Category: Propositions

Can a $10 Billion Climate Bond Address California’s Water Contamination Problem?

California voters will decide in November whether to approve a $10 billion climate bond that supporters say is needed to jump-start water system repairs for residents without safe drinking water. Opponents say those repairs should be prioritized in the state budget, not put on a credit card.

Fight Over Health Care Minimum Wage Yields a Split Decision in Southern California

Voters in Inglewood were poised to approve a union-backed $25 minimum wage for workers at private hospitals and facilities, while Duarte voters rejected it.

Listen: With Abortion Rights on the Ballot in Michigan, Women Tell Their Stories

Women who need abortion care come to Michigan from surrounding states that already have banned the procedure. A clinic in suburban Detroit allowed a reporter to interview patients, doctors, and nurses to understand what is at stake as voters decide whether to guarantee abortion access in the Michigan Constitution.

California Patients Fear Fallout From Third Dialysis Ballot Measure

Californians are facing the third statewide dialysis initiative in five years. The dialysis industry is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 29 and is running ads saying the measure would force clinics to close — a message that appears to be resonating with patients.

5 Things to Know About Montana’s ‘Born Alive’ Ballot Initiative

A ballot measure that seeks to protect infants following failed abortions would impose stiff penalties on health care providers in Montana.

App-Based Companies Pushing Prop. 22 Say Drivers Will Get Health Benefits. Will They?

Ride-sharing and delivery services such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are bankrolling California’s Proposition 22, which would keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, not employees. But health benefits? That’s something of a stretch.

Déjà Vu for California Voters on Dialysis

Californians are again being asked to weigh in on a dialysis ballot measure. This one purports to target patient safety, and dialysis industry giants are once again spending big to defeat it.

Californians Asked to Pony Up for Stem Cell Research — Again

More than a decade of research tied to California’s stem cell agency hasn’t yielded many cures or much revenue. But backers of a ballot initiative that asks voters for billions more in funding say the work is vital for patients and the scientific community.

Montana’s Legislature Could Decide Medicaid Expansion’s Fate

A ballot initiative to fund Medicaid expansion with a tobacco tax failed in Montana on Tuesday. The expansion will expire in the state in June 2019, unless the legislature finds another way to fund it.

Children’s Hospitals Again Cry For Help From Voters. But Are They Really Hurting?

California’s 13 children’s hospitals are asking voters in November to approve $1.5 billion in bonds to help them pay for construction and equipment, the third such measure in 14 years. Some health care experts and election analysts believe the repeated financial requests aren’t justified.