Real Problems, Real Solutions
California voters have approved nearly $200 billion in special taxes, bonds, and dedicated revenue over the last two decades. When the state's independent watchdog has looked closely at where that money went, it has found the same pattern again and again: funds that cannot be tracked, promised results that never arrive, and costs that climb far beyond what voters were told. The examples below show what happens without upfront, ongoing accountability, and how the Transparency Act would change the outcome.
Homelessness: Billions Spent, Results Untracked
The Problem.
California voters have approved nearly $200 billion in special taxes, bonds, and dedicated revenue over the last two decades. When the state's independent watchdog has looked closely at where that money went, it has found the same pattern again and again: funds that cannot be tracked, promised results that never arrive, and costs that climb far beyond what voters were told. The examples below show what happens without upfront, ongoing accountability, and how the Transparency Act would change the outcome.
The Solution.
California voters have approved nearly $200 billion in special taxes, bonds, and dedicated revenue over the last two decades. When the state's independent watchdog has looked closely at where that money went, it has found the same pattern again and again: funds that cannot be tracked, promised results that never arrive, and costs that climb far beyond what voters were told. The examples below show what happens without upfront, ongoing accountability, and how the Transparency Act would change the outcome.
Unemployment Benefits: Fraud That Cost Billions
The Problem.
When unemployment claims surged during the pandemic, the Employment Development Department became a target for fraud. The auditor found the department waited months to strengthen fraud detection and paid roughly $10.4 billion on claims it later could not verify, including hundreds of millions paid to prison inmates. In one case more than 1,700 claims came from a single address. The department had no central fraud unit and no plan to measure whether its fraud tools even worked. Years later, improper payments still ran above the federal standard, adding up to about $1.5 billion more over just two recent years.
The Solution.
The Transparency Act requires audits to examine the actual and potential fraud, waste, and abuse in a program, and to assess whether the systems meant to prevent them are adequate. By putting that examination in front of voters before a tax is approved, and repeating it on a regular schedule after, the measure gives taxpayers an early warning system instead of a bill for damage already done.
Cannabis Taxes: Failed Promises and Weak Consumer Protections
The Problem.
When voters approved the cannabis legalization measure in 2016, it imposed new special taxes on growers and retailers and promised voters that the State Auditor would conduct an annual performance audit of how the money was spent and how well enforcement worked. Soon after the measure passed, the Legislature amended that provision to shift the audit responsibility elsewhere and reduce how often the audits happened. When the auditor did examine the program, it found weak oversight of grant funds, permitting practices that left the door open to favoritism, and enforcement rules on child-appealing packaging so vague they produced inconsistent results. Over the same period, calls to poison control for young children ingesting cannabis rose sharply.
The Solution.
This is exactly why the Transparency Act places audit requirements in the state Constitution rather than leaving them to be watered down later. Under the measure, voters see an independent audit before they approve a special tax, and the program faces recurring audits every four years afterward. The oversight voters are promised is the oversight they actually get.
The Common Thread
None of these failures happened because Californians were unwilling to invest in solving hard problems. They happened because money went out the door without a clear, public accounting of whether it was working. The Transparency Act answers that gap directly. Before voters approve a new special tax, they see an independent audit of the programs it would fund, including concrete recommendations for savings and improvement. After approval, those programs face recurring audits that keep the accounting honest. Californians get trackable progress, real results, and confidence that their tax dollars are delivering for the people these programs are meant to serve.
At a time when Californians are paying some of the highest taxes in the nation and facing rising everyday costs, voters deserve confidence that their tax dollars are being spent efficiently. When we have transparency and accountability, our tax dollars are better spent providing the services and programs Californians need.