Propositions on the 2022 Oct–Nov ballot

A first look at some of what’s on the ballot

In a little over a week, you can expect to receive your ballot in your mail for the October–November 2022 general election. (If you’re registered to vote! Check your registration now at the City’s Voter Portal.)

Early voting is easy voting, and it’s easiest when you’ve started your decision-making ahead of time. In that spirit, we offer an early peek at the propositions—both state and local—that await your yes-or-no votes this October.

Rather than sort them by number/letter, we’ve made an effort to group them by subject, so you can get an idea of what issues you’ll be voting on, and then which propositions affect them.

Statewide propositions

Reproductive freedom

• Proposition 1: Amends California’s state Constitution to add a provision explicitly protecting reproductive freedom, including both the right to access abortion and the right to use contraception.

  • Indivisible SF endorses a Yes vote on Proposition 1. As these rights are under attack nationwide from MAGA Republicans, we should do all we can to fortify our own state’s protections of reproductive freedom.

Gambling

• Proposition 26: Allows tribal casinos to offer roulette, games played with dice such as craps, and in-person sports betting (all currently prohibited). Also allows certain horse-racing tracks to offer in-person sports betting.

• Proposition 27: Allows native tribes to offer online and mobile-app sports betting to people 21 years of age throughout California.

Education

• Proposition 28: Requires the state to dedicate a certain amount of General Fund monies to arts and music education in all K–12 public schools and charter schools.

  • This proposition is what’s called a “set-aside”, meaning it takes the allocation out of the budget process and freezes it according to this proposition’s prescribed formula.

Dialysis oversight

• Proposition 29: Requires dialysis clinics to have a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant on site during treatment. Current law requires clinics to employ a physician as a medical director, but does not require that person to spend a minimum amount of time at the clinic. Also requires clinics to disclose the names of all physicians who own at least 5% of the clinic, and to report infection data to the state.

Zero-emission vehicles, and also wildfire prevention and response

• Proposition 30: Taxes millionaires (specifically, personal incomes over $2 million) to pay for zero-emission vehicle purchase incentives, electric vehicle charging stations, wildfire-prevention programs, and wildfire response.

Tobacco sales

• Proposition 31: Bans most flavored tobacco products and tobacco-product flavor enhancers.

San Francisco propositions

See the list of City propositions on the SF Elections website.

City employee retiree income

• Proposition A: Changes to the City employee retirement system, SFERS. There’s a supplemental cost of living benefit that is only paid out to retirees if SFERS is “fully funded based on the market value of the assets for the previous year.” This would remove this requirement for future payments.

Departmental oversight

• Proposition B: Would largely undo 2020’s Proposition B, which was approved by the voters. The 2020 Proposition B created a new Department of Sanitation and Streets, split off from the Department of Public Works; the 2022 Proposition B would merge those responsibilities back into DPW. It preserves the two oversight Commissions created by 2020’s Prop B, who would now be overseeing different aspects of DPW rather than separate Departments, and also adjusts the qualification requirements for the Commissions’ members.

• Proposition C: Creates an independent commission to oversee the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

Housing

• Propositions D and E: Competing measures with the nominal goal of building more affordable housing. Broadly speaking, D is supported by moderates, while E is supported by progressives.

• Proposition M: Vacancy tax, targeting speculators who sit on empty units rather than house tenants. Applies to buildings with three or more units. (The City has this for commercial properties, but not residential.)

  • SF Public Press has an article about Proposition M.

Education funding

• Proposition F: Renews an existing fund, which is funded by an existing property tax set-aside, that helps fund San Francisco Public Library operations. Also increases the Charter minimum number of weekly systemwide service hours from 1,211 to 1,400.

• Proposition G: Establishes a “School Success Fund” that grants funding to schools to implement programs with a goal of improving student wellness and achievement.

• Proposition O: Increases and extends a parcel tax that contributes to funding for City College.

Voter participation

• Proposition H: Moves elections for the offices of Mayor, Sheriff, District Attorney, City Attorney, and Treasurer from their current off-year cycle (for example, our last mayoral election was 2019) to be on even-numbered years that tend to receive higher turnout.

  • Mayor Breed, who opposes the measure, would have her term extended by a year to put her next election on the new cycle. The next mayoral election would be in 2024 (a presidential election year) rather than 2023.

  • The October–November 2019 election had turnout of 150,631/376,736 = 40%; the October–November 2020 election had turnout of 413,129/528,607 = 78%. Depending on how you look at it, that’s either nearly twice as much turnout (as percentage of the electorate) or nearly three times as much (as number of voters).

Golden Gate Park

• Propositions I and J: Currently, John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park is a pedestrian and bike route, with limited exceptions. Prop I would put an end to that, and require John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park to have car traffic in both directions at all times. Prop J would preserve car-free JFK Drive exactly as it is.

• Proposition N: Repeals the Golden Gate Park Revitalization Act of 1998, dissolves the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority that operates the Golden Gate Park Concourse Underground Parking Facility, and allows use of public funds to “acquire, operate, or subsidize public parking” in that facility. The Recreation and Parks Department would take over the facility.

  • Mayor Breed, the sponsor of this measure, bills it as providing “flexibility” in parking rates. She offers a variety of possibilities in her proponent’s argument, but they are just that: possibilities, neither inscribed in this Prop’s text nor guaranteed to be pursued if the Prop passes.

Transit improvements

• Proposition L: Adopts the 2022 Transportation Expenditure Plan, which includes maintenance and improvements to Muni, BART, and Caltrain, among other things. The half-cent sales tax that currently funds much of our transportation maintenance and improvements (last revised by November 2003’s Proposition K) is currently set to expire March 31, 2034; this proposition renews the tax for another 30 years, matching the duration of the Plan. SFCTA, which administers the current Plan, has info on the old Plan and the new Plan.