Quick and easy: For the eight propositions on next Tuesday’s ballot, vote NO on the first six propositions (73-78) and YES on the last two propositions (79-80).

NO on 73 – Waiting Period and Parental Notification before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy

Ideally, we would all want a pregnant girl considering an abortion to take the time to think it through and talk to her parents. However, many pregnant girls are in family situations that are not ideal. In some cases, a girl may not be able to safely tell a parent that she is pregnant. This girl should still have safe health care and reproductive freedom. This proposition is one of many efforts by abortion opponents to interfere with a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.

NO on 74 – Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status

This measure would extend the probationary period for new teachers from two years to an extraordinary five years. How many jobs have a five-year probationary period before you become a permanent employee? This is not about tenure. K-12 teachers in California do not receive tenure. During their first two years, teachers can be dismissed without a hearing. After two years, they are entitled to a due process hearing before dismissal, which is fair. This proposition would give good teachers another reason to move to other states and would discourage good students from becoming teachers.

NO on 75 – Public Employee Union Dues. Restrictions on Political Contributions

This would hamper the ability of public employee unions to support candidates by adding a cumbersome requirement: Each employee would be required to give written permission before his or her dues could be used for political contributions. Notice that this proposition does not restrict political contributions by corporations. This proposition is designed to reduce the influence of labor unions, thereby increasing the influence of large corporations.

NO on 76 – State Spending and School Funding Limits

This proposition would allow Gov. Schwarzenegger to make specific budget decisions without approval from the Legislature or voters. It would weaken current rules that are designed to ensure adequate funding for schools. It could also reduce the amount of money sent to cities and counties for police, firefighting and other public services. We need to protect funding for California’s schoolchildren and neighborhoods, not cut it.

NO on 77 – Redistricting

Gov. Schwarzenegger is a Republican and the Legislature is Democratic, so he wants to change political district boundaries to elect more Republicans. Currently, the Legislature reconfigures political districts every 10 years based on census data. This measure would transfer that responsibility to a panel of three retired judges, supposedly to make it less political. However, these judges would be retired and free to be as political as they want, and there would be plenty of politics involved in selecting these judges.

NO on 78 – Discounts on Prescription Drugs

This measure is sponsored by major pharmaceutical companies. These companies are not sponsoring the initiative because they are eager to provide us with discounts. They are sponsoring it because it would give them more marketing tools. The measure just asks that the state negotiate discounts for low-and-moderate income residents. It does not specify the size of the discount, nor does it require manufacturers to comply. Meanwhile, it would allow manufacturers to promote themselves by sponsoring and putting their names on the program’s outreach materials, with these ads exempt from review by the Department of General Services.

YES on 79 – Prescription Drug Discounts. State-Negotiated Rebates

This measure would prohibit the state from signing Medi-Cal contracts with manufacturers that do not provide the Medicaid best price. This would create a powerful incentive for the pharmaceutical companies to participate and to lower prices. Under the program, eligible consumers could apply for a card that would qualify them for discounts on prescriptions at pharmacies.

YES on 80 – Electric Service Regulation

Deregulation brought us unreliable service, power blackouts, corporate greed and Enron. Let us restore the days when there were rules about what utility companies could do to customers. In addition, this measure ensures that utility personnel are well-trained, and it requires an increase in environmentally clean and renewable energy sources.