our current and future legislators. How much of<BR>each you
think we will get depends upon what you think of how our State<BR>Government
does at prioritizing projects. (For example, the latitude for<BR>spending
in 1E is so broad that in theory, $3 billion could be spent on only<BR>those
levees that will encourage more development on flood-prone and
below<BR>sea-level land, while nothing at all might be spent to protect
already-developed<BR>areas (such as areas in or near Sacramento). Or vice
versa. The chances are,<BR>of course, that some of each will happen, but
it's just impossible to predict<BR>how the money will actually end up being
allocated).<BR><BR>Be that as it may, I say vote "yes" because it will do its
share of good. But<BR>if anyone asks what you'd prefer, respond: how about
a measure that directs the<BR>Governor to borrow 4 Billion dollars, spend 500
Million creating detailed plans<BR>to put Californians to work on projects to
strengthen our flood control<BR>infrastructure where lives and land are at the
highest risk and then spends the<BR>other 3.5 Billion paying a living wage to
implement the projects? <BR><BR>In conclusion, yes, we'll be taking a risk by
endorsing 1E and hoping that the<BR>money will be spent reasonably. But of
course, all of us take lots of risks<BR>everyday, whether it's crossing the
street, eating food that we didn't grow<BR>ourselves, or living near an
earthquake fault. And for the many Californians<BR>who currently live in
areas protected by levees, it's of course a risk as to<BR>whether the funding
will come through to adequately maintain those levees. So<BR>let's risk
helping them out. Vote "Yes" on 1E.<BR><BR><BR>83 -- No -- Sex Offenders.
Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence<BR>Restrictions and
Monitoring. Initiative Statute. <BR><BR>[ Proposition 83: The Sexual Predator
Punishment and Control Act: Jessica's Law<BR>]<BR><BR>This initiative is a
hysterical approach to a very serious issue.<BR><BR>No one wants serious sex
offenders who may re-offend on the loose or in their<BR>neighborhood.
Prohibiting their living near parks and schools and using<BR>electronic
monitoring to track their whereabouts may sound reasonable to
many<BR>voters. Long sentences will keep them off the
streets.<BR><BR>However, this initiative has serious problems. By creating
a 2000 foot radius<BR>surrounding parks and schools within which offenders
cannot live, it virtually<BR>banishes them to rural areas, where small law
enforcement agencies will have the<BR>burdensome task of tracking them.
<BR><BR>The initiative also fails to distinguish serious sex
offenders from young men<BR>who may have used poor judgment in their relations
with teenage girls. These<BR>men will never be able to live in most urban
areas, will serve long prison<BR>sentences, and will be tracked for the rest of
their lives as a result of their<BR>youthful indiscretion.<BR><BR>All this is
estimated to cost the taxpayers $500 million, money that could be<BR>better
spent on programs to treat, track or incarcerate truly serious
offenders.<BR><BR>A similar law passed in Iowa in 2001 may soon be repealed, as
the prosecutors'<BR>association that backed it now realizes their
mistake.<BR><BR>There is nothing in this "tough-on-crime" initiative that will
actually improve<BR>present law so as to make our lives or our children's lives
safer. This is an<BR>initiative that the Green Party should strongly
oppose.<BR><BR><BR>84 -- Yes -- Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control.
Natural Resource<BR>Protection. Park Improvements. Bonds. Initiative
Statute.<BR><BR>The state operates a variety of programs to conserve natural
resources, protect<BR>the environment, provide flood control, and offer
recreational opportunities to<BR>the public. The state also operates a program
to plan for future water supplies<BR>and other water-related requirements for a
growing population. Since 1996,<BR>voters have authorized approximately
$11 billion in general obligation bonds for<BR>various resource purposes.
Of this amount, $1.4 billion is projected to remain<BR>available for new
projects as of June 30, 2006. <BR><BR>Prop 84 allows the state to sell $5.4
billion in general obligation bonds for<BR>safe drinking water, water quality,
water supply, flood control, natural<BR>resource protection, and park
improvements. The cost of the bonds, assuming a<BR>5% interest rate, would
be approximately $10.5 billion (principal and<BR>interest). Payments would
be made from the General Fund over a period of thirty<BR>years.<BR><BR>Of the
$5.388 billion in bond funds, 28% would go toward water quality; 17%<BR>toward
the protection of rivers, lakes and streams; 15% toward flood control;<BR>11%
toward sustainable communities and climate change reduction; 10% toward
the<BR>protection of beaches, bays, and coastal waters; 9% toward parks and
natural<BR>education facilities; 8% toward forest and wildlife conservation; and
2% toward<BR>statewide water planning.<BR><BR>Opponents include Lewis K. Uhler,
the founder and president of the National Tax<BR>Limitation Committee, who was
also a major proponent of Prop 75, which sought to<BR>limit the ability of labor
unions to spend dues on political activity. <BR>Opponents argue, unconvincingly,
that Prop 84 would raise taxes and that there<BR>will be little public
oversight. Other opponents include Bill Leonard with the<BR>California
State Board of Equalization, and Ron Nehring, a consultant with<BR>Americans for
Tax Reform.<BR><BR>Proponents argue that environmental protection and improved
water quality<BR>efforts are much needed and of vital public interest. They also
argue that the<BR>measure will not raise taxes and that strict accountability
provisions are built<BR>into the initiative. Supporters include Clean Water
Action, the Nature<BR>Conservancy, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the
Ocean Conservancy, the<BR>League of Women Voters, and scores of other grassroots
groups. (Please see <BR>http://www.cleanwater2006.com/ for
additional endorsers, and further<BR>information).<BR><BR>The protection of our
state's natural resources is of critical importance, and<BR>Prop 84 will fund
much needed water improvement and environmental preservation<BR>efforts.
Additionally, our reading of the Proposition's text suggests that<BR>there would
be appropriate public oversight, contrary to what opponents claim.<BR>Greens
therefore urge a Yes vote on Prop 84<BR><BR><BR>85 -- No -- Waiting Period and
Parental Notification Before Termination of<BR>Minor's Pregnancy. Initiative
Constitutional Amendment.<BR><BR>Proposition 85 mandates that a physician notify
a minorÕs parents or guardian<BR>forty-eight hours before performing an
abortion, except in medical emergency, or<BR>by parental waiver or waiver of the
court. Proposition 85 would mandate the<BR>physician performing the abortion to
comply with reporting requirements to the<BR>government and impose monetary
damages against physicians for failing to comply<BR>with the above referenced
notification and/or reporting requirements. <BR>Proposition 85 is virtually
identical to last year's Proposition 73, which was<BR>defeated, and which the
state Green Party opposed. (The difference being that<BR>abortion is no
longer defined in the proposition's text as causing the "death of<BR>the unborn
child").<BR><BR><BR>Argument Against Proposition 85<BR><BR>Proposition 85
undermines the confidentiality of the patient / physician<BR>relationship, and
gives the government access to this private information.<BR>Proposition 85
undermines a womanÕs right to choose. There is no substitute for<BR>good family
communication, and our government is overstepping itÕs bounds by<BR>mandating
this confidential communication between a parent and a child, which<BR>could
irreparably damage personal relationships and lead to the persecution
of<BR>daughters for their mistakes and/or personal choices. This is
a<BR>patient/physician matter, and should be treated in this
way.<BR><BR>Opponents of Proposition 85 include Planned Parenthood, the
National<BR>Organization for Women (NOW), the California Medical Association
(CMA), the<BR>California Nurses Association (CNA), the League of Women Voters,
and the<BR>American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The Green Party should
renew its<BR>opposition to this punitive proposal by endorsing a "No" vote on
Proposition 85.<BR><BR><BR>86 -- Yes -- Tax on Cigarettes. Initiative
Constitutional Amendment and Statute.<BR><BR>This proposition will impose a
$2.60 excise tax on each pack of cigarettes and<BR>indirectly increases tax on
other tobacco products. It will provide funding for<BR>various health programs,
childrenÕs health care coverage and tobacco-related<BR>programs. The current
state law imposes excise taxes on cigarettes of a total of<BR>87 cents per pack.
Those taxes provide 50 cents to support childhood development<BR>program from
Prop 10 in 1998 and 25 cents to support tobacco education and<BR>prevention as
well as health care for low-income uninsured persons,<BR>environmental
protection and recreational programs from Prop 99 in 1988.<BR><BR>The taxes
collected would go into a fund called the Tobacco Tax of 2006 Trust<BR>Fund.
Some monies would provide back fill because it is expected for
cigarette<BR>sales to fall and programs currently being funded by Prop 10 would
need to be<BR>back filled by this tax. The Board of Equalization would determine
what amount<BR>that would be. After that 52.75 percent of the remaining funds
would be used to<BR>fund hospitals for their unreimbursed emergency services
along with expansion of<BR>emergency services, equipment and facilities. Private
hospitals and certain<BR>public hospitals including UCÕs hospitals would be
eligible for the funding.<BR>Hospitals that are licensed to Òother state
agenciesÓ or the federal government<BR>would not be eligible.<BR><BR>42.23
percent of the fund after the backfill would be used to expand health
care<BR>coverage for low income residents, including immigrants (both legal and
illegal)<BR>up to 300% above the federal poverty level. It would require certain
agencies to<BR>simplify administrative procedures to keep children covered with
health<BR>insurance.<BR><BR>The collected taxes will provide funding for
emergency services, nurse education<BR>and health insurance for eligible
children. There are other specified purposes<BR>including tobacco-use prevention
programs, enforcement of tobacco related laws<BR>and research and prevention
treatment of various conditions including breast,<BR>cervical prostate
colorectal cancers; heart disease, stroke, asthma and obesity.<BR>It will exempt
certain hospitals from anti-trust laws related to emergency<BR>services,
facilities and ER physicians. There is the usual unknown significant<BR>savings
to state and local public health agencies over time due to the decrease<BR>in
health care costs related to tobacco usage.<BR><BR>Hospitals have seen a severe
drop in the pool of available nurses. The nursing<BR>education programs at UC,
CSU, Community Colleges and privately operated nursing<BR>education program
would be expanded by the fund. It would support non-profit<BR>community clinics,
pay back student loans to get physicians to work with<BR>low-income persons in
communities with insufficient physicians. Also funding<BR>would provide prostate
cancer treatment to poor and underserved communities as<BR>well as provide
services to help people quit smoking.<BR><BR>Most of the sponsors of this
proposition consist of agencies that advocate or<BR>provide direct health care
services to underserved children. The other members<BR>of the coalition are the
American Cancer Society, American Lung Association,<BR>American Heart
Association, and the California Hospital Association. The<BR>American Lung
Association of California is using its lobbying group (government<BR>liaison) as
the point of contact for this proposition.<BR><BR>The part about exempting
hospitals from certain antitrust laws is interpreted by<BR>the Legislative
Analyst Office (LAO) as sharing certain medical services<BR>including emergency
services and the sharing of on-call emergency room<BR>physicians. The LAO
anticipates a decrease in cigarette sales and the<BR>possibility of an increase
in internet cigarette sales and illegal smuggling.<BR>Over time, the reduction
of cigarette sales due to the tobacco sales and excise<BR>tax will affect the
funding of the above programs. However, the decline in<BR>tobacco related
diseases would decrease the cost of health care by the state and<BR>other
agencies over time.<BR><BR>This Proposition is a good example of appropriately
taxing luxuries that cause<BR>harm to the individual and society. The
majority of the funds, after<BR>backfilling Proposition 10 programs, will go to
direct services health care<BR>programs. Since we are not providing
sufficient health care for every<BR>California resident, the taxes collected
will help fill in some of the gap. The<BR>Legislative Analyst Office noted that
the ÒexperimentalÓ program of providing<BR>health care for those 300% above the
Federal Poverty Level, or less, would be<BR>carefully watched. However, the text
of the Proposition provides an adequate<BR>system of checks and balances
including audits, commissions with a broad range<BR>of interested parties
including the communities these funds will serve.<BR><BR>At the same time, we
will need to watch how the enforcement part of the funding<BR>is spent. It
should not go to any police department in California. Unfortunately<BR>though,
they will get funding to enforce tobacco laws. Another ÒWar on
DrugsÓ<BR>focusing on tobacco could therefore theoretically be part of our
future. Another<BR>part that we need to be cautious about is the percentage that
is going to the<BR>General Fund. IÕd prefer to call it a slush fund, but
Proposition 13 has placed<BR>unbelievable constraints on the budget process:
Hence the need for a Òslush<BR>fund.Ó And until we can elect a Green as
Governor, we'll have to accept the<BR>fact that undoubtedly some of that
spending will be against our interests.<BR><BR>We can expect to hear that this
proposition will increase gang violence and that<BR>sales will targeted to
African American and under-served Californians. The logic<BR>in that argument is
specious. Since the price of a pack of cigarettes is going<BR>up by $2.60, many
in those communities will not be able to afford to smoke. In<BR>fact, the
proponents state that 700,000 Californians who are currently children<BR>will
not become adult smokers because of the almost doubling in the cost
of<BR>cigarettes. Yes, there will be some rise in cigarette smuggling and
illegal<BR>Internet sales, but the Òsmoke screenÓ RJ Reynolds and other business
political<BR>action committees are putting up is greatly exaggerated. Plus, more
money for<BR>programs to help smokers quit will be available. <BR><BR>Passage of
this initiative will mean that hundreds of thousands of lives will
be<BR>saved. Vote YES for Proposition 86.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>87 -- Yes --
Alternative Energy. Research, Production, Incentives. Tax on<BR>California Oil
Producers. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.<BR><BR>Establishes
$4 billion program to reduce petroleum consumption though incentives<BR>for
alternative energy, education and training with the goal of
reducing<BR>dependence on oil by 25%. Funded by tax of 1% to 6% depending on the
price of<BR>oil on California oil producers, which by law cannot be passed on to
the<BR>consumer. Program administered by new California Energy Alternatives
Program<BR>Authority. New State revenue from $225 million to $448 million
annually for a<BR>total of up to $4 billion.<BR><BR>The bill forms the
California Energy Alternatives Program Authority, a<BR>nine-member board which
includes the Secretary of the EPA, the Chair of the<BR>State Energy Resource
Conservation and Development Commission, the Treasurer<BR>(assuming the State
Treasurer), two members appointed by the Governor, one<BR>appointment by the
Controller, one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, one<BR>appointed by
the Senate Rules Committee, and one appointed by the Attorney<BR>General. The
commission will be able to hire an unidentified amount of<BR>employees. The
funds will be dispersed as follows: 57.5% to the gasoline and<BR>diesel use
reduction account, 26.75% to the Research and Innovation
Acceleration<BR>account, 9.75% to the Commercialization Acceleration Account,
2.5% to the<BR>Vocational Training Account, and 3.5% to the Public Education and
Administration<BR>Account. Fuels considered ÒalternativeÓ are fuel blends
consisting of at least<BR>85% ethanol, or a fuel blend consisting of at least
20% bio-diesel.<BR><BR>Based on current market realities, it would have been
nicer to see in the text a<BR>direction to make 100% bio-fuel accessible at
every pumping station, a diesel to<BR>bio-diesel car converter program, and a
tandem bill for incentives for car<BR>manufacturers to offer a range of new cars
explicitly for bio-diesel. We can<BR>only hope the revenue raised by this bill
will be used for pointed and<BR>measurable goals that aim to eliminate oil
dependency. However, Proposition 87<BR>is something -- anything -- to help our
addiction to oil and raise needed<BR>revenue for alternative fuel
implementation, so although imperfect, Proposition<BR>87 does warrant our ÒYESÓ
vote endorsement.<BR><BR>Some of the organizations which have already endorsed
Proposition 87 include<BR>Public Citizen, Gray Panthers, NRDC, Foundation for
Taxpayer and Consumer<BR>Rights, Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Sierra
Club. For more info.,<BR>please see: http://www.yeson87.org
<BR><BR><BR>88 -- No Position -- Education Funding. Real Property Parcel
Tax. Initiative<BR>Constitutional Amendment and
Statute.<BR><BR>Proposition 88 would enact a $50 per parcel, parcel tax (special
tax) on every<BR>parcel in California. About $450 million will be raised
annually for specified<BR>and very strict purposes: class-size reduction,
instructional materials, school<BR>safety. The money is needed, but a
state-wide parcel tax would be<BR>unprecedented, and the fixed amount, though
raising significant funds now, will<BR>erode over time. (That is the
nature of parcel taxes, however). Another<BR>legitimate argument against
is that there is no sunset for this.<BR><BR>While it might be acceptable (for
now) for local jurisdictions such as local<BR>school districts to have the
option of using parcel taxes to supplement their<BR>currently modest levels of
funding, given the regressive nature of parcel taxes,<BR>we need to think
carefully whether it would be wise to allow statewide parcel<BR>taxes to now
come into being. After all, local jurisdictions have very limited<BR>funding
options, while the state has a wide range of revenue possibilities, from<BR>very
progressive, to very regressive. (For example, many Greens would like
to<BR>see the top state income tax bracket be at least returned to its former
$200,000<BR>level for individuals. Our current system, whereby individuals
who make a mere<BR>$40,000 are now in the top bracket, is no longer progressive
for the majority of<BR>income that is earned in our state! Or, we could
end the corporate<BR>change-of-ownership loophole, whereby corporations continue
to reap huge Prop.<BR>13 tax savings, with their property never re-assessed,
even if their corporate<BR>stock changes owners every single
year!).<BR><BR>Prop. 88 is a tough one -- public education certainly needs the
money, but would<BR>enacting California's first statewide parcel tax open the
door to further<BR>regressive new taxes (whether they be additional statewide
parcel taxes, or<BR>whatever?). Unfortunately, we're not able to resolve
this either way, right<BR>now. (That is, it looks like we're going to have
to "delegate" further research<BR>and analysis on this one to our county Green
Party chapters).<BR><BR><BR>89 -- Yes -- Political Campaigns. Public Financing.
Corporate Tax Increase.<BR>Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits.
Initiative Statute.<BR><BR>YES ON PROP 89 Ð Public Financing of Political
Campaigns<BR><BR>Public financing of political campaigns has long been a Green
strategy to bring<BR>greater democracy to our corporate-ruled state.
Arizona and Maine already have<BR>successful public financing programs in
place. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock<BR>introduced bills for public campaign
financing into the CA legislature in 2004<BR>and 2005. Greens at first
objected to the billsÕ funding limits on third<BR>parties, but later negotiated
improvements and finally endorsed AB 583. AB 583<BR>failed in the Senate
earlier this year, but the California Nurses Association<BR>picked up the ball
with a state-wide signature campaign, and succeeded in<BR>getting it on the
November 2006 ballot as Prop 89. It has already gathered<BR>significant
support from around the state, including the League of Women Voters,<BR>Common
Cause, the Greenlining Institute, and (even) Phil Angelides. It
is<BR>opposed by the CA Chamber of Commerce and the Governor.<BR><BR>How does
Prop 89 work? Full public funding for campaign expenses goes
to<BR>qualifying candidates whose parties won more than 10% in the last
state-wide<BR>election. Qualified Green candidates (and others) can get
partial funding, and<BR>would become ÒmajorÓ candidates with full funding once
their party wins 10% of<BR>the vote state-wide or in any state office
district. To qualify for public<BR>funds, one needs to forgo private
donations, report all campaign expenditures,<BR>and gather a number of
individual $5 contributions to prove the candidateÕs<BR>political
ÒviabilityÓ. If a publicly-funded candidate is running
against<BR>someone taking private donations, that candidate is eligible for
additional<BR>funding to match the expenditures of the privately-funded
opponent. There are<BR>severe restrictions on corporate donations to any
campaign, even to ballot<BR>measures. And the cost of financing the
campaigns would be underwritten by a<BR>0.2% increase in the state corporate tax
rate.<BR><BR>It sounds great, but we understand that some Greens still have
doubts. While<BR>Prop 89 uses much of AB 583's language, there have been
some significant<BR>changes, particularly in the way small parties are
funded. The bad news is that<BR>third party funding percentages have been
cut in half from AB 583 levels. The<BR>good news, though, is that Prop 89
makes it somewhat easier to qualify for that<BR>partial funding than was
possible under Loni's bill. And the really great news<BR>is that with a
little hard work and grassroots organizing, Greens can become<BR>major players
with funding equal to the Dems and Republicans, in two to four<BR>short years
once Prop 89 becomes law.<BR><BR>Here are the details: A major party
candidate qualifies for public funding in<BR>part by gathering a certain number
of $5 contributions from individuals, to<BR>prove a strong base of acceptance
among the population. For example, an<BR>Assembly candidate needs 750 $5
contributions from the District to get $400,000<BR>in campaign funds; for
Senate, it is 1,500 contributions for $800,000; for<BR>state-wide office other
than Governor, 7,500 contributions for $2,000,000; and<BR>for Governor, 25,000
contributions for $15,000,000. <BR><BR>A minor party (or independent) candidate
can qualify for 25% of full major-party<BR>funding by gathering 50% of the
required contributions (this is a new Òweak<BR>candidateÓ provision). And
the same minor party candidate can qualify for 50%<BR>of full funding by
gathering 200% of the required contributions (this is less<BR>funding than in AB
583). Thus, for example, if a Green wanted to run for a<BR>District
Assembly seat, under Prop 89 rules he or she would need to get an easy<BR>325 $5
contributions from residents of the District to qualify for $100,000,
and<BR>then he or she would run against the Democrat and/or Republican's
$400,000. <BR>And if our Green were really ambitious, he or she could
collect 1,500 $5<BR>contributions and get $200,000.<BR><BR>Could we win with
$200,000? Well, when has a CA Green ever had $200,000 to<BR>spend on an
electoral campaign? So maybe we could. But in any case, we
would<BR>stand an excellent chance of getting more than the 10% of votes
required to<BR>insure that when we ran again two years later, we would have the
same $400,000<BR>as the Democrat and/or Republican would Ð a level financial
playing field at<BR>last! (Remember, our 1998 Lt. Governor candidate, Sara
Amir, received 10% of<BR>the vote for state assembly in 2000 with far less than
$100,000 of funding. If<BR>Prop. 89 had been in place at that time, she
could have then been able to run in<BR>2002 with a full $400,000 campaign
fund!).<BR><BR>There are many other scenarios that would work for Greens under
Prop 89. Laura<BR>Wells got 6% of the statewide vote for Controller in
2002 with practically no<BR>funding; do we think she could reach 10% using the
$1 million available to an<BR>ambitious small party candidate? And if
Peter Camejo got 10% of the<BR>gubernatorial vote, under Prop 89 rules ALL Green
candidates would then qualify<BR>for full funding in all the state races of the
subsequent election. (In other<BR>words, we would become a major party,
exactly equal to the Democrats and<BR>Republicans, in the eyes of Prop.
89).<BR><BR>To be sure, money is not everything, but it does play its part in
elections. So<BR>let's not focus on what Prop 89 does not do for
Greens. Given the advantages to<BR>Democracy in general of public campaign
financing, given that the disadvantages<BR>to Greens are not excessive and can
be overcome with hard work, and given that<BR>the odds of winning 10% of the
votes with partial public funding would almost<BR>certainly make some Greens
fully-funded ("major party") candidates in subsequent<BR>years, the Green Party
should enthusiastically endorse Prop 89 and recommend a<BR>YES vote on the
November ballot.<BR><BR>More info:<BR>Full text:
http://www.caag.state.ca.us/initiatives/pdf/SA2006RF0015_Amdt_2_S.pdf<BR>CNA
website: www.CleanMoneyElections.org<BR>Discussion:
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2006/07/a_load_of_hooey.html<BR><BR><BR>90
-- No -- Government Acquisition, Regulation of Private Property.
Initiative<BR>Constitutional Amendment.<BR><BR>The California constitution
states that private property may be taken for PUBLIC<BR>USE only when justly
compensated ..... . In practice this has gradually changed<BR>to PUBLIC
PURPOSE which has permitted eminent domain abuse. If Prop 90 was
a<BR>well-designed reform of eminent domain we might want to support it, however
it<BR>goes too far. It has numerous far-reaching provisions that could harm,
not<BR>protect, communities and might limit government's ability to enact
new<BR>legislation in various areas. It could potentially be very expensive
for<BR>California taxpayers.<BR><BR>This measure amends the California
Constitution to:<BR>- Limit government authority to take ownership of private
property.<BR>- Require government to pay property owners for substantial
economic losses<BR>resulting from some new laws and rules.<BR><BR>All EXISTING
laws and rules would be exempt from the measure's
compensation<BR>requirement. However, NEW laws and rules would be exempt
from this requirement<BR>only if government enacted them (1) to protect public
health and safety, (2)<BR>under a declared state of emergency, or (3) as part of
rate regulation by the<BR>California Public Utilities Commission. The terms of
the measure aren't clear,<BR>but the broad language of<BR>the measure suggests
that its new severe provisions could apply to a variety of<BR>future
governmental requirements that impose economic losses on property
owners.<BR>These laws and rules could include requirements relating, for
example, to<BR>employment conditions, apartment prices, endangered species,
historical<BR>preservation, and consumer financial protection.<BR><BR>This
measure's provisions regarding economic losses could have a major effect
on<BR>future state and local government policymaking and costs. State and
local<BR>governments might modify their policymaking practices to try to avoid
the costs<BR>of compensating property owners for losses.<BR><BR>The opponents of
Prop 90 say that it "could require Billions of dollars in new<BR>taxpayer costs
each year, if communities and the state continue to pass or<BR>enforce basic
laws to protect neighborhoods, limit unwanted development, protect<BR>the
environment, restrict unsavory business and protect consumers."<BR><BR>Follow
The Money ----<BR><BR>Support - is funded by Protect Our Homes Coalition which
gets almost all of it's<BR>money from The Fund For Democracy ($1,500,000 as of
5/06) a New York Committee<BR>funded by a wealthy New Yorker named Howie Rich or
from Montanans In Action<BR>($600,000), also a Howie rich funded
committee..<BR><BR>Opponents - $ comes from two committees.<BR>1) NO ON 90,
Californians Against The Taxpayers Trap ($355,411 as of 6/30/06) -<BR>a
committee of taxpayers, educators, business, environmentalists,
local<BR>governments and public safety.<BR>2) Conservations Taxpayer Protection
($35,525 as of 6/30/06) - a committee of<BR>the California League of
Conservation voters.<BR><BR>In sum, Prop. 90 will put local, regional, and state
government at the mercy of<BR>private (and corporate) landowners, who will be
able to sue for just about every<BR>conceivable possible loss of value to their
property. If Prop. 90 passes, the<BR>public interest, which has been
struggling for decades, will suffer one of its<BR>greatest defeats yet.
The Green Party should strongly oppose Prop. 90. (Note: <BR>A list of
other organizations that are already opposed to Prop. 90
follows).<BR><BR><BR>Who Opposes Proposition 90<BR><BR>Environmental
Groups<BR>The Nature Conservancy<BR>California League of Conservation
Voters<BR>Audubon California<BR>Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Communities<BR>National Wildlife Federation<BR>Natural Resources Defense
Council<BR>The Ocean Conservancy<BR>Sierra Club California<BR>California State
Parks Foundation<BR>Defenders of Wildlife<BR>Environmental Defense<BR>California
Oak Foundation<BR>Planning and Conservation League<BR>Greenbelt
Alliance<BR>Endangered Habitats League<BR>California Council of Land
Trusts<BR><BR><BR>Public Safety Groups<BR>California Police Chiefs
Association<BR>California Fire Chiefs Association<BR><BR><BR>Education
Groups<BR>California School Boards Association<BR>Coalition for Adequate School
Housing (C.A.S.H.)<BR>Small School Districts' Association<BR><BR>Agriculture
Groups<BR>American Farmland Trust<BR><BR><BR>Business/Economic Interest
Groups<BR>California Association for Local Economic
Development<BR><BR><BR>Homeowner/Housing Groups<BR>League of California
Homeowners<BR>California Housing Consortium<BR>California Housing Partnership
Corporation<BR>Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League<BR>Orange County
Community Housing Corporation<BR>San Francisco Tenants Union<BR>Oakland Tenants
Union<BR>Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights<BR><BR><BR>Consumer/Public Interest
Groups<BR>League of Women Voters of California<BR>Public Advocates,
Inc.<BR><BR><BR>Community Groups<BR>Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable
City<BR><BR><BR>Government Groups<BR>League of California Cities<BR>California
State Association of Counties<BR>California Redevelopment
Association<BR>California Special Districts Association<BR>American Planning
Association, California Chapter
Resources<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>contacts2
mailing
list<BR>contacts2@marla.cagreens.org<BR>http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts2<BR>_____________________________________________</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>