A LOOK AT THE 11 PROPOSITIONS

As Californians consider the complicated questions posed by the propositions on the 2018 statewide ballot, they can take some solace in knowing that the list could have been much longer. ¶ A handful of proposals were pulled off the ballot: One was removed by the courts, another was canceled after a legislative deal in Sacramento, a third was just abandoned by its backers, who faced a potentially expensive campaign. Eleven propositions remain. ¶ Each needs only a simple majority of votes cast on Nov. 6 to become law.

Affordable housing The largest share of the borrowed funds would go toward building and renovating multi-unit housing through a loan program administered by state officials. Apartment units would be reserved for those with incomes below the median level in their community. A number of projects are envisioned for funding from these bonds, including housing near public transit in urban areas and help for farmworkers in rural areas.

One billion dollars of the bond money would be set aside to help provide home loans to military veterans.

Homeless housing This proposal is unlike the other bond measures in that it doesn’t propose borrowing to be paid back from the state’s general fund. Instead, it would pay back $2 billion in long-term borrowing for homeless housing with some of the dollars collected from a millionaire’s tax enacted by voters in 2004. Lawmakers tried to pass the proposal without voter approval, but relented after critics challenged the attempt in court.

Those dollars are earmarked for mental health services, and so Proposition 2 — known as the “No Place Like Home” program — proposes building and rehabilitating housing for homeless Californians with mental health needs. State housing officials would have a large role in overseeing how the money is used.

Water supply projects No bond measure on this November’s ballot is bigger — $8.9 billion in total borrowing — or more densely worded than Proposition 3, which would fund a variety of water projects and programs across the state. Over four decades, analysts project, the total cost of principal and interest to California taxpayers will be about $17.3 billion.

The proposal was put on the ballot by a consortium of agriculture interests aided by a few conservation and wildlife organizations. Water projects that the groups support are the primary beneficiaries of the measure.

Some efforts the bonds would pay for include improving and protecting rural lands with rivers flowing through them; wastewater recycling in populated areas; fish and wildlife habitat protection; and making more groundwater usable for farms and communities. Money is also earmarked to fix a Central Valley aqueduct and for some of the repairs to the Oroville Dam’s spillway.

Children’s hospitals The second of two bonds placed on the ballot by interest groups, this measure asks voters to approve borrowing $1.5 billion for improvements at children’s hospitals across California. The total cost, with interest payments, is expected to be about $2.8 billion.

State law identifies eight private nonprofit hospitals, as well as the children’s programs at five University of California medical center campuses, as “children’s hospitals.” Most of the Proposition 4 funds — about $1 billion — would be reserved for the private hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, the Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University.

Property tax break for older homeowners This measure, written and placed on the ballot by the state’s real estate industry, would offer a property tax break to homeowners 55 and older. Simply put, it allows them to carry a portion of their property tax payment with them when buying a new home.

The formula’s a bit more complicated than that, relying on both the selling price of the existing home and the tax-assessed value of the new home. For seniors who downsize in home value, it could lower their existing property tax payments. For those who buy something more expensive, it will shrink the size of the new, larger property tax bill.

Repealing California’s gas tax increase and new vehicle fee Few proposed laws on the November ballot have the potential to touch more voters than Proposition 6, the effort to repeal the new taxes on gas and diesel imposed by lawmakers in 2017.

If Proposition 6 passes, roughly $5 billion in annual revenues earmarked for transportation repairs will remain in the wallets of Californians. State officials have not identified another source to replace those dollars. The ballot measure would also amend the California Constitution to require that any future transportationfocused taxes be approved by voters before taking effect.

Daylight saving time all year long Proposition 7 would give the Legislature the power to enact year-round daylight saving time if Congress ever allows states to do so. It would conceivably also allow lawmakers to enact year-round standard time — currently used by Arizona and Hawaii — because the measure mostly would abolish a 1949 ballot measure that enshrined the changing of the clocks into state law.

Prof its at kidney dialysis centers This proposal is sponsored by a healthcare workers union that has been trying to organize workers at some of the state’s 600 clinics. Proponents hope it will push the for-profit companies that run those facilities to spend more on staffing and patient care.

Proposition 8 would impose a cap on profits earned by large firms such as DaVita. Those companies warn the changes will force the closure of some clinics, and the TV ads from opponents warn that patients who use those clinics could be out of luck. Supporters insist there would be plenty of money to run the facilities.

Why was this measure removed from your ballot? We explain This measure, which sought to split California into three states, was removed from the ballot by the California Supreme Court, which said such an action can’t be taken through a ballot initiative. The battle over rent control This measure would repeal a 1995 law that places limits on the ability of local communities to impose rent control. Doing so would leave all decisions on whether to implement rent control in the hands of local officials.

Critics have argued Proposition 10 will lead property owners to cease renting apartments and could lead to rent control on single-family houses. Supporters say cities and counties might find ways to keep that from happening before imposing a blanket mandate for cheaper rents.

Rest breaks for ambulance workers A California Supreme Court ruling in 2016 set the stage for this proposal, which would require ambulance crews to be on call through their rest and meal breaks.

That system existed before the court ruled it illegal. Proposition 11, which was placed on the ballot by one of the nation’s largest ambulance providers, would again allow employers to require employees to keep their radios handy when taking a breather.

Animal conf inement Ten years ago, California voters enacted a ballot measure to end the practice of putting egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant pigs in small cages and pens. The initiative required enough space for animals to stand, move around and extend their limbs. But the 2008 proposal didn’t specify how much space should be used. Proposition 12 adds those specifics, phased in for hens and other animals over the next four years.