Propositions

The next president of the United States is not the only things Californians will be having to vote on in the coming months. With 17 propositions on the California ballot -- from marijuana legalization to criminal justice reforms to requirements for male porn stars to wear condoms, and 4 propositions on the local Santa Monica city ballot, many voters may see the upcoming election as a dizzying array of public policy choices.While the descriptions, pros and cons, and contact information related to the statewide propositions were sent out last month in a packet to all voters, the Santa Monica-specific measures have received less explanation, despite the fact that many are quite controversial.Measure LVOne of these controversial topics is Proposition LV. The measure would create a new permitting requirement and process. A ‘Major Development Review Permit’ would be required for projects exceeding the LUCE's Tier 1 maximum height (32 feet/two stories) and size limits. The processing for such permits would include review by the Architectural Review Board, which would make recommendations to the Planning Commission. It would, in turn, be required to make certain findings before recommending the project to the City Council. If the Council made the specified findings and approved or conditionally approved the project, the permit would not become effective unless and until the voters approved it in a general or special election. In essence, according to former mayor and current city council member Kevin McKeown, this would make it harder for people to maintain living or too start living in Santa Monica.“For many years, I have attended Samo graduations, and watched our best and brightest take their diplomas out into a world where, after college, they won¹t be able to afford to live in their own hometown (unless they want to keep living with their parents),” McKeown said. “Measure LV will make keeping up with our local housing needs even more difficult, and what¹s at stake isyour ability to make Santa Monica your home for the rest of your life.”Measure GS/GSHAnother controversial issue is Proposition GSH, a measure that proposes to raise the current sales tax by one half percent, which would raise our current tax percentage from 9.5% to 10% which would place us at the top of the list for highest sales taxes in the nation. The purpose of the tax raise is to maintain and improve Santa Monica community services including support for preservation of affordable housing, reducing homelessness, school repair and improvement, education of Santa Monica children and students, and other general fund services. The second half of measure GSH, is measure GS. Which, if the aforementioned proposition is put in place that 0.25% of taxes would go directly to schools and the maintenance thereof, this would provide a reliable locally controlled stream of funds for schools to use that the state can not allocate elsewhere, ultimately the measure GSH would replace the measure 30 sales tax when it expires that previously provided funding to schools.Measure V/SMThe remaining two measures being proposed are quite simple as compared to their counterparts. Measure V simply proposes to improve the local access to higher education to adults by using a total of $345,000,000 to repair, upgrade, construct, modernize, equip facilities for technology, science/ biotech, college readiness; repair aging, leaky classrooms, remove asbestos,and to upgrade disabled access, seismic and campus safety. Lastly, measure SM aims to amend Article XXII of the City Charter to clarify and enforce it.Measure 55Among the statewide propositions disagreements run rampant. All of them are highly contested by either side of the the political spectrum. One of these propositions is Measure 55, which, if it's passed, proposes too Extends by twelve years the temporary personal income tax increases enacted in 2012 on earnings over $250,000, with revenues allocated to K–12 schools, California Community Colleges, and, in certain years, healthcare. If it is passed the ending economical result would be Increased state revenue from approximately $4 billion to $9 billion annually according to the official voters guide website, from 2019–2030 depending on economy and stock market. Increased funding for schools, community colleges, health care for low–income people, budget reserves, and debt payments. Measure 51 also proposes to give money to california schools at a total $9 billion. Voting yes on Measure 55 would ultimately result in the continuation of high taxes on high-income individuals and families to support healthcare and education while voting no would mean ending it. Voting yes on measure 51 would give $9 billion to schools while voting would oppose it. Social studies teacher Nathaniel Acker adamantly agrees with voting yes on either measure.‘I think the most important one for me and the school and for our community at large is definitely Prop 55,” Acker said. “Prop 55 allows funding to continue for public schools and if it does not pass we would suddenly not have access to 4 billion dollars in our education budget. Obviously this is a huge problem, as a teacher I view students as the future of our society and everything we have should be devoted to them, to you, to getting better so they can surpass us as teachers and lead the world into a better place.”Measure 64Another highly debated issue measure 64 which proposes to legalize marijuana. Currently there are perfectly legal ways to use it for medical purpose but this measures purpose is to make it available for recreational purposes as well. Proposition 64 would allow adults aged 21 years or older to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes. The measure would create two new taxes, one levied on cultivation and the other on retail price. Revenue from the taxes would be spent on drug research, treatment, and enforcement, health and safety grants addressing marijuana, youth programs, and preventing environmental damage resulting from illegal marijuana production. Samo student Brianna Tenhouten (’18) is one of those who thinks that weed should definitely be legalized.“Both Washington and Colorado have legalized it with notable success, and we would raise enough money in taxes to fund programs that help prevent drug addiction and offer treatment,” Tenhouten said. “As long as there are regulations regarding the age of the consumer and where it can and can't be purchased or consumed, along with the medical benefits that it provides. I don't see any reason it shouldn't be legal.”Measure 62/66Proposition 62 and 66 both deal with the death penalty reform and has long since been one of the hottest debate topics not only in California but America at large. Measure 62 would repeal the state death penalty and replace the maximum punishment for murder with life in prison without possibility of parole. It would apply retroactively to those already sentenced to death. The measure would also require all persons found guilty of murder to work while in state prison in order to pay debts to victims of the crime committed. Up to 60 percent of an inmate's earnings could be deducted from his or her wages to pay these debts.Measure 66 on the other hand simply proposes to reform the death penalty procedures. Instead of the California Supreme Court, Proposition 66 would put trial courts in charge of initial petitions, known as habeas corpus petitions, challenging death penalty convictions. Inmates on death row would be required to work, subject to state regulations. The measure would require 70% of earnings from work be allocated to debts owed to the inmate's victims. The state would be allowed to house death row inmates in any prison, rather than the one death row prison for men and one death row prison for women. In the instance of both measures coming to pass the one with more “yes” votes would supercede the other.Gun control is another hotly debated issue across the board and the state of California is no different, Measure 63 proposes a required background check and Department of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition, it also will prohibit possession of large–capacity ammunition magazines as well as established procedures for enforcing laws prohibiting firearm possession by specified persons. However it has been noted by the official general election website that this will increased state and local court and law enforcement costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars annually.All of these issues are important and for anything to change everyone's voice must be heard. Samo student Levi Berge-Wells (‘18) agrees with this.“Really, regardless of your political standing or or anything, whatever your opinion is, you should vote.” Berge-Wells said. “Our country is one founded on this idea of democracy and for that idea to work people need to participate. Everyone needs to vote."