Proposition 64 was aCalifornia ballot proposition on the November 2, 2004 ballot. It passed with 6,571,694 (59.0%) votes in favor and 4,578,725 (41.0%) against. It was aninitiative statute that limited theCalifornia law onunfair competition, restricting privatelawsuits against a company only to those where an individual is injured by and suffers a financial loss due to an unfair, unlawful, orfraudulent business practice and providing that otherwise only publicprosecutors may file lawsuits charging unfair business practices.
Proponents argued that the measure would limit "frivolous lawsuits" against companies, which they claimed result mainly in a windfall for lawyers rather than consumers. Proponents also argued that businesses ultimately must pass along their costs in the form of higher prices to consumers.
Opponents charged that the proposition was heavily funded by businesses who wanted to weaken consumer rights by limiting Californians' ability to enforce environmental, public health, andconsumer protection laws such as 1986'sProposition 65.
Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
