Californians voted overwhelming to endorse Proposition 28, which will make radical changes within the time limit, the law in California. But the fate of the proposal 29, which would increase taxes on tobacco, remains uncertain in early returns. Proposition 28 would reduce the number of years; lawmakers could serve from 14 to 12 years, although they could serve all these years in one house.
If the proposal 29 managed to maintain their early lead, tobacco taxes can be increased by $ 1 per pack, on top of 87-percent tax already in place. Most of California’s coast, along with Bay Area counties — including Santa Clara, Contra Costa and San Mateo — were carrying the yes vote on the tobacco tax, while Los Angeles County was narrowly siding against the ballot measure in the early voting.
In 25.5 percent of the 21,993 government sites reporting “yes” campaign on 29 clung to a thin lead, 50.6 per cent to 49.4 per cent, a margin of 30,000 votes with more than 2.4 million votes counted. “We are encouraged because we were ahead from the start,” said Jim Knox, a spokesman Yes 29 campaign. “I do not know if the initiative campaign has never won in the face of $ 46 million opposition campaign. It would be historic on many levels. We feel confident, because we think voters will see through the smokescreen of the tobacco companies.”
No 29 campaign, however, still hopes to win pulled, said Beth Miller, a spokesman for the campaign. “It’s still very early, and apparently it’s very close,” Miller said. “We talked all the time, as voters looked at, they reject the measure based on the deficiencies contained therein. We expected that it would close and we think that this will be a long night.”
The measures to change the term limits law of California, Proposition 28, winning 2 to 1. “It seems that the majority of Californians understand that Prop. 28 would tighten the time limit still give legislators the tools they need.” said Dan Schnur, director of the University of Southern California’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. If the proposal passes of 29, about $ 735 million in annual revenue will go to research, smoking cessation programs, a means of buying and law enforcement efforts to reduce tobacco black market.
The measure was supported by the organization of health care, such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. The number of anti-tax group headed by the opposition campaign, but the tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, the U.S. funded the effort, outspending “yes” campaign, $ 46 million to $ 10 million.
The opposition claims that the initiative to create a new state bureaucracy, run by un-elected officials who may decide to send the proceeds out of the state research institutions in circumstances where the tax dollars needed to fix the $ 15.7 billion state budget deficit. Proponents argue that the tobacco companies were just trying to protect the nearly $ 1 billion in profits and have been smoke to distract from the real issues.
For comparison, Proposition 28 was stealthily slides on the main campaign, until last week when opponents began branding the media blitz action “scam.” In the last-minute effort, opponents raised $ 834,900, most of them for television advertising and the robot calls and the support of voters remains high in the polls.
Supporters, including the Los Angeles Federation of Labor and the League of Women Voters, raised about $ 2.3 million. But they have most of it to collect signatures to put the measure on the ballot, and counting on the support of the editorial and other “free media” to persuade voters. Lawmakers are now able to serve three to two years in the Assembly and two four-year term in the State Senate. Measure would not benefit any of the current policy, unlike the previous two initiatives in 2002 and 2008, voters rejected i
