| Proposition 31 | |
| Two-Year State Budget Cycle Initiative | |
| Yes: | 4,642,088 |
| No: | 7,115,166 |
| Total: | 11,757,254 |
| Notes: | [1] |
The 2012 California Proposition 31 was officially titled "State Budget. State and Local Government. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute." and was a California ballot measure that appeared on the ballot in the November 2012 California elections. The initiative would have established a two-year state budget, allowed the Governor to make budget cuts in fiscal emergencies, would have prevented the state Legislature from spending more than $25 million without creating spending cuts or other budget offsets, and would have allowed local governments the ability to transfer certain amounts of property taxes among themselves instead of the state.[2] [3] Although the law was supported by the California Republican Party multiple conservative groups came out against proposition 31 including members of the tea party movement who viewed the law as a way to undermine property rights.[4] [5] [6]
If Proposition 31 had passed it was estimated that the state government would have suffered a loss of $200 million as these funds would have been transferred to local governments.[7]
| Bay Area Reporter | Oppose | |
| Fresno Bee | Support | |
| Los Angeles Daily News | Support | |
| Los Angeles Times | Oppose | |
| Modesto Bee | Support | |
| Orange County Register | Oppose | |
| Sacramento Bee | Oppose | |
| San Diego Union-Tribune | Support | |
| San Francisco Bay Guardian | Oppose | |
| San Francisco Chronicle | Support | |
| San Jose Mercury News | Support | |
| Ventura County Star | Oppose |