Voters in Calfornia approved Proposition 4, supporting a bond measure meant to provide $1.5 billion to fund infrastructure upgrades at the state's pediatric hospitals.
The proposition will authorize the $1.5 billion in bonds to be repaid from the state's general fund for construction, expansion, renovation, and equipping of children's hospitals.
Nearly three in four of those dollars will be designated for qualifying private nonprofit hospitals providing comprehensive services to high volumes of children eligible for governmental programs and children with special health needs eligible for the California Children's Services program.
RELATED: Children’s hospitals again cry for help from voters. But are they really hurting?
Meanwhile, 18% of funds would go toward University of California general acute care children's hospitals. In all, 10% of the funds to public and private nonprofit hospitals would be earmarked for providing services to children eligible for the California Children's Services program.
It was the third such bond measure for pediatric hospitals in California in 15 years with the previous bonds gaining more than 55% of the vote.
Proponents called the measure a crucial investment in the state's infrastructure that cares for the most vulnerable, but critics pointed to the previous funding and questioned whether the children's hospitals needed more accountability for their spending.
Eight California not-for-profit children's hospitals and five University of California children's hospitals will be impacted.