Sunday state roundup

The controversial Prop. 1 passes; State Farm announces its discontinuing coverage; tentative state budget deal reached; calls voiced for ‘PaneraGate’ investigation

Proposition 1 passed after a close race, although opponents and supporters are curing more votes. Courtesy image

STATE — The past week saw a major announcement Proposition 1 narrowly passed, according to multiple reports.

The controversial measure was approved by just 0.4% as the yes vote was leading by 29,312 votes as of Friday. More than 7.5 million ballots have been counted, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.

As covered by North County Pipeline in February, Prop. 1 would allow the state to issue $6.38 billion in bonds to build thousands of housing units for homeless and mentally ill individuals. However, interest on the bond is estimated to be more than $9 billion and also redirects another 5% of Prop. 63 funds from counties to the state’s General Fund.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported if Prop. 1 passed, San Diego County would lose at least $14 million per year. The county receives $275 million from Prop. 63.

Now, both sides — Californians Against Prop. 1 and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spearheaded support by raising more than $20 million in campaign contributions for his political action committee — are battling to cure more votes, according to media reports.

Californians Against Prop. 1 had ceded defeat on March 12, a week after the Super Tuesday primary, but reversed course after Newsom led a call to action to cure votes as victory was not decisive. Curing votes allows for rectifying rejected ballots for mismatching signatures or other reasons, CalMatters reported.

However, Californians Against Prop. 1 called Newsom’s move “sleazy,” and “an attempt to manipulate the final vote count by harvesting the votes of only some partisans in certain areas,” the publication reported.

Prop. 1 was one of Newsom’s biggest priorities and political pundits said it’s been a sort of referendum on the governor and his handling of the homeless crisis in the state.

Results of Proposition 1 as of Friday. Courtesy image