Both gubernatorial candidates fervently support the package of five bond measures on the ballot. So do heavyweight state legislators like Don Perata and Fabian Núñez. So do several major state newspapers (including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, and the San José Mercury News). It’s hard to argue with the improvements in state infrastructure and services that the bonds would ostensibly help fund without looking like Ebenezer Scrooge.

The bond measures’ opponents don’t generally dispute the need for shoring up the state’s infrastructure. Rather, they argue that the improvements should be paid from the general fund, with hard decisions made by the Legislature. They argue that bond measures allow legislators to whistle past the graveyard while state debt obligation skyrockets.

A Chronicle article today points out that likely voters either know very little about the bond measures on the ballot (Propositions 1B through 1E) or are “wary” about supporting them because of the vast expense they would involve. Just as an example, Proposition 1D alone (70% of which would be spent, according to its backers, mainly to modernize K-12 school facilities) would require almost $10.5 billion in bonds to be issued, with the cost of the principal and interest on those bonds eventually reaching $20.3 billion, according to the State Legislative Analyst.

The last major polling on all four bond measures was conducted last month by the Public Policy Institute of California. The polling showed Propositions 1C (affordable housing) and Proposition 1E (water infrastructure enhancements) with the highest support (at 55% and 57%). Proposition 1B (transportation infrastructure enhancements) had 51% support. Proposition 1D had 49% support. An often-used rule of thumb is that ballot measures with bare majority support or less usually fail to pass.

For much more detail on the bond measures and the other propositions on the ballot, including links to news articles, reports, public opinion surveys, major campaign contributors, and official voter information, visit our Hot Topics pages.

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