Repeals Prohibition Against Public Funding of Election Campaigns. Legislative Statute.

“Proposition 4 does not create a public financing program. It simply gives local governments the option to adopt one if they choose.”

Seen in: Official Voter Information Guide, argument in favor of Proposition 4

The Analyst says Proposition 4 "does not create a public campaign finance system for the state or local governments directly" and only allows them to create programs in the future. The Analyst adds that the option is open to the state as well as local governments.

“Proposition 4 has NO LIMIT on the number of candidates who can get taxpayer money and NO LIMIT on how much money they can get!”

Seen in: Official Voter Information Guide, argument against Proposition 4

The claim has two halves. "No limit on the number of candidates" is literally true in that the measure sets no cap on how many candidates may qualify; it requires eligibility criteria showing broad-based support, the details of which are left to future statutes, ordinances, and charters. "No limit on how much money they can get" does not match the text: candidates who receive public funds must abide by expenditure limits set by future law, and available candidate funds are the lesser of the candidate's expenditure limit or the contributions and public funds received. Section (f) lets those limits be raised, but not above the highest net supportive funds of any other candidate for the same office plus independent expenditures against the participating candidate, minus independent expenditures in support of that candidate. The Analyst says key design decisions, including costs, are left to future decision makers.