Ben Dahan staff writer
Isaiah Freedman sports editor
Voters decided on a number of state propositions and local measures last week, on Nov 8. Here are the results of the most prominent measures and propositions.
Measure HH: Measure HH, voted directly on by residents, did not pass. This means developer Beny Alagem will abide by his original plan, which includes a 345 ft. complex as well as a 118 ft. one. Alagem spent a reported $7.4 million campaigning for the Measure to be passed. HH ended up being rejected by a comfortable margin: 55 percent of all Beverly Hills residents voted NO on HH.
Measure Y: Measure Y, which needed a supermajority of 66.66 percent of votes to pass, came up just short, finishing with 63.85 percent of voters voting Yes. If passed, Beverly Hills property owners would have had to pay additional income taxes toward BHUSD schools, primarily the completion of construction on all district schools’ campuses.
Prop 61: Proposition 61 was one of the most heated ballot measure battles, with supporting and opposing sides spending a whopping $125.89 million combined on campaigns. The prop ended up not passing, with a solid 53.87 percent of residents voting against it. This means that state agencies are not required to pay any more than the US Department of Veteran Affairs does for prescription drugs.
Prop 63: Proposition 63, which would require background checks on people who try to buy purchase ammunition, require most ammunition sales to be conducted through registered vendors, ban high-capacity magazines and institute other regulations in firearms sales, was passed by a majority of 63 percent of voters.
Prop 64: In an unprecedented wave of support nationwide, nine states had marijuana legalization on the ballot. Nov. 8’s result passed its recreational use in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada, and its medicinal use in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota. The vote, supported by 56 percent of Californians, will legalize the purchase weed for those 21 and older. The legalization, depending on how lawmakers decide to regulate and tax the industry, could generate anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars for the state. The prop states that most of the revenue is to be spent on youth programs, drug research, law enforcement and environmental protection.
Prop 62/66:  On this ballot, there were two competing, mutually exclusive props concerning the death penalty: 62 and 66. Prop 62 would have repealed the state’s use of capital punishment, replacing it with life in prison with no possibility of parole, whereas Prop 66 would streamline the lengthy appeals process, so that executions would come quicker after conviction and sentencing. Prop 66 passed with a narrow margin of 50.91 percent voting for it, 49.09 percent against. Prop 62 was more firmly rejected by nearly 54 percent of voters.