SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. announced that an initiative to provide additional funding for arts and music education in public schools became eligible for the November 8, 2022, General Election ballot.

In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 623,212 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2018 General Election.

A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 685,534 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.

On June 30, 2020, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 8, 2022, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).

The Attorney General’s official title and summary of the measure is as follows:

PROVIDES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR ARTS AND MUSIC EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Provides additional funding for arts and music education in all K-12 public schools (including charter schools) by annually allocating from state General Fund an amount equaling 1% of required state and local funding for public schools. Allocates greater proportion of the funds to schools serving more economically disadvantaged students. Schools with 500 or more students must spend at least 80% of funding to employ teachers and remainder on training, supplies, and education partnerships. Requires audits and limits administrative costs to 1% of funding. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased spending likely in the range of $800 million to $1 billion annually, beginning in 2023-24, for arts education in schools. (21-0036A1.)

The proponent of the measure is Austin Beutner. They can be reached c/o Thomas W. Hiltachk of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP at (916) 442-7757. The address for Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP is 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 600, Sacramento, CA 95814.

For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/.