{"id":470845,"date":"2026-09-21T13:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470845\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T13:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:46:11","slug":"column-three-ballot-measures-on-housing-medical-research-but-only-one-no-brainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470845\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: Three ballot measures on housing, medical research but only one no-brainer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Three state bond measures are on California\u2019s November ballot.<\/a> You probably haven\u2019t paid much attention to them. So here\u2019s my read on these big-ticket proposals.<\/p>\n

One is a no-brainer \u201cyes.\u201d It would help middle-class Californians buy a new home by allowing them to borrow most of the down payment. And it wouldn\u2019t cost taxpayers a dime. That\u2019s Proposition 37.<\/p>\n

Another housing measure is probably worthwhile, but gives me pause because it accommodates too many interests in order to attract broad political support. And it burns a barrel of money. That\u2019s Proposition 1.<\/p>\n

The third proposal would fund important medical research. But I wince because it was written to largely benefit one institute that was co-founded and is headed by the measure\u2019s chief backer. That\u2019s Proposition 38.<\/p>\n

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Propositions 1 and 38 combined would add $18.4 billion to the state\u2019s general fund bond debt, which already is about $80 billion, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst\u2018s Office.<\/p>\n

Plus, there is $40 billion in previously authorized bonds waiting to be sold. The new bond proposals would cost the state at least $1 billion annually for 20 to 25 years. Taxpayers are paying about $6 billion annually to retire state bonds.<\/p>\n

Bonds are boring, but they\u2019re also tax eaters. So we should pay some attention before voting on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think about bonds as free money. And, of course, they\u2019re not,\u201d says Mark Baldassare, polling director for the Public Policy Institute of California. \u201cPeople don\u2019t think bonds are going to raise their taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But most bonds are repaid by the state\u2019s general fund, the main cash box that finances major programs such as education, healthcare, prisons and fighting wildfires. Bond debt has No. 1 dibs on the money. When revenue runs short \u2014 a common dilemma in Sacramento \u2014 other programs must be cut or taxpayers are hit harder. So bonds aren\u2019t necessarily tax-free.<\/p>\n

Baldassare released a PPIC poll last week that found a majority of likely voters supporting all three bond measures \u2014 especially Proposition 37 to ease homebuyers\u2019 down payments.<\/p>\n

The pollster noted that fall election campaigns are just starting and opposition arguments could reduce support for the measures.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no organized opposition to the two housing proposals. And although the medical research measure has some outspoken critics, there\u2019s no money for an opposition campaign.<\/p>\n

OK, a few specifics on each measure.<\/p>\n

Proposition 37 is a taxpayer freebie, a $25-billion bond repaid solely by homebuyer beneficiaries. Here\u2019s how it would work:<\/p>\n

Middle-income people could pay 3% down on their home purchases rather than the normal 20%. They\u2019d borrow the other 17% as a second mortgage and repay it along with the first mortgage.<\/p>\n

The proposition defines middle class as household income that\u2019s less than double the median for the area. Statewide, that income ceiling would be around $200,000 but would vary greatly by locale.<\/p>\n

The purchased dwelling must be a brand-new home, whether stand-alone or a condo. That\u2019s to increase the housing supply and create construction jobs. Politically, it gains the support of developers and unions.<\/p>\n

No vacation home. It must be owner-occupied full-time. And the buyer must be a California resident.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s sale of revenue bonds would create the down-payment pot. Regular lending institutions would arrange the loans and charge minimum fees. Loan repayments would replenish the pot and make it self-sustaining.<\/p>\n

This was the brainchild of Bob Hertzberg, a former Democratic Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader from the San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n

Hertzberg tried several times to sell his proposal to the Legislature, but lawmakers wanted to juice it up with their own pet ideas. \u201cI couldn\u2019t get something just focused on the middle class,\u201d he says. So he crafted this citizen initiative.<\/p>\n

Proposition 1 proposes $11.25 billion in bonds for a smorgasbord of affordable housing.<\/p>\n

This is the political establishment\u2019s creation \u2014 Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic-controlled Legislature and housing interests. There\u2019s no organized opposition.<\/p>\n

It was dressed up with $1.25 billion in popular CalVet loan bonds for military veterans. They repay their home loans through mortgages, costing the state nothing.<\/p>\n

But the remaining $10 billion in bonds would be repaid through the state general fund, costing at least $500 million annually for 25 years.<\/p>\n

The measure is mainly designed to generate affordable rentals for poor people. But to assure legislative passage, money was added for affordable student and farmworker housing, plus other goodies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot of money and makes only a small dent in California\u2019s unaffordable housing plague. Moreover, it seems too scattershot.<\/p>\n

But it could spare more people from becoming homeless \u2014 living in their cars or on sidewalks, ultimately costing taxpayers even more.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Proposition 38, the problematic $8.4-billion general fund bond for medical research, including cures for cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The hang-up for me and others is that the ballot initiative was crafted to virtually assure that half the bond money would go to one outfit, the UCLA-affiliated California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy. The institute was co-founded and is headed by the proposition\u2019s originator and chief backer, billionaire Gary Michelson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know opponents want to create a billionaire boogeyman, but isn\u2019t curing cancer and other terrible diseases exactly what we want billionaires to spend their money on?\u201d says Robin Swanson, a campaign spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Sure. But being backed by a billionaire isn\u2019t the problem. It\u2019s being written to substantially benefit one research institute that\u2019s led by the billionaire.<\/p>\n

Two cancer survivors and political opposites \u2014 conservative consultant Jon Fleischman and liberal consultant Steve Maviglio \u2014 co-authored an op-ed that declared:<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine either major political party proposing to borrow billions of dollars and writing the qualifications so narrowly that an organization founded and chaired by a principal campaign benefactor appears positioned to collect half the money. The other party would rightly howl. So should voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

They should at least be skeptical.<\/p>\n

What else you should be reading<\/p>\n

The must-read: California health clinics accuse influential union and its leader of racketeering in civil lawsuit<\/a>
Danger zone: Newsom creates panel on AI safety regulation, suggests possible \u2018kill switch\u2019<\/a>
The L.A. Times Special: Union power vs. MAGA politics in California\u2019s schools superintendent race<\/a> <\/p>\n

Until next week,
George Skelton<\/p>\n

\u2014
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