# 2016 California Proposition 53

Elections in California :
Federal government
U.S. President
1852
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Rep
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Rep
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Dem
Rep
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Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
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1850
1852 sp
1856
1857 sp
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1868
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1992 sp
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2018
2022
2022 sp
2024
2024 sp
2028
U.S. House of Representatives
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12th
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5th sp
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12th sp
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34th sp
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2024
16th
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30th
45th
47th
vte :
State government
Executive Governor
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2003 (recall)
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2018
2021 (recall)
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2026
Lieutenant governor
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2014
2018
2022
2026
Attorney general
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2010
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2018
2022
Secretary of state
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Treasurer
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2010
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2022
Controller
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2018
2022
Insurance commissioner
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Superintendent
1994
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2002
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2014
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2022
Board of equalization
2018
2022
Legislature Senate
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2024
Special
Assembly
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2021 (79th sp)
2022 (17th sp)
2024
Special
Judiciary Court of appeals
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1998
2002
2006
Elections by year
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Feb
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vte :
State propositions
1910–1919
1911
4
7
8
1960–1969
1964
14
1970–1979
1978
6
8
13
1980–1989
1982
8
1986
64
65
1988
98
99
1990–1999
1994
187
1996
196
209
215
218
1998
6
10
227
2000–2009
2000
21
22
36
39
2003
53
54
2004
1A
55
56
57
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59
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60A
61
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73
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2008
91
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94, 95, 96, and 97
98 and 99
1A
2
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2009
1A
1B
1C
1D
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1F
2010–2019
2010
13
14
15
16
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19
20
21
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27
2012
29
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32
34
37
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1
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48
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50
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53
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68
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6
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2020–2029
2020
13
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1
26
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2024
1
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32
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36
Full listvte :
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Board of supervisors
1980
1996
2006
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2010
2012
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2020
2022
2024
Ballot measures
1980
A
2008
R
2012
B
J
2016
M
Elections
2020
2022
2024
Los Angeles Mayor
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1909 (sp)
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1911
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2022
City attorney
2009
Ballot measures
1986
U
2017
S
Elections
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019 (sp)
2020
2022
2023 (sp)
2024
Long Beach Mayor
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
vte :
Orange County
Orange County Board of supervisors
2018
2020
2022
2024
District attorney
2018
Anaheim Mayor
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Irvine Mayor
1988
1990
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Costa Mesa Municipal
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vte :
Sacramento
Mayor
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
vte :
San Diego County
San Diego County Board of supervisors
2020
San Diego Mayor
1887
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1891
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City attorney
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2020
City council
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Special
vte :
San Francisco
Mayor
1901
1903
1905
1907
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1911
1931
1935
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District attorney
2019
2022 (recall)
2022 (sp)
2024
Board of supervisors
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1996
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Board of education
2018
2022 (recall)
Elections
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Mar
Nov
2005
2006
Jun
Nov
2007
2008
Feb
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Nov
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2010
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Nov
2011
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vte :
San Jose
Mayor
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
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2010
2014
2018
2022
2024
vte :
Other localities
Bakersfield
Mayoral elections:
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Fresno
Mayoral elections:
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Oakland
Mayoral elections:
1994
1998
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2022
Riverside
Mayoral elections:
1997
2001
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2012
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San Bernardino
Mayoral elections:
2005
2009
2014
2018
2022
Stockton
Mayoral elections:
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
vte :
vte :
Proposition 53 was a California ballot proposition on the November 8, 2016 ballot. It would have required voter approval for issuing revenue bonds exceeding $2 billion.
Arguments in favor of the measure stated that it would require politicians to provide estimates of how much a project would cost, as well as give voters a say before taking on large debt. The measure followed similar practice as with general obligation bonds, which currently require voter approval before the state can use them to pay for a project. Arguments against the measure stated that it would negatively impact local control over projects by allowing statewide votes on smaller community projects. Additionally, the term project was not defined and it was unclear which projects might be affected by the measure. Cities, counties, schools districts, and community college districts were specifically excluded from the measure’s definition of “state”. However, the California Legislative Analyst's Office warned that local governments sometimes partner with the state government to get lower interest rates on government bonds, which could have required statewide voter approval of local projects under the measure.
It was unlikely that many projects would have been affected by the measure, though it could have affected large-scale projects such as California High-Speed Rail and California Water Fix and Eco Restore.
Proponents spent $4.6 million fighting for the measure, all of it from California Delta farmer Dino Cortopassi and his wife. Cortopassi has been an outspoken critic of the planned Water Fix tunnels underneath the delta.
Opponents spent $10.9 million fighting against the measure, with the top donor being $4.1 million from Governor Jerry Brown’s 2014 campaign funds. Other top opposition donors included the California Democratic Party, a labor coalition, venture capitalist John Doerr, and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
The measure was opposed by the editorial boards of the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Sacramento Bee. Firefighters opposed the measure, warning that there was no exemption for disaster funding. Cities and local water districts were also opposed.