California kids may get personal finance 101

Sep 05, 2023

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FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2020 file photo, a woman walks past a personal finance loan office in Franklin, Tenn. There is no federal maximum interest rate on consumer loans, so absent a state law, lenders can charge high rates on small loans . But recently, more states have moved to bring that number down. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

A ballot measure would require high school students in California to take a personal finance course. | AP

EXTRA CREDIT: Many young people learn personal finance the hard way — racking up huge student loans and credit card debt, getting in way over their heads with car loans or just generally living way beyond their means as young adults.

One entrepreneurial but apparently civic-minded organization aims to address that gap by making a personal finance course a high school graduation requirement. So far, 23 states have signed on. California may be on track to join them.

Next Gen Personal Finance’s advocacy arm is trying to put the proposal to voters in November 2024. The organization already offers a free personal finance curriculum and teacher training to schools, and the nonprofit has deployed both in districts in California, including in San Francisco and Long Beach.

The ballot measure is similar to legislation that Assemblymember Kevin McCarty introduced on behalf of the organization, but amendments diluted the bill to require only that personal finance lessons be incorporated into economics classes, rather than mandating stand-alone courses. McCarty said in an interview today that he withdrew his bill because it was “watered down,” and that he supports the ballot measure.

“I would say the education establishment was not keen on this,” McCarty said.

The California School Boards Association opposed the bill McCarty introduced, arguing it would “ignore the state's existing curriculum development and update process,” and burden the state’s nearly 1,000 local school agencies by requiring them to decide on lesson plans and otherwise implementing the mandate.

Next Gen co-founder Tim Ranzetta, a Palo Alto entrepreneur who volunteered to teach personal finance courses there, argues that the courses have helped limit young people’s credit card debt. He pointed to public opinion polling that his campaign commissioned, showing that 78 percent of California voters would support the requirements.

And he said his group is prepared to spend millions to get the measure on the ballot, and to offer even more free professional development and instructional materials on the topic.

“It's not enough for a law to pass or for regulations to go through, but we're all about successful implementation,” Ranzetta said in an interview.

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said in a phone interview that he’s also supportive of the measure and said he has worked with Ranzetta on the requirements.

“They've gone to great lengths to create the infrastructure for how our state can do more around personal finance,” Thurmond said of Next Gen. Of the ballot measure, he said, “The timing is right, I think, for California.”

But the requirement comes at a cost to students — in the form of one more requirement on their already full schedules.

The personal finance requirement would start in the 2029-30 school year, just as California students will have to fulfill a mandate for an ethnic studies course. That’s on top of the regular requirements, not to mention the additional admission requirements of the University of California and California State University systems.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

TAKING THE INITIATIVE: It could get a little harder to overturn laws in California if Newsom signs a labor-backed bill the Legislature sent to his desk today.

SEIU California set out to overhaul the state’s referendum process after the fast-food industry used it to challenge a landmark law aimed at improving fast food pay and working conditions. The version of Assembly Bill 421 that hit the Senate floor was far less sweeping than an initial version clamping down on paid signature-gatherers. But it remained consequential enough to draw concerted business resistance.

The bill would list funders of an initiative in voter guides and let the backers withdraw the measures — opening the door to the kind of legislative dealmaking that has become commonplace for other kinds of ballot initiatives. It would also recast how measures are displayed on ballots, switching from a “yes-no” format that has fueled confusion to options of “keep the law” versus “overturn the law.”

Supporters say AB 421 would make it harder for special interests to abuse the referendum process. But a coalition led by the California Chamber of Commerce argued in a formal opposition letter that the change would undermine the tool’s intent by forcing voters to “second-guess the Legislature.”

Now Newsom will be on the receiving end of those arguments. The governor vetoed a previous bill to outlaw paid signature-gathering, arguing it would make it harder to participate in the ballot initiative process.

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ON THE BEATS

TALKING TOUGH ON FENTANYL: Activists introduced a ballot measure today that would require courts to warn fentanyl dealers that their actions could lead to murder charges.

It’s an effort to make an end run around Democrats who have blocked similar proposals in the Legislature.

Parents of people who have overdosed and advocates gathered in front of the attorney general’s office, decrying lawmakers’ inaction and calling on California to pass the “common sense” initiative. Backers included Crime Victims United and Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire.

The measure would require judges to warn convicted fentanyl dealers that if they are convicted again and someone dies, they could face murder charges. It's similar to a warning given to people convicted of drunken driving. The language is similar to a bill known as Alexandra’s Law, which was rejected by Democrats, who raised concerns that increasing fentanyl penalties could exacerbate mass incarceration. — Lara Korte

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: The largest wildfire in the U.S. is raging across remote terrain along the California-Oregon border. Crews made some progress over the weekend, aided by about an inch of rain in recent days. But the Smith River Complex fire is still less than 20 percent contained as of today and has burned across 85,000 acres in Del Norte and Siskiyou counties. Crews had just 9 percent containment at the start of the weekend.

“It basically put the fire to sleep,” meteorologist Phil Manuel said of the rain. But the hot, dry weather in the forecast could “bring it out of hibernation,” he warned.

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WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

— Dam time: A long-dismissed proposal to decommission the Glen Canyon Dam, drain Lake Powell and allow more water to flow downstream to Lake Mead has gained some influential adherents, including influential farmers in the Imperial Valley. The Upper Basin states would probably never go for it, though.

— Rethinking relocation: Texas, and specifically Austin, is losing some of its allure to Californians, as many tech workers come to realize there are fewer career opportunities there and employers say it’s hard to find talent.

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