The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, requires state and local agencies to consider the environmental impact of public and private projects. Prop 45 would change CEQA by speeding up environmental reviews for certain projects such as housing, roads, bridges, and broadband centers.

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This story was reported by Laura Klivans. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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There are about 2,000 community clinics providing health care in California, serving low-income and underinsured patients and funded partially by our tax dollars.

But one healthcare workers union, SEIU-UHW West, says these clinics aren't spending enough of their money on patients. Prop 44 would change that by mandating that clinics spend at least 90% of their revenue on healthcare services, or face penalties from the state.

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• ⁠⁠Read the transcript for this episode⁠.⁠

• ⁠⁠Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026⁠⁠

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This story was reported by Lesley McClurg. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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Right now in California, if citizens put a tax measure on the ballot for local government services, it requires a simple majority — 50% plus 1 — to pass.

Prop 43 would raise that threshold. If passed, these kinds of tax measures would require a two-thirds majority of support instead.

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This story was reported by Guy Marzorati. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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Prop 42 is another ballot measure designed to compete with Prop 40, the billionaire wealth tax. If passed, California would ban new taxes on financial assets like retirement accounts, stock portfolios, or other personal property like art. If Prop 42 and Prop 40 pass, but 42 receives more votes, then Prop 40 would be nullified.

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This story was reported by Marisa Lagos. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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As happens so often in California, there are initiatives on your ballot that are competing with other initiatives on your ballot. Prop 41, which would require audits of new special taxes, is one of them.

You may have heard of Prop 40, the billionaire wealth tax. If Prop 41 receives more votes, then Prop 40 would be nullified — even if both pass.

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Marisa Lagos. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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Proposition 40 is a one-time 5% wealth tax on California's billionaires. If passed, 90% of the revenue would go to healthcare, while the other 10% would help fund public education and food assistance programs.

Additional Resources:

• LISTEN: The Union Man Taking on the Democratic Establishment with a Billionaire Tax
• LISTEN: Stanford Economist Makes the Case Against California's Billionaire Tax
• Read the transcript for this episode
• Catch up on Prop Fest

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Marisa Lagos. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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In California, you have to show identification when you register to vote, but not when you cast your ballot.

Prop 39, which is supported by California Republicans and opposed by California Democrats, would change that. If passed, citizens would have to present a government-issued ID when voting in person or write the last 4 digits of an ID number on their mail-in ballot envelope.

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• ⁠Read the transcript for this episode⁠.

• ⁠Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026⁠

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to⁠ https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts⁠

This story was reported by Izzy Bloom. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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Immunotherapy is individualized treatment designed to harness a patients’ immune system to fight disease. Vaccines are considered part of immunology, but it also includes more recent innovations, like new treatments for cancer and heart disease.  

Prop 38 would allow the state to borrow $8.4 billion to fund immunology and immunotherapy research, with one specific institution in mind — UCLA.

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This story was reported by April Dembosky. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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It's pretty standard to pay a 20% down payment in order to buy a house. But in California, where the median price of a single-family home is $980,000, that's a tall order for most people. Supporters of Prop 37 say it would help address this problem by allowing the state to help moderate income buyers.

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This story was reported by Adhiti Bandlamudi. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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In 2021, California voters were asked whether or not to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. But there was also a second question on the ballot: Who should replace the governor if he was recalled?

The recall ultimately failed. But if it had succeeded, Republican talk show host Larry Elder, who won roughly 48% of the vote in that second question, would have become governor. Proposition 5 would change this process by eliminating the second question from recall ballots for statewide office.

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• Read the transcript for this episode (link to web article)
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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Guy Marzorati. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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If you want to get elected in this state, it's no secret that you'll need to raise money — in some cases, a lot of money. This could put candidates who don't come from wealthy backgrounds at a disadvantage.

California currently bans public funding for political campaign expenses. Prop. 4 would repeal it.

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Izzy Bloom. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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