STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE RECOMMENDATION FROM HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION:

March 3, 2024

NO on PROPOSITION 1

Proposition 1 is a $6.38 billion bond (bonds are how the state borrows money, which taxpayers must repay, with interest, over many years). Although Proposition 1 is advertised as a “transformational” solution to mental health care and homelessness, it is not. The $6.38 billion will pay for only 6,800 beds in treatment facilities and fewer than 4,500 units of housing for the homeless, including homeless veterans, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. There are more than 170,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in California.

Existing mental health services are threatened by Proposition 1, which raids current funding for county mental health programs paid for by the 1% “millionaire’s tax” approved by voters two decades ago. That will cause counties to scramble for funds to continue existing programs, and it could increase pressure for tax increases in counties throughout California. Moreover, Proposition 1 violates all the basic principles of sound bond financing, including the constitutional requirement that the money raised is for a “single work or project.” 

Vote No on Proposition 1.