Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Do California voters still want pension changes?

Dan Walters Daily: The Legislature may be taking a break, but Dan says in today's video that there's no vacation for California politics.

Jon Ortiz reports today that California voters are a little less likely than a year ago to think state and local government pensions are too generous, according to a new Field Poll. But a strong majority still wants to see some specific benefit reforms.

Find the poll here and the tabulations prepared exclusively for Capitol Alert here.

With the November initiative ballot taking shape, today's the day that ballot arguments are due at the Secretary of State's Office.

The water bond has been put off, and Gov. Jerry Brown won a Monday court ruling on whether his measure will appear atop the ballot in a position engineered to avoid the dreaded dropoff of votes for measures farther down the list.

Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Molly Munger's rival tax campaign, said their side wouldn't appeal.

"We're moving on," he said in a statement. "No matter where we end up on the ballot, the fact remains that our measure will reboot California's public schools by sending $10 billion a year into a separate trust fund for education that can't be touched by the governor or the legislature. We look forward to a spirited campaign on the merits."

But the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is still fighting.

Wonder how November's crop of 11 initiatives - on subjects from the death penalty to sex trafficking and genetic engineering - might fare based on outcomes in previous years?

A listing of ballot measures titled each year, prepared by the Secretary of State's Office, shows that roughly two-thirds of measures were rejected by voters in the last 100 years.

Find their fun initiative facts here, along with a full list of initiatives and their outcomes.

WILLIAMSON ACT: The California State Board of Food and Agriculture plans to talk about agricultural land preservation and the Williamson Act at its meeting today, 10 a.m. at 1220 N Street. Scheduled speakers include Heather Fargo of the Strategic Growth Council, Billy Gatlin of the California Cattlemen's Association and David Shabazian of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Follow the board on Twitter @CaFood_AgBoard.