Yes, I believe it is the Initiative Process too. It once seemed like a good idea, but instead — special interests whup folks up to do THEIR bidding. Looks like one thing, it really is another. It also lets the politicians in Sacto avoid anything that is not safe, or hide behind ‘the people’ to do it.
We are a Republic not a Democracy, and there are very good reasons for that. I read recently, ‘THE PEOPLE wanted to save the Delta Smelt, so we cut off the water to So Cal and gave it to the smelt.” No responsibility for this in Sacto? You bet there IS!! But those slime-balls teflon it off.
The initiative process has actually protected the progressives in the State legislature and in their county governments from accountability to the people. Look at Prop 13. Rather than throw out the Democrats in the legislature, the people fixed the ridiculous tax rates that were driving them out of their homes (in our county, the rates reached 8.5% per year!!!). With the initiative process, the people got to keep their liberal legislature while not having to pay for it.