October 9, 2025 - Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., has announced that the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on October 7, 2025.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent(s) and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

REQUIRES COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINICS SPEND 90% OF REVENUE ON PROGRAM SERVICES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Centers (community clinics that provide primary care to medically underserved areas and populations) to spend at least 90% of their revenue on program services advancing their charitable purpose, including but not limited to patient services, rather than management and overhead. Department of Public Health may waive spending requirement in exceptional circumstances. Authorizes Attorney General to publish guidance defining qualifying expenditures. Imposes monetary penalties for noncompliance, which may be refunded if centers become compliant within five years. Authorizes criminal charges for false reports and schemes to artificially increase spending ratio. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: State cost of up to the low tens of millions of dollars annually to enforce the new requirement that nonprofit safety net health clinics spend at least 90 percent of annual revenue on certain types of expenses, much of which would be covered by fees and penalties charged on the affected entities. (25-0008A1)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1986 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0008A1.

The proponents of the measure, Shawna Brown and Sean Fleming, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 6, 2026. The address for the proponents is c/o George M. Yin, Kaufman Legal Group, 445 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 2400, Los Angeles, CA 90071. The proponents may also be contacted at gyin@kaufmanlegalgroup.com and (213) 452-6565.

Source: CA. SoS