After the victory over California Proposition 64, the LaRouche Initiative, in 1986, community members sought to form a statewide organization. The organization would prepare to defeat similar initiatives and champion progressive initiatives concerning HIV/AIDS. From this effort, the Californians for AIDS Research and Education (CARE) and later the AIDS Initiative Committee (AIC) were created. CARE worked to educate the public and defeat California Proposition 69, the AIDS Initiative Statute championed by Paul Gann. Proposition 69 would have required the reporting of HIV/AIDS cases to the state and could have subjected individuals to quarantine. CARE also worked with AIC to place the AIDS Tax Credit Initiative on the June 1988 ballot. The income tax credit initiative would have funded HIV/AIDS research. While the income tax credit initiative failed to qualify for the ballot, Proposition 69 was defeated by two million votes.

For the remainder of the year, CARE committed its efforts to the No on Proposition 96 and 102 campaigns. Proposition 102, which would require public reporting of anyone who tested positive, was successfully defeated. Proposition 96, which would allow California courts to require individuals to be tested for HIV without their consent in certain situations, was approved by California voters. CARE disbanded after the November 1988 election.