In an effort to undercut the two-thirds vote requirement to pass a state budget and to raise taxes, opponents are attempting to change the language of the debate. Instead of the two-thirds vote being called a “supermajority” the opponents want to emphasize that “minority rule” runs California’s government.
Minority rule it is not. The rule to pass the budget and raise taxes was established by a majority vote of the people and can be changed by a majority vote of the people.
UC Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff filed an initiative to reduce the two-thirds legislative vote on the budget and taxes to a majority vote. In declaring that California is run by “minority rule,” he told the New York Times “It’s not about raising or lowering taxes; it’s about democracy and letting the people decide.”
In a column on this site last week, Joe Mathews also tabbed California “a minority rule system.”
This effort to re-frame the discussion is an attempt to take the focus off tax increases. The truth is the people by majority vote set the rules on how tax rates and levies should be determined. Those rules require a two-thirds vote to increase taxes. If someone wants to change the rules they simply have to go back to the people and get a majority vote.
Creating a standard greater than a simple majority vote is not uncommon in our system of governance. The United States Constitution establishes a number of instances in which a two-thirds vote of the legislature is required to give certainty and assure consensus in important decisions. Juries require supermajority or even unanimous votes to convict. These requirements are not labeled “minority rule.”
Despite Lakoff saying his initiative is not about raising or lowering taxes that is precisely what it is about. He wants to change the rules on how the legislature deals with taxes and the budget.
California is governed by the majority vote system that Lakoff and others desire.
The people can change the rules on taxes at any time with a majority vote.