California Proposition 2, Public Education Facilities Bond Measure (2024)

California Proposition 2
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Bond issues and Education
Status On the ballot
Type Bond issue	Origin State Legislature

California Proposition 2, the Public Education Facilities Bond Measure is on the ballot in California as a legislatively referred bond act on November 5, 2024.

A "yes" vote supports issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund construction and modernization of public education facilities.

A "no" vote opposes issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund construction and modernization of public education facilities.

Übersicht

What would Proposition 2 fund?

See also: Measure design

Proposition 2 would issue $10 billion in bonds with $8.5 billion dedicated to elementary and secondary educational facilities and $1.5 billion for community college facilities. Proposition 2 would make changes to the formula used to determine the amount each district is required to contribute to be eligible to receive state funding from the bond revenue. The measure would have required the state government to cover between 50 and 55% of construction project costs and 60 and 65% of modernization project costs.

What is California's bonded debt capacity?

See also: Bond debt in California

The Legislative Analyst's Office reported that California is repaying an estimated $80 billion in bonded debt and is authorized to sell an outstanding $35 billion in bonds. The state spends approximately $6 billion from the General Fund (3% of the total fund) each year to repay bonds. The office estimated that the cost to repay Proposition 2 would be an estimated $500 million annually for 35 years.

When was the last time California voters approved a bond measure to fund public education facilities?

See also: Bond issues on the ballot in California

California voters last approved a bond measure to fund public education facilities in 2016 with the approval of Proposition 51, which issued $9 billion in bonds to fund improvement and construction of school facilities for K-12 schools and community colleges. It was approved by a margin of 55.18% to 44.82%.

California voters defeated a bond measure, Proposition 13, to fund public education facilities in March 2020. It would have authorized $15 billion in general obligation bonds for school and college facilities, including $9 billion for preschool and K-12 schools, $4 billion for universities, and $2 billion for community colleges. Proposition 13 was the first statewide education-related bond issue that voters rejected since 1994. It was defeated with 53.01% voting against the measure.

Measure design

See also: Text of measure

Click on the arrows (▼) below for summaries of the different provisions of California Proposition 2.

Funds for school districts: distribution and prioritization of bond funds for schools

Proposition 2 would issue $10 billion in bonds with $8.5 billion dedicated to elementary and secondary educational facilities and $1.5 billion for community college facilities. The law would allocate the bond revenue according to the following schedule:

• $3 billion for new construction of school facilities, with up to 10% available to small school districts;
• $4 billion for the modernization of school facilities, with up to 10% available to small school districts and $115 million for lead in water testing and remediation;
• $600 million for charter school facilities;
• $600 million for career technical education program facilities; and
• $1.5 billion for California Community Colleges.

Proposition 2 would make changes to the formula used to determine the amount each district is required to contribute to be eligible to receive state funding from the bond revenue. The measure would have required the state government to cover between 50 and 55% of construction project costs and 60 and 65% of modernization project costs.

The law would require school districts to submit a five-year school facilities master plan approved by the school district governing board to the Department of General Services to participate in the school facilities program. The plan must include an inventory of existing school facilities and classroom capacity, projected enrollment growth, a capital planning budget for the district, financing and other funding sources for the projects, the school district's current assessed value, and the district's deferred maintenance plan.

Changes to local school bonds: rules for schools to raise revenue

Proposition 2 would increase the maximum amount of bonded debt a school district could issue and still be eligible for financial hardship from $5 million to $15 million and increase the maximum by an inflation adjustment each fiscal year beginning with the 2026-2027 fiscal year. In California, school districts must place local general obligation bonds on the ballot, and the bond measure must receive 55% of the vote to be approved.

Funds for higher education facilities: distribution and prioritization of bond funds for community colleges

Proposition 2 would issue $1.5 billion in bonds to fund construction on existing and new campuses and renovation of facilities. The measure would authorize the bond revenue for the purposes authorized by the state legislature in the annual state budget. The measure would require any requests for funds from the bond issue by the California Community Colleges to include a five-year capital outlay plan that demonstrates the needs and priorities of the community college system and prioritizes seismic retrofitting.

Accountability measures: reporting requirements

Proposition 2 would require the governing board of a school district, charter school, or community college district to perform an independent audit of any projects funded in whole or in part by the bonds. The measure would also require the audit to be published online by the governing board. Governing boards would also have to hold at least one public hearing to solicit input on school district projects before requesting state funds.

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is below:

Support

Yes on Proposition 2-Coalition for Adequate School Housing Issues Committee and Yes on Proposition 2-Community College Facility Coalition Issues Committee are leading the campaign in support of Proposition 2.

Supporters

Unions

• California Federation of Teachers
• California Labor Federation

Organizations

• Alameda County Office of Education
• Association of California School Administrators
• California Builders Alliance
• California Chamber of Commerce
• California Retired Teachers Association
• Community College League of California
• Los Angeles Unified School District

Arguments

• State Asm. Al Muratsuchi (D-66): "The bottom line is, any school bond that we place on the ballot is not going to cover the enormous needs of our K-12 schools and community colleges. But this money will help address the most urgent needs. … I am hopeful and optimistic that California voters will recognize that this is a good deal."
• Rebeca Andrade, superintendent of Salinas City Elementary District in Monterey County: "This money is badly needed. We don’t have the money to make the basic, structural repairs that are needed at every one of our schools. Students need safe spaces to learn if they’re going to reach their full potential."

Opposition

Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at [email protected].

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at [email protected]

Campaign finance

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through June 30, 2024. The deadline for the next scheduled reports is September 26, 2024.

See also: Campaign finance requirements for California ballot measures

Ballotpedia identified two committees registered in support of Proposition 2—Yes on Proposition 2 - Coalition for Adequate School Housing Issues Committee and Yes on Proposition 2 - Community College Facility Coalition Issues Committee. Together the committees reported over $1.2 million in contributions.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$1,214,725.01	$11,509.28	$1,226,234.29	$61,090.77	$72,600.05
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the ballot measure.

Committees in support of Proposition 2
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Yes on Proposition 2 - Coalition for Adequate School Housing Issues Committee	$1,097,675.01	$11,509.28	$1,109,184.29	$40,964.90	$52,474.18
Yes on Proposition 2 - Community College Facility Coalition Issues Committee	$117,050.00	$0.00	$117,050.00	$20,125.87	$20,125.87
Total	$1,214,725.01	$11,509.28	$1,226,234.29	$61,090.77	$72,600.05

Donors

The following table shows the top donors to the committees registered in support of the ballot measure.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
DLR Group	$100,000.00	$0.00	$100,000.00
Neff Construction, Inc.	$80,000.00	$0.00	$80,000.00
Erickson-Hall Construction Co.	$60,000.00	$0.00	$60,000.00
Tilden-Coil Constructors, Inc.	$60,000.00	$0.00	$60,000.00
Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes	$50,000.00	$209.93	$50,209.93

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

California Proposition 13 (March 2020)

See also: California Proposition 13, School and College Facilities Bond (March 2020)

In March 2020, California voters rejected Proposition 13 by a vote of 46.99% in support to 53.01% in opposition. Proposition 13 would have authorized the issuance of $15 billion in bonds for school and college facilities, including $9 billion for preschool and K-12 schools, $4 billion for universities, and $2 billion for community colleges. It was the first statewide education-related bond issue that voters rejected since 1994 when Propositions 1B and 1C were defeated.

Between 1994 and 2020, voters approved six bond measures for school facilities—Proposition 203 (1996), Proposition 1A (1998), Proposition 47 (2002), Proposition 55 (2004), Proposition 1D (2006), and Proposition 51 (2016).

Bond issues on the ballot in California

See also: Bond issues on the ballot

Californians cast ballots on 46 bond issues, totaling $200.536 billion in value, from January 1, 1993, through March 5, 2024. Voters approved 34 (74%) of the bond measures—a total of $163.054 billion. Nine of the measures were citizen initiatives, and six of the nine citizen-initiated bonds were approved. The legislature referred 37 bond measures to the ballot, and 28 of 37 legislative referrals were approved. The most common purposes of a bond measure between 1993 and 2024 were water infrastructure and housing, for which there were nine bond measures each.

Click show to expand the bond revenue table.

Year	Measure	Amount	Primary purpose	Origin	Outcome
1993	Proposition 173	$185 million	Housing	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 180	$2 billion	Parks	Initiative	d
1994	Proposition 181	$1 billion	Transport	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1A	$2 billion	Disasters	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1B	$1 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	d
1994	Proposition 1C	$900 million	Higher education	Legislature	d
1996	Proposition 192	$2 billion	Disasters	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 203	$3 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 204	$995 million	Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
1996	Proposition 205	$700 million	Jails	Legislature	d
1996	Proposition 206	$400 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
1998	Proposition 1A	$9.2 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 12	$2.1 billion	Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 13	$1.97 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 14	$350 million	Libraries	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 15	$220 million	Crime labs	Legislature	d
2000	Proposition 16	$50 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2000	Proposition 32	$500 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 40	$2.6 billion	Parks; Environment	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 41	$200 million	Voting systems	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 46	$2.1 billion	Housing	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 47	$13.05 billion	K-12 education	Legislature	a
2002	Proposition 50	$3.44 billion	Water infrastructure	Initiative	a
2004	Proposition 55	$12.3 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2004	Proposition 57	$15 billion	Deficit	Legislature	a
2004	Proposition 61	$750 million	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2006	Proposition 1B	$19.925 billion	Transport	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1C	$2.85 billion	Housing	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1D	$10.416 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 1E	$4.09 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2006	Proposition 81	$600 million	Libraries	Legislature	d
2006	Proposition 84	$5.388 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 10	$5 billion	Energy	Initiative	d
2008	Proposition 12	$900 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 1A	$9.95 billion	Transport	Legislature	a
2008	Proposition 3	$980 million	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2014	Proposition 1	$7.12 billion	Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2014	Proposition 41	$600 million	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2016	Proposition 51	$9 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Initiative	a
2018	Proposition 1	$4 billion	Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a
2018	Proposition 3	$8.877 billion	Environment; Water infrastructure	Initiative	d
2018	Proposition 4	$1.5 billion	Hospitals	Initiative	a
2018	Proposition 68	$4 billion	Parks; Environment; Water infrastructure	Legislature	a
2020	Proposition 13	$15 billion	K-12 education; Higher education	Legislature	d
2020	Proposition 14	$5.5 billion	Stem cell research	Initiative	a
2024	Proposition 1	$6.38 billion	Healthcare; Veterans; Housing	Legislature	a

Bond debt in California

The Legislative Analyst's Office reported that California is repaying an estimated $80 billion in bonded debt and is authorized to sell an outstanding $35 billion in bonds. The state spends approximately $6 billion from the General Fund (3% of the total fund) each year to repay bonds. The office estimated that the cost to repay Proposition 2 would be an estimated $500 million annually for 35 years.

Path to the ballot

See also: Legislatively referred bond measures in California

A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the California State Legislature to place a legislatively referred bond measure on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 54 votes in the California State Assembly and 27 votes in the California State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Bond measures do require the governor's signature.

This bond measure was introduced as Assembly Bill 247 (AB 247) on January 18, 2023. It passed the Assembly on May 25, 2023, by a vote of 66-0 with 14 absent. The Senate passed an amended version on July 3, 2024, by a vote of 34-3. The Assembly passed the amended version on July 3 by a vote of 72-1.

Vote in the California State Senate July 3, 2024
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 27  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	34	3	3
Total percent	85.0%	7.5%	7.5%
Democrat	31	0	1
Republican	3	3	2

Vote in the California State Assembly July 3, 2024
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 54  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	72	1	6
Total percent	91.1%	1.3%	7.6%
Democrat	61	0	1
Republican	11	1	5

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in California

Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in California.

How to cast a vote in California

Poll times All polls in California are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To vote in California, an individual must be a U.S. citizen and California resident. A voter must be at least 18 years of age on Election Day. Pre-registration is available at 16 years of age. Pre-registered voters are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18. Automatic registration California automatically registers eligible individuals to vote when they complete a driver's license, identification (ID) card, or change of address transaction through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Learn more by visiting this website. Online registration See also: Online voter registration California has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration California allows same-day voter registration. Californians must be registered to vote at least 15 days before Election Day. If the registration deadline has passed for an upcoming election, voters may visit a location designated by their county elections official during the 14 days prior to, and including Election Day to conditionally register to vote and vote a provisional ballot, which are counted once county election officials have completed the voter registration verification process. The state refers to this process as Same Day Voter Registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in California, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States California's constitution requires that voters be U.S. citizens. When registering to vote, proof of citizenship is not required. Individuals who become U.S. citizens less than 15 days before an election must bring proof of citizenship to their county elections office to register to vote in that election. Verifying your registration The secretary of state's My Voter Status website allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements California does not require voters to present identification before casting a ballot in most cases . However, some voters may be asked to show a form of identification when voting if they are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and did not provide a driver license number, California identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number. The following list of accepted ID was current as of August 2024. Click here for the California Secretary of State page to ensure you have the most current information. " Current and valid photo identification provided by a third party in the ordinary course of business that includes the name and photograph of the individual presenting it. Examples of photo identification include, but are not limited to, the following documents: driver's license or identification card of any state; passport; employee identification card; identification card provided by a commercial establishment; credit or debit card; military identification card; student identification card; health club identification card; insurance plan identification card; or public housing identification card. Any of the following documents, provided that the document includes the name and address of the individual presenting it, and is dated since the date of the last general election…: utility bill; bank statement; government check; government paycheck; document issued by a governmental agency; sample ballot or other official elections document issued by a governmental, agency dated for the election in which the individual is providing it as proof, of residency or identity; voter notification card issued by a governmental agency; public housing identification card issued by a governmental agency; lease or rental statement or agreement issued by a governmental agency; student identification card issued by a governmental agency; tuition statement or bill issued by a governmental agency; insurance plan card or drug discount card issued by a governmental agency; discharge certificates, pardons, or other official documents issued to the individual by a governmental agency in connection with the resolution of a criminal case, indictment, sentence, or other matter; public transportation authority senior citizen and disabled discount cards issued by a governmental agency; identification documents issued by governmental disability agencies; identification documents issued by government homeless shelters and other government temporary or transitional facilities; drug prescription issued by a government doctor or other governmental health care provider; (R) property tax statement issued by a governmental agency; vehicle registration issued by a governmental agency; or vehicle certificate of ownership issued by a governmental agency. ”

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Bond issues on the ballot
• Education on the ballot
• 2024 legislative sessions

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text