Proposition 2 is among the 10 statewide ballot measures that San Diego County voters will get to weigh in on this fall. Here’s what you need to know about it.

What would it do?

Prop. 2 would see the state borrow $10 billion in order to provide $8.5 billion for TK-12 school facilities and $1.5 billion for community college facilities. The measure needs a simple majority to pass.

State bonds generally do not directly raise taxes. Rather, the state typically sells bonds and pays them back with interest out of its general budget over the course of decades.

It would cost the state about $500 million each year over a 35-year period to repay this bond, which represents less than one half of 1 percent of the state’s general budget, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Why is this on the ballot?

The state’s current pool of school facilities bond money is running out. Prop. 2 would help reduce an outstanding state bond waiting list of more than 870 school projects totaling $3.4 billion in funding requests — including more than $225 million from San Diego County districts.

Voters have not passed a state school facilities bond since 2016, when they voted to provide $9 billion for K-12 schools and community colleges. The most recent proposed state bond, for $15 billion, failed four years ago, when 53 percent of voters chose to reject it.

Who supports it, and why?

School districts, community colleges, teachers unions and the building industry support Prop. 2, which stands to benefit schools and teachers with more funding and the building industry with more construction projects.

California education leaders say many schools desperately need replacing. More than a third of students attended public K-12 schools that did not meet minimum facility standards as of 2020, according to a report by Public Policy Institute of California, and there are more than $100 billion in facility needs over the next decade.

Many school buildings were erected decades ago and are now outdated, deteriorating, out of compliance and even unsafe or unhealthy, educators say.

Who opposes it, and why?

Some critics of Prop. 2, including conservative group Reform California, oppose the measure because it would increase state debt and spending on interest. The group argues it would primarily benefit “bureaucrats, special interests and politically-connected contractors.”

Other critics say they support Prop. 2 and the idea of raising school bond funding, but still find fault with the measure because it would do little to resolve what they say are existing inequities baked into the way the state doles out school facilities funds.

How much districts get is based on how much they can raise on their own through local bond measures — so the system sends more money per student to wealthier school districts with more assessed property value and less to poorer ones. Critics say it’s especially unfair to rural districts, which tend to have less property value and more trouble passing their own bonds.

Where can I read more?

California voters could give schools $10 billion. How much would it help San Diego County — and how fair is it?

Failing facilities: Behind one rural school district’s fight to keep students safe

A San Diego police officer and the driver of another vehicle died when the driver crashed into the officer’s car following a chase Monday night, police said.

A second officer who was in the same police vehicle as the other officer was hurt and “fighting for his life” after they were stuck by the speeding car, Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a Tuesday morning news conference.

The deadly wreck occurred after a police officer saw a vehicle “traveling at a high rate of speed” on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and tried to perform a traffic stop, Wahl said.

The driver did not stop and sped away, leading to a brief pursuit before a supervisor called off the chase because of the dangerous speeds involved, Wahl said.

“Two officers working together in one vehicle were responding to that fleeing suspect,” Wahl told reporters Tuesday. “And ultimately the suspect vehicle collided at a high rate of speed into the side of their vehicle.”

The officers and the suspect were not identified at Tuesday’s news conference. Police said their names were withheld pending family notifications.

Wahl said that due to the emotions involved following the death and critical injury of the officers, the California Highway Patrol is being asked to conduct an independent investigation.

That will include “a full reconstruction of exactly what happened,” he said.

The officer who was hurt was in the intensive care unit at a hospital Tuesday, Wahl said.

The fiery crash occurred at around 11:30 p.m. Monday, NBC San Diego reported. Video from the station showed a silver sedan with a destroyed and mangled front end.

Two other vehicles were also involved in the crash, but both of those drivers were OK and suffered no significant injuries, police said.

“I can’t put into words the feelings that come at a time like this,” Wahl said. “When we have police officers that are coming to work to make a difference, to help those in need, and they’re putting their lives on the line for people that they don’t even know — and last night we lost a good one.”

• U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday told the nation that the upcoming October budget would be “painful,” as he paves the way for government spending cuts to address a £22 billion ($29 billion) financing shortfall.
• Starmer said the U.K.’s public finances were “worse than we ever imagined” and that “difficult” decisions lay ahead, after he announced plans to test winter fuel payments made to pensioners.

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday told the nation that the upcoming October budget would be “painful,” as he paves the way for spending cuts to address what the government says is a £22 billion ($29 billion) financing shortfall.

“We have no other choice given the situation that we’re in,” Starmer said in a speech in the gardens of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence.

“Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden, that’s why we’re cracking down on non-doms,” he added, referring to U.K. residents whose domicile is outside of the country for tax purposes.

“Those who made the mess should have to do their bit to clean it up, that’s why we’re strengthening the powers of the water regulator and backing tough fines on the water companies who have let sewage flood our rivers, lakes and seas,” Starmer said. “But just as when I responded to the riots, I’ll have to turn to the country and make big asks of you as well, to accept short-term pain for long-term good, the difficult trade-off for the genuine solution.”

Starmer’s Labour party took power in early July following a landslide election victory. The U.K. parliament is on a summer break between July 30 and Sept. 2, although the new government has been navigating challenges including a series of riots around the nation involving far-right groups and a capacity crisis in the prison system.

The Labour administration has meanwhile benefitted from the ongoing fall in inflation, which is hovering around 2%, from the start of interest rate cuts by the politically-independent Bank of England and from the economic return to growth for the past two successive quarters.

In its electoral manifesto, Labour said it would raise £7.35 billion ($9.71 billion) by 2028-29 to fund public services through measures including closing tax loopholes on nondomiciled individuals, removing tax breaks for independent schools, closing what has been described as a “tax loophole” for private equity investors, and introducing a “time-limited windfall tax” on oil and gas firms.

Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves have repeatedly stated they will prioritize economic growth and fiscal responsibility in their policymaking.

In his Tuesday speech, Starmer said the U.K.’s public finances were “worse than we ever imagined” and accused the previous government of masking a £22 billion “black hole.”

Labour announced the shortfall figure at the end of July and blamed it on overspending and poor budgeting by the previous Conservative government.

Former Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt in July wrote to Simon Case, the head of the British civil service, labeling Labour’s claims about the public finances “deeply troubling.”

Hunt said the alleged £22 billion gap differed from the “main estimates” for spending presented for approval before Members of Parliament on July 17. He added that the disparity in figures risked bringing the politically-neutral civil service into disrepute, since estimates are signed off by its senior officials.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent research group, has previously argued Labour was aware of the “broad outline” of the size of the deficit and was not upfront during the election campaign about the cuts and tax rises that would be needed to maintain public services.

“Growth — and frankly, by that I do mean wealth creation — is the number one priority of this Labour government,” Starmer said on Tuesday.

Starmer said he had not wanted to take the path to means test the Winter Fuel Payment, a payout for pensions, in a move that has been controversial even within his own party — but added that more “difficult” decisions would come.

Starmer said taxes would not rise for “working people” in the October budget, although he did not supply additional details. Labour has previously pledged not to increase value added tax, national insurance — a general taxation — or income tax.

The speech was criticized by politicians from other parties.

“Keir Starmer says cutting the winter fuel payment is a choice he had to make. But when asked about a wealth tax – Rachel Reeves said their spending commitments didn’t require extra investment. So his tough choices are to not tax wealth of billionaires,” Zack Polanski, deputy leader of the Green Party, said on social media network X.

Conservative politician Kemi Badenoch, a frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak as party leader, said the speech showed that Starmer “campaigned on promises he couldn’t deliver and now he is being found out,” according to BBC News.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey meanwhile stated that the Conservatives left a “toxic legacy” that needed “bold and ambitious action from the government to fix.”

CNBC has contacted the Conservatives for comment.

Financial markets and investors are still waiting for concrete announcements from the government, David Denton, technical consultant at investment management firm Quilter Cheviot, said in a note.

“During Labour’s election campaign, the party emphasised the various taxes it would not seek to raise, such as National Insurance, VAT, and income tax. Therefore, an increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) seems plausible,” Denton said. “An alignment with income tax rates or even a minimal increase might impact investor behaviour.”

He added, “Another potential problem is that unless anti-forestalling measures are announced with any plans, we could see a surge in property on the market as homeowners rush to sell investment properties before new legislation comes into place.”