2005 California Proposition 75
| Elections in California |
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Proposition 75 was a ballot proposition in the California special election, 2005.
Summary (Prepared by the Attorney General)
Proposition 75: Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions. Initiative Statute.
- Prohibits the use by public employee labor organizations of public employee dues or fees for political contributions except with the prior consent of individual public employees each year on a specified written form.
- Restriction does not apply to dues or fees collected for charitable organizations, health care insurance, or other purposes directly benefitting the public employee.
- Requires public employee labor organizations to maintain and submit records to Fair Political Practices Commission concerning individual public employees’ and organizations’ political contributions.
- These records are not subject to public disclosure.
Summary of Legislature Analyst's estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact:
- Probably minor state and local government implementation costs, potentially offset in part by revenues from fines and/or fees.
Reaction
Opponents of this proposition portrayed it as a measure to "silence the unions," since private corporations would not be affected. They also cited a Supreme Court case in which union members could not be forced to join a union, and said that union members could already restrict their dues (opt-out process) towards political purposes.
The proponents cited this as a "Paycheck Protection" proposition, saying that this would help check union abuse.
The proposition was rejected on November 8, 2005 by 7% or about 500,000 votes statewide