Proposition 50 was a proposition in the state of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 on the November 5, 2002 ballot. The proposition successfully passed with 3,808,594 (55.4%) votes in favor and 3,076,333 (44.6%) against. It was placed on the ballot through the 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...

 process.

When put on the ballot, the question before voters was:

Official summary

The passing of California Proposition 50 would allow:

• 3,440,000,000 general obligation bonds to fund a variety of water projects, including:
  • Specified CALFED Bay-Delta Program
    CALFED Bay-Delta Program
    The CALFED Bay-Delta Program, also known as CALFED, is a department within the government of California, administered under the California Resources Agency. The department acts as consortium, coordinating the activities and interests of the state government of California and the U.S...
    
     projects including urban and agricultural water use efficiency projects
  • Grants and loans to reduce Colorado River
    Colorado River
    The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
    
    water use
  • Purchasing, protecting and restoring coastal wetlands near urban areas
  • Competitive grants for water management and quality improvement projects
  • Development of river parkways
  • Improved security for state, local and regional water systems
  • Grants for desalination and drinking water disinfection
• Appropriates money from state General Fund to pay off bonds

State and Local Government

The passing of California Proposition 50 resulted in a cost of up to $6.9 billion over 30 years to pay off both the principal ($3.44 billion) and interest ($3.46 billion) costs on the bonds at a state level. This will consist of payments of about $230 million per year. It would also cause a reduction in local property tax revenues, ranging from a few million dollars to roughly $10 million annually, about one-half of which would be off-set by state payments to schools to make up their revenue loss. It had unknown costs to state and local governments to operate or maintain the properties or projects purchased or developed with the bond funds.

External links

• Voter Information Guide with text of Proposition 50