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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProposed Ballot Measures for Charter Amendments Relative toM M 0 O 0 M 0 00 L0 O 0 O N N •s.•�a•� 4:• Nr QF-49 • OFFICIAL BALLOT General Election Orange County CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH Member, City Council Vote for no more than Four JOE SHAW Huntington Beach City Councilman M LYN SEMETA Attorney/Planning Commissioner MIKE POSEY Busfnessman/Planning Commissioner ALEXANDER POLSKY Atto maylBus inessowner/Educator ERIKPETERSON Buslnessowner/Planning Commissions WILLIAM "BILLY" O'CONNELL Huntington Beach Businessman HECTOR "HEK" VALDEZ Business Owner/ANst EMCONNIE BOARDMAN Huntington Beach Caun ci Iwoma NFducator MARK BIXBY Programmer/Planning Commissioner C3 BARBARA DELGLEIZE Small Business Owner © BRENDON KENNEY Graphic Designer/Busfnessowner 0 C3 0 OF HUNTINGTON BEACH Vote for One MICHAEL E. GATES Attorney/Business Owner JENNIFER MCGRATH City Attorney City of Huntington Beach 0 BURIES SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS 'E OF CALIFORNIA IN I� Ili` O* .•��r✓s i I► e t-WATER BOND. FUNDING FOR WATER QUALITY, SUPPLY, TREATMENT, AND STORAGE PROJECTS. Authorizes $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, Including surface and groundwater storage, ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration, and drinking water protection. Fiscal Impact: Increased state bond coats averaging $360 million annually over 40 years. Local government savings for water -related projects, likely averaging a couple hundred million dollars annually over the next few decades. Q Yes Q NO 2-STATE BUDGET. BUDGET STABILIZATION ACCOUNT. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Requires annual transfer of state general fund revenues to budget stabilization account. Requires hall the revenues be used to repay state debts. Limits use of remaining funds to emergencies or budget deficits. Fiscal Impact: Long-term state savings from faster payment of existing debts. Different levels of state budget reserves, depending on economy and decisions by elected officials. Smaller local reserves for some school districts. Q Yes 0 No 45-HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. RATE CHANGES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires insurance Commissioner's approval before health Insurer can change Its raise or anything else affecting the charges associated with health insurance. Provides for public notice, disclosure, and hearing, and subsequent judicial review. Exempts employer large group health plans. Fiscal impact: Increased slate administrative costs to regulate health insurance, likely not exceeding the low millions of dollars annually In most years, funded from fees paid by health insurance companies. Q Yes Q No 46-DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING OF DOCTORS. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE LAWSUITS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires drug testing of doctors. Requires eview of statewide prescription database before prescribing controlled substances. Increases $250,000 pain/suffering cap In medical negligence lawsuits for inflation. Fiscal Impact: Slate and local government costs from raising the cap on medical malpractice damages ranging from tens of millions to several hundred million dollars annually, offset to some extent by savings from requirements on health care providers. Q Yes 0 No 47-CRIMINAL SENTENCES, MISDEMEANOR PENALTIES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires misdemeanor sentence instead of felony for certain drug and property offenses, Inapplicable to persons with prior conviction for serious or Violent crime and registered sex offenders. Fiscal Impact: State and county criminal justice savings potentially in the high hundreds of millions of dollars annually. State savings spent on school truancy and dropout prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and victim services, C] Yes �] No 48-INDIAN GAMING COMPACTS. A "Yes" vote approves, and a "No" vote rejects, tribal gaming compacts between the state and the North Fork Rancherta of Mono Indiana and the Wiyot Tribe. Fiscal Impact One-time payments ($16 million to $35 million) and for 2D years annual payments (510 million) from Indian Vibes to state and local governments to address casts related to the operation of a new casino. M Yes Q No COUNTY OF ORANGE E-County of Orange Authorize Ethics Commission to Enforce County Campaign Finance Rules Shall the Ordinance amending the Orange County Campaign Reform Ordinance to authorize the State Fair Political Practices Commission to be the civil prosecutor of the Ordinance and to add administrative enforcement to the Ordinance he adopted? 0 Yes Q No G-County of Orange Prohibfi Supervisor Electlon Loser from Taking Office as Supervisor Shall the Ordinance making changes to the Charter of Orange County rotating to the filling of vacancies on the Board of Supervisors be adopted? Q Yes M NO CITY T-Clty of Huntington Beach Safe and Sane Fireworks Shall the proposed Amendment to Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Huntington Beach adding section 805 to permit the sale, possession, display, use and discharge of safe and sane fireworks, subject to regulation by City Council, as set forth in the proposed measure be approved? E] Yes Q No 1W O m d Q E M co M O M co N r OR NP107E-007 PULL TEXT OF MEASURE T CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH '; ©y ; , (Proposed language noted in bold below) 4 f ARTICLE Vill MISCELLANEOUS Section 800. TRANSITION. Elective officers and elective officers whose offices are made appointive of the City shall continue to holes until the completion of their current terms and the election or appointment and qualification of their respective successors under this Charter. All boards, commissions and committees presently in existence shall -continue to act in accordance with their original grant of authority until such time as the City Council adopts appropriate ordinances pertaining to their activities or for one year, whichever occurs first. All lawful ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, and portions thereof, in force at the time this Charter takes effect and not in conflict or inconsistent herewith, are hereby continued in force until the same shall have been duly repealed, amended, changed or superseded by proper authority. Section 801. DEFINITIONS. Unless the provisions or the context otherwise requires, as used in this Charter: (a) "Shall" is mandatory, and "may" is permissive. (b) "City" is theCit City of Huntington each and "department," " "board," "commission," "agency," "officer," or "employee" Is a department, board, commission, agency, officer or employee, as the case may be, of the City of Huntington Beach. (c) "County" is the County of Orange. (d) "State" is the State of California. (e) The masculine includes the feminine and the feminine includes the masculine. (f) The singular includes the plural and the plural the singular. (g) "Person" includes firm and corporation. Section 802. VIOLATIONS. The viofation of any provision of this Charter shall be a misdemeanor. Section 803. PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION MEASURE. (a) The City shall not enact or enforce any measure which mandates the price or other consideration payable to the owner in connection with the sale, lease, rent, exchange or other transfer by the owner of real property. Any such measure is hereby repealed. (b) The word "mandates' as used in subsection (a) includes any measure taken by ordinance, resolution, administrative regulation or other action of the City to establish, continue, implement or enforce any control or system of controls on the price or other terms on which real property in the City may be offered, sold, leased, rented, exchanged or otherwise transferred by its owner. The words "real property" as used in subsection (a) refer to any parcel of land or site, either Improved or unimproved, on which a dwelling unit or residential accommodation is or may be situated for use as a home, residence or sleeping place. (c) This Section 803 shall not apply to: (1) any real property which contains serious health, safety, fire or building code violations, excluding those caused by disasters, for which a civil or criminal citation has been issued by the City and remains unabated for six months or longer; (2) any real property owned by a public entity, and real properly where the owner has agreed by contract with the public entity, including the City and any of its related agencies, to accept a financial contribution or other tangible benefit including without limitation, assistance under the Community Redevelopment Law; (3) any planning or zoning power of the City as relates to the use, occupancy or improvement of real property and to any real property which the City or any of its related agencies may acquire by eminent domain, purchase, grant or donation; (4) any power of the City to require a business license forthe sale or rental of real property, whether for regulation or general revenue purposes; (5) any dwelling unit or accommodation in any hotel, motel or other facility when the transient occupancy of that dwelling unit or accommodation is subject to a transient occupancy tax; or (6) to impair the obligation of any contract entered into prior to the enactment of this Section 803 or otherwise required by State law. Section 804. CHARTER REVIEW. The City Council shall determine if there is a need to convene a citizen's Charter Review Commission to conduct a review of the City Charter no loss frequently than every ten years. Section 805. SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS It shall be lawful to possess, sell, display, use or discharge within the City, those fireworks that are defined and classified as Safe and Sane Fireworks (a.k.a. "state -approved fireworks") in the California State Fireworks Law (Sections 12500 at seq. of the health and Safety Code and the relevant sections of Code of Regulations Title 19, Subchapter 6) subject to regulation by City Council. OR NP107E,031 IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS BY CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH MEASURE T Background and Exl�tinc Law The City of Huntington Beach City Council is submitting Measure T to the voters for consideration. Measure T would, if adopted, allow for the sale, possession and use of "Safe and Sane" fireworks, subject to City Council regulations, in the City of Huntington Beach. The term "Safe and Sane Fireworks" is defined by State law in the California Health and Safety Code Section 12529. In general, current Huntington Beach Municipal Code sections 17.56.650 and 9.70.010 prohibit the sale, use, storage, possession and discharge of all fireworks within the City of Huntington Beach. In 2012, the City Council adopted Chapter 5.90 of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code which established a trial period of two years allowing Safe and Sane Fireworks. The trial period expired on July 5, 2013. As such, Huntington Beach again prohibited the sale, use, storage, possession and discharge of any Safe and Sane Fireworks. Ballot Measure Specifically, this ballot measure proposes to add Section 805 to Article Vill of the Huntington Beach Charter, which would permit the sale, possession and use of Safe and Sane Fireworks in the City subject to the regulations established by the City Council. Effect of this Ballot Measure If adopted, in general, this ballot measure would permit the sale, possession and use of Safe and Sane Fireworks in the City, subject to the regulations established by the City Council. As a consequence, City Council could not completely ban Safe and Sane Fireworks without a subsequent voter approved Charter amendment. If this ballot measure is not adopted, then Huntington Beach Municipal Code Sections 9.70.010 and 17.56.650 which prohibits Safe and Sane fireworks will apply. Cost of this Ballot Measure The discharge of fireworks could impact the cost of City services related to the Police, Public Works, and Fire Departments; however the City can not accurately project such costs. A "no" vote on this measure would leave in place the existing ordinance which permits only supervised public fireworks displays approved by the City. THE ABOVE STATEMENT IS AN IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE T. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF MEASURE T OR THE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT, PLEASE CONTACT THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AT {714) 536- 5227 AND A COPY WILL BE MAILED TO YOU AT NO COST, OR IT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT www.huntingtonbeachca.gov Pursuant to Government Code section 34458.5, the following ballot description is provided: This Charter Amendment would add section 805 to the City Charter allow for the sale, possession and use of Safe and Sane fireworks, in the City of Huntington Beach subject to regulations adopted by the City Council. This amendment does not give the City Council any new enumerated power including to raise its compensation or that of other City officials without voter approval. Dated: July 16, 2014 ��y��><rin�ilFyry4' s/ Jennifer McGrath �a+i\S��AR City Attorney ��� ++••• r.....a.°+ �TE`�,+I + .j. i • i i w J J rh�w_ ��i��♦ ,/� I2%f1y. OR NP107E-032 ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE T I REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE T Please vote YES on Measure T to restore a Huntington Beach and Our community does celebrate the 4th with fireworks. On the Fourth of American tradition of residents using Safe and Sane fireworks for their July, nearly 100,000 visitors come to Huntington Beach for our parade own personal 416 of July celebrations on Independence Day. I and fireworks display at the pier. Safe and Sane fireworks are authorized by the California Fire Marshall under state law since the 1950's, allowing local municipalities to regulate their use. A Yes Vote on Measure T wilt do that in Huntington Beach. "Three years ago, Huntington Beach conducted a two year pilot project where Safe and Sane fireworks were allowed. The test was a huge success. It's time to formally bring back this wonderful American tradition:' ------------- Mayor Matthew Harper By voting YES on Measure T, Huntington Beach residents will: Allow the City Council to establish a system where important community non -profits groups like the American Legion Post, AYSO Soccer, Boys and Girls Clubs, Little League, school sports and band boosters, church groups and more, earn a share of the profits from fireworks sales. Allow residents who want to celebrate Independence Day with California State -Approved Fireworks to buy and use them at home, benefiting our community with sales tax dollars and revenue for community groups. During the two-year trial period in Huntington Beach, twenty nonprofit groups netted over $700,000 for worthwhile projects that support our community. No major fires or property damage associated with Safe and Sane fireworks were reported. Families were again able to celebrate the Fourth of July at their homes in HB using safe and sane fireworks like they did decades ago. A Yes on T decriminalizes use of State -Approved fireworks in Huntington Beach. Many of these visitors make no distinction between "safe and sane" fireworks and illegal fireworks. In the last two years, during our fireworks experiment, illegal fireworks activity increased. In our neighborhoods, where illegal fireworks are shot off in increasing numbers, many people are forced to drug or board their animals, our residents suffer through noise pollution, and U.S, war Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are traumatized again and again. Proponents of fireworks say there were no serious injuries or fires during our two year trial. They are wrong. There was a small fire caused by fireworks, and it's really only a matter of time until we see serious injuries and fires. The latest statistics from 2013 verified by the American Pyrotechnics Association, National Council on Firework Safety, show that nearly 12,000 people were injured by fireworks in the U.S., 45 percent of those injuries were to children under 14 and children under 5 had the highest per capita rate of fireworks injuries. 400 peopie lost their sight in one or both of their eyes in 2013.20,000 fires were caused by fireworks in 2013. Four people died. Our public safety officials = our fire chief and police chief — are right to oppose legalizing fireworks. Second guessing these safety professionals is dangerous and we should vote no on fireworks in Huntington Beach. s/ Councilwoman Connie Boardman s/ Councilwoman Jill Hardy Vote YES on Measure T to once again allow Huntington Beach s/ Councilman Joe Shaw residents to celebrate our freedoms with traditional Safe and Sane fireworks and simultaneously supporting vital Community groups. s/ Matthew Harper Mayor, City of Huntington Beach s/ Joe Carchio Councilman, City of Huntington Beach s/ David Yesutake President, Edison High School Band Booster Association s/ Alan Gandall AYSO Regional Commissioner Area K Assistant Director page e:o.►ly� 10 Yw+, �• '•i Ai+i w Y b • . � • y�y b : All OR NP107E-033 ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE T REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE T To vote NO on lifting the ban on fireworks in Huntington Beach is to It's time for the opponents of Measure T to get honest about the choose public safety over money. facts. Multiple Grand Juries recommended bans on personal fireworks Since the Grand Jury report in 2008, the number of cities in Orange because legalizing them increases the use of more dangerous illegal County that allow safe and sane fireworks has doubled. Why? Voters fireworks, This happened in our city. In 2010 and 2011 prior to lifting see that claims by anti -fireworks activists never materialize. There the ban a total of 50 pounds of Illegal fireworks were confiscated, were two Incidents in HB during the two year trial -period with only one during the two year trial period when personal fireworks were legal, related to a state -approved product. 150 pounds of illegal fireworks were confiscated. Allowing the use of legal fireworks increases the use of illegal, non - When personal fireworks are legal, those setting off the more state -approved, fireworks? Many longtime residents saw and heard dangerous illegal fireworks hide among those setting off the legal more illegal fireworks this year than ever - during a ban. You make ones making enforcement more difficult. the call. The Orange County Grand Jury also stated that once a ban is lifted and then reestablished it can take three years for the illegal firework activity to return to levels the community experienced when all fireworks were banned. Only seven of the 34 cities in Orange County allow the use of personal fireworks. No coastal city from Ventura to San Diego allows the use of personal fireworks. Huntington Beach is a destination for over 100,000 visitors on the 41h of July. Crowds and personal fireworks do not mix, Don't be surprised when you start to receive multiple mailers from the pro side of this issue. The fireworks companies recently spent over $100,000 in the primary election in Anaheim. Don't be surprised when the mailers tout the amount of money groups can make in a few days. That is true, thousands can be made in a short time by selling fireworks, but at what cost? Both our Police Chief and Fire Chief advised the City Council not to lift the ban. When choosing between money and public safety, we choose public safety and urge you to vote NO on Measure T. s! Councilwoman Jill Hardy s/ Councilwoman Connie Boardman The Grand Jury report asked five cities to consider a moratorium on safe and sane fireworks - all five cities refused the recommendation. Local Orange County cities are opening up their communities to legal fireworks after decades -long bans. Westminster, Fullerton, Villa Park and Anaheim have opened since 2010. Local Huntington Beach community non-profit groups netted over $700,000 selling safe and sane fireworks in 2012 and 2013. Those dollars went directly into local high school, junior college, youth sport and philanthropic organizations within our community. Don't make criminals out of people who want to use products approved by the California State Fire Marshal, once a year on our nation's birthday, on their own private property. Vote Yes on Measure T. s/ Matthew Harper Mayor, City of Huntington Beach s/ Joe Carchio Councilman, City of Huntington Beach s/ Alan Gandall AYSO Regional Commissioner Area K Assistant Director s/ David Yasutake President Edison High School Band Boosters s/ Stephanie Green District 62 Boardmember Oceanview Little League Boardmember AR•OF �aT�.�� FZ1V1, OR NP107S-034 Our Featured Park for February - Colonial Mobile Manor ----------