FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                         
April 2, 2026

CONTACT:
Renée Saldaña
[email protected]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Supporters of the Healthcare Executive Compensation Act submitted more than one million signatures to the California Attorney General and county registrars across the state, a landmark step toward qualifying the measure for the November 2026 ballot.

The proposed ballot initiative would cap excessive executive compensation at hospitals and medical groups at $450,000 per year, ensuring more healthcare dollars are directed toward improving patient care and supporting frontline workers.

The massive signature total, representing voters across California, reflects frustration among voters over skyrocketing healthcare costs and multimillion-dollar executive pay packages at a time when hospitals face billions in potential federal funding cuts.

“Every signature represents a patient, a family member, a healthcare worker who is fed up,” said Zelda Aaron, a social worker at Community Hospital of San Bernardino. “People understand that healthcare costs keep rising while executives take home millions. This measure will finally redirect those dollars where they belong – into patient care and the caregivers who deliver it.”

At a time when California stands to lose up to $30 billion in healthcare funding each year due to federal legislation, the measure’s supporters say it is more critical than ever that existing hospital resources are directed toward patient care rather than excessive executive compensation.

The Healthcare Executive Compensation Act seeks to close the widening gap between excessive executive pay and the realities faced by patients and frontline healthcare workers. The proposed measure would limit total annual compensation for executives, administrators, and managers at nonprofit and for-profit hospitals and medical groups to $450,000 per year.

With signatures now submitted, the campaign awaits verification by county registrars as it moves toward qualifying for the November 2026 ballot. For more information, visit CareOverCEOs.org.

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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 120,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians provided by valued and respected healthcare workers.