After a lot of money and controversy, on June 2, California's Proposition 224 was buried 62 percent to 38 percent. Prop. 224 would have required every state-funded design contract to go through a cost comparison with work by California agencies. The comparison methods would have likely favored state-employed designers because overhead costs would have been calculated for consulting firms, but not state designers.
More than 800 organizations comprised the Taxpayers Against 224 and raised about $8 million-more than twice as much as the "yes" side. It was able to afford a television campaign blitz that seemed to have been effective in swaying the vote.
So far, there are no similar initiatives pending anywhere in the country.
