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Uber & CA Lawyers Cut a Deal. 2 Voter Ballot Measures Are Gone.

Resist Now 3 min read
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Two Voter-Qualified Ballot Measures Removed From California’s November Ballot

Two measures that California voters were set to decide in November will no longer appear on the ballot. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 623 on June 26, 2026, after Uber and the Consumer Attorneys of California struck a private agreement and turned it into legislation.

Both sides had already qualified their competing measures for the ballot. Each had raised or allocated more than $75 million for their campaigns, putting the potential total spend north of $150 million.

$150M+ combined in raised or allocated campaign funds that Uber and California attorneys agreed to stand down from spending by cutting a legislative deal instead

That level of spending would have made it one of the most expensive ballot measure fights in California history. Instead, the two groups negotiated terms and asked the Legislature to codify them, bypassing the voter process entirely.

What SB 623 Actually Does

The new law applies specifically to ride-hailing crashes, not all California road accidents. Uber had sought a broader measure covering all crashes statewide; that is not what passed.

Under SB 623, the amount crash victims can recover for medical treatment from lien-based providers is now capped. Medical liens let patients start treatment before their case settles; the new law also bans the sale of those liens. Lawyers are barred from referring clients to medical providers with whom they have financial ties.

Uber did not get a cap on attorney contingency fees. The Consumer Attorneys of California did not get expanded Uber liability for sexual misconduct claims. Both sides accepted a narrower compromise.

On the safety side, the law requires annual criminal background checks for drivers and expands the list of offenses that disqualify someone from driving for a ride-hailing company.

The Democratic Process Question

California’s initiative system exists so voters can act when the Legislature won’t. When two well-funded interest groups qualify measures and then negotiate their way off the ballot through a bill, voters lose the chance to weigh in directly.

“Hopefully we provided a roadmap to the federal government and other states on how to stand up to corporations who don’t want to take responsibility.”

Doug Saeltzer, President of the Consumer Attorneys of California, June 2026

Saeltzer framed the deal as a win for accountability. Critics of the process argue it demonstrates that corporations with enough money can qualify a ballot measure as a bargaining chip rather than a genuine policy proposal, then trade it away in private negotiations.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call the California Legislature’s main line at (916) 319-2856 and ask your Assembly member to support transparency rules requiring public disclosure when ballot measure sponsors enter legislative negotiations to withdraw qualified measures. Voters qualified those measures; they deserve to know when and why sponsors walk away.

  2. Contact the California Secretary of State’s office at (916) 653-6814. Ask what rules, if any, govern the withdrawal of voter-qualified initiatives after private negotiations between sponsors. Request written policy on public notice requirements.

  3. Find your California state legislators at findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov and ask them to close the “ballot measure as use” loophole by requiring legislative deals that replace qualified measures to go through full public comment hearings before the governor signs.

  4. Review SB 623’s full text at the California Legislative Information site and submit formal comments to your legislator documenting any ride-hailing safety gaps the law fails to close.

Sources

[Callout: Voter-qualified measures removed by private corporate deal.

SB 623 signed June 2026 by Gov. Newsom. CalMatters]

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