Prop. 1 Is Being Designated for March 2024 Ballot

Senate Bill 326 by Sen. Susan Eggman (D-Stockton), dealing with mental health funding, will be placed on the statewide ballot if signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, which is expected. The provisions of SB 326 will go before the voters along with Assembly Bill 531 by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), which is The Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2023. They will be voted upon at the March 5, 2024 statewide primary election.

According to Section 118 of SB 326, these two measures “shall appear on the ballot as a single measure, in accordance with provisions of the Government Code and the Elections Code governing the submission of a statewide measure to the voters.”  

Moreover, SB 326 provides that, “Notwithstanding Sections 13115 and 13117 of the Elections Code or any other law, the single measure … shall be placed as the first measure on the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election ballot and shall be designated as ‘Proposition 1.’”

Finally, SB 326 specifies that, “Notwithstanding Sections 13115 and 13117 of the Elections Code or any other law, all other measures proposed by the Legislature at the 2023–24 Regular Session for submission to the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election, shall immediately follow Proposition 1 and be designated on the statewide primary election ballot as the next in order numerically pursuant to Section 13117 of the Elections Code.”

As a result, Proposition 1 on the March 2024 statewide ballot has already been determined. 

What does Elections Code Section 13115 provide?

13115.

The order in which all state measures that are to be submitted to the voters shall appear on the ballot is as follows:

(a) Bond measures, including those proposed by initiative, in the order in which they qualify.

(b) Constitutional amendments, including those proposed by initiative, in the order in which they qualify.

(c) Legislative measures, other than those described in subdivision (a) or (b), in the order in which they are approved by the Legislature.

(d) Initiative measures, other than those described in subdivision (a) or (b), in the order in which they qualify.

(e) Referendum measures, in the order in which they qualify.

What does Elections Code Section 13117 provide?

13117.

(a) Commencing with the November 3, 1998, general election, all state measures in all elections at which state measures are submitted to a vote of the voters shall be numbered in a continuous sequence, commencing with the number “1” and continuing in numerical sequence for a period of 10 years from the year of commencement.

(b) At the completion of a 10-year cycle, the numbering sequence shall recommence with the number “1” at the next election at which state measures are submitted to a vote of the voters.

What else is on the March 2024 primary ballot? At least two others measures have already been placed on the ballot by the Legislature. SCA 2 (Allen) on public housing projects (Resolution Chapter 182 from 2022) and ACA 5 (Low) on marriage equality (Resolution Chapter 125 from 2023). Both of these measures will obviously follow Prop. 1 as a result of the enactment of SB 326.