Steinberg wants to put initiative process changes on 2014 ballot

SacBee: Capitol Alert ^ | 4/19/12 | Torey Van Oot

[SmithL]

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg pledged today to put forward for the 2014 election a package of major changes to California's initiative process, including a provision to make it easier for legislators to place tax measures on the ballot.

The Sacramento Democrat, speaking at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon, outlined a trio of initiative reforms he said "will both strengthen California's tradition of direct democracy and empower the people elected by their communities...to make clear choices."

He said he plans to put the proposals on the 2014 ballot either through a vote of the Legislature, a task he said could be easier if Democrats secure a supermajority in the upper house this November, or by gathering the necessary voter signatures through the initiative process.

One of the major changes endorsed by Steinberg is lowering the bar for putting a statutory initiative on the ballot from a two-thirds vote to a majority vote. He argued that even with voters' 2010 decision to give the Legislature power to approve a budget with a majority vote, lawmakers are governing with "one arm tied behind out backs" because of the two-thirds threshold for enacting taxes. . . .

[SmithL]

Birds gotta fly,

fish gotta swim, and

Rats gotta tax!

[jiggyboy]

But they’ll do the spending themselves, thank you. That way, they can guarantee that they can blame the deficit on the voters not taxing themselves enough.

[Carry_Okie]

Darrell, the job is to make decisions. If you don’t want the job, you know where the door is.