California Proposition 68 (also the Natural Resources Bond or the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that appeared on ballots in California in the June primary election in 2018. It was a $4.1bn bond measure to fund parks, environmental projects, water infrastructure projects and flood protection measures throughout California.
Proposal The Proposition would allow the State of California to borrow $4.1bn using a municipal bond scheme in order to fund parks, water and flood protection infrastructure and various environmental projects. The Proposition set allocation of these funds between different strategies: Natural Resource Conservation and Resiliency - $1.547bn State conservancies and wildlife conservation - $767m Climate preparedness and habitat resiliency - $443m Ocean and coastal protection - $175m River and waterway improvements - $162m Parks and recreation - $1.283bn Parks in neighbourhoods with few parks - $725m Local and regional parks - $285m State park restoration, preservation and protection - $218m Trails, greenways, and rural recreation - $55m Water - $1.27bn Flood protection - $550m Groundwater recharge and cleanup - $370m Safe drinking water - $250m Water recycling - $100m
The cost to the public was estimated to be $7.8bn after paying off interest, or an average annual repayment of $200m for forty years.
Campaign Support Proposition 68 was authored by State Senator Kevin de León. The 'Yes' campaign focused mainly on the improvements the Proposition would bring to parks, saying that it would remedy years of "under-investment" in environmental infrastructure in poorer communities. 'Yes' supporters spent more than $9m throughout the campaign.
Endorsements Jerry Brown, then-Governor of California Gavin Newsom, then-Lieutenant Governor of California Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor League of California Cities, association of California's cities Los Angeles Times, the United States' fifth largest newspaper, based in Los Angeles The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento's largest newspaper Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles newspaper The Mercury News, paper from San Jose, California The Outdoor Industry Association Save the Redwoods League Peninsula Open Space Trust
Opposition Opposition to Proposition 68 mainly argued that instead of issuing debt, the state should fund parks and environmental projects through California's general fund. It was also noted that although the 'Yes' campaign was promoting the Proposition on its benefits to parks, less than one third of the money would actually go towards parks and recreation.
Endorsements John Moorlach, State Senator Andrea Seastrand, former House member Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Peace and Freedom Party, left-wing political party Chico Enterprise-Record, newspaper of Chico, California
Results Yes/No Statement A "yes" vote on Proposition 68 proposes: The state could sell $4.1 billion in general obligation bonds to fund various natural resources-related programs such as for habitat conservation, parks, and water-related projects. A "no" vote on Proposition 68 proposes: The state could not sell $4.1 billion in general obligation bonds to fund various natural resources-related programs.
Results Proposition 68 gained 3,808,000 yes votes and 2,831,899 no votes (a total of 6,639,899 votes), so passing with 57.35% approval
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