June 18, 2026 - Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. announced that an initiative became eligible 
for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot on June 17, 2026.
In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 874,641 valid petition signatures, which is equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 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 962,106 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.
On June 25, 2026, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent(s) prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the measure is as follows:
LIMITS AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT VICTIMS' RECOVERY OF MEDICAL EXPENSES AND FEES THEIR ATTORNEYS MAY RECEIVE. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Automobile accident victims often hire an attorney on a contingency basis, meaning the attorney receives an agreed-upon percentage of the victim’s monetary recovery if the victim wins. This measure would:
- -limit the fees such attorneys may receive so victims retain at least 75% of their monetary recovery, but does not restrict fee arrangements for defendants’ attorneys;
- -for certain medical expenses, increase victims’ burden of proof and limit the amounts they may recover; and
- -prohibit certain financial arrangements between attorneys and medical providers.
Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Likely net savings to the state trial courts ranging from the millions of dollars to the tens of millions of dollars annually. These effects would depend on the overall reduction in motor vehicle accident cases being filed as well as the degree to which remaining cases would take longer to resolve. Increased state Medi-Cal costs that could range from the millions to tens of millions of dollars annually due to various factors, including a reduction in compensation for some motor vehicle accidents used to offset Medi-Cal costs. (25-0022A1.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1999 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0022A1.
The proponents of the measure are John Moffatt and Kurt R. Oneto. The address for the proponents is c/o Kurt R. Oneto, Nielsen Merksamer LLP, 1415 L Street, Suite 1200, Sacramento, CA 95814. The proponents may also be contacted at (916) 446-6752 and koneto@nmgovlaw.com.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/.
Source: CA. SoS
