Proposition 39 was an initiative

Initiative

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...

 state constitutional amendment

Constitutional amendment

A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...

 and statute

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

 which appeared on the November 7th, 2000, California general election

California state elections, 2000

California's state elections were held November 7, 2000. Necessary primary elections were held on March 7. Up for election were all the seats of the State Assembly, 20 seats of the State Senate, and eight ballot measures.-State Senate:...

 ballot. It was passed with 5,431,152 Yes votes, for 53.4 percent of the total votes cast. Its principal effect is to amend Proposition 13

California Proposition 13 (1978)

Proposition 13 was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn,...

, thus lowering the required supermajority

Supermajority

A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...

 necessary in order for voters to impose local school bond acts

Municipal bond

A municipal bond is a bond issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds includes cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, special-purpose districts, school districts, public utility districts, publicly owned airports and seaports, and any...

, from 2/3 of all votes cast, to fifty-five percent (11/20ths). Proposition 39 was essentially a milder version of Proposition 26, which would have ended the Proposition 13 supermajority altogether, but which was defeated with 3,521,327 "Yes" votes, for 48.7 percent of the total votes cast, in the March 7th, 2000 California primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

.