USC hosted a panel Wednesday with some of the states leading political experts to discuss 10 separate state propositions, ranging from a minimum wage increases, rent control and harsher penalties for fentanyl dealers..
Emily Schultheis, a reporter at POLITICO, broke down one of the most talked about propositions, Prop 36. It attempts to reform a 10 year old measure that back then, loosened penalties around drug and theft crimes.
“It would reimpose some of the felony position, felony designations for repeat offenders of some of these crimes, so People who are repeatedly stealing from from stores,” Schultheis said. “When you’ve done that a certain number of times, you would face a felony charge versus a misdemeanor charge. The same thing is true with certain types of drug crimes, including fentanyl.”
The panelists went on to dive into a number of propositions that could potentially impact USC students specifically. One of these is Prop 32, a change that would raise the states minimum wage, which is currently $16 dollars an hour, by $2 dollars over the next two years.
Mindy Romero, director of USC’s Center for Inclusive Democracy said, “We’re looking at $18 an hour, with the exception, of course, of fast food restaurants as well as the healthcare industry, which is that $25 an hour. I think there’s a lot of conversation around this bill. It hits people’s pocketbooks.”
Another proposition that could affect students is Prop 33, which gives local cities the power to expand rent control.
Schultheis also emphasized Prop 35. It is an an effort to make permanent a tax on health insurance providers; the money would be used to reimburse health providers that serve MediCal patients. Many health care providers complain that MediCal does not pay them enough.
“What prop 35 would do is guarantee that the benefits, or, sorry, the revenue from that tax goes is guaranteed to go toward the Medi Cal program,” Schultheis said.
More information on all 10 ballot measures can be found at the California Secretary of State website.