Companion to: What They’re Not Saying · How Can You Determine Truth?
Slate: Statewide measures on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot (Props 1–5, 37–45)
Rule: One plain line each. Homework, not a Yes/No machine. Check LAO + text yourself.
Updated: 2026-09-13
What to watch
What they’re not telling you is what you need to be clearest about. That is how the American citizen gets sold something they did not want to buy — the flyer sells the benefit; the quiet part is the real purchase.
Prop 3 below is a worked example: sold as “not a new tax,” while you’re locking rates into the Constitution permanently.
High-attention first
Prop 3 — Yes sells: “not a new tax,” protect schools & healthcare.
They’re not telling you: It’s a constitutional amendment that locks temporary high-earner rates in permanently — the flyer sounds like a tax fight; you’re buying a permanent change to the Constitution. Only part of the money is the “schools” story.
Prop 37 — Yes sells: middle-income homeownership, “$0 to taxpayers.”
They’re not telling you: It’s new homes only with a big second mortgage — builders/realtors win first; households take more debt.
Prop 38 — Yes sells: cure cancer/heart/Alzheimer’s; “pays for itself.”
They’re not telling you: General Fund pays hundreds of millions a year for decades — and the institutional winner is soft-pedaled.
Prop 39 — Yes sells: election integrity + free voter ID.
They’re not telling you: Big ongoing cost, mail/ID friction risks, and registration already uses ID/SSN + perjury.
Prop 40 — Yes sells: billionaire fair share, ~$100B for healthcare.
They’re not telling you: LAO says tens of billions (not $100B), collection fights are huge — and Props 41/42 can kill it if they get more Yes votes.
Prop 41 — Yes sells: audit new taxes; stop waste.
They’re not telling you: It’s built to conflict with / void Prop 40 if it outpolls 40 — “good government” wrapping a kill-switch.
Prop 42 — Yes sells: protect retirement savings from politicians.
They’re not telling you: Broader than retirees — and it also voids Prop 40 if it gets more Yes votes.
Prop 44 — Yes sells: patients over clinic executives.
They’re not telling you: Clinics already spend most on care; the 90% rule can crush admin/IT/facilities — and “program services” gets defined later.
Prop 45 — Yes sells: build housing/infrastructure faster.
They’re not telling you: Limits alternatives, freezes standards early, tightens lawsuits — builders/utilities gain; env groups push back.
The rest of the slate
Prop 1 — Yes sells: historic affordable + veterans housing.
They’re not telling you: ~$10B comes back from the General Fund over ~25 years — a bond is not a zoning/CEQA fix.
Prop 2 — Yes sells: bigger rainy-day buffer; pay UI debt.
They’re not telling you: More money locked in reserves/debt paydown means less discretionary cash in good years.
Prop 4 — Yes sells: clean elections; less big money.
They’re not telling you: It only lifts a ban — it doesn’t create the program; taxpayer funding design comes later.
Prop 5 — Yes sells: fairer recalls; end circus elections.
They’re not telling you: No same-ballot successor; vacancies/appointments fill the gap; special elections still cost money.
Prop 43 — Yes sells: taxpayer protection; close the Upland loophole.
They’re not telling you: Citizen-initiative special taxes need 2/3 — harder local fire/EMS/housing revenue.
How to use this
- 1. Read the Yes line.
- 2. Read the “not telling you” line.
- 3. Open the LAO link (and the measure text) before you decide.
- 4. Show up.
Silence is evidence. Question us — and check the documents yourself.
— Ross Howell (rossabh)