When $2000 Is Cheaper Than $200
The Assembly recently passed legislation that, over a six year period, would raise the current $200 fee for filing ballot initiatives at the attorney general’s office up to $2000.
The legislation addresses two real and related problems, but in a way that reinforces the worst features of the state’s initiative process.
Those two problems? The first is administrative cost. The current $200 fee doesn’t begin to cover the administrative time and effort necessary to review such measures and give them an official title and summary. Effectively, the low fee is a state subsidy to initiative sponsors. Establishing a higher fee is an attempt to cover more of the administrative costs.
The second is the proliferation of ballot initiatives. More than 100 initiatives were filed with the AG’s office last year, but only a handful of those have qualified for the ballot. What’s driving all that filing? For one thing, the low fee represents a very cheap way for a Californian to get attention for an idea however wacky (Consider the initiative filed on Christmas music last year). The other is that initiative sponsors, because of strict California rules that make it nearly impossible to amend measures once they have been filed, are filing multiple versions of the same measure to cover their bases.
California’s Prosperity: Suffering and In Need of Repair
The state’s ongoing budget crisis will soon hit full steam
as legislative negotiations intensify. If they are to craft effective
solutions, legislators must understand the nature of our ailing economy.
The headline unemployment
rate for March was 12.6 percent, which ranks California third-highest in
the nation, behind only Michigan and Nevada. The average length of unemployment
in 2009 was the fifth-highest in the country at 26.5 weeks. The state coffers
are running dry and the bond market is worried about the state’s ability to pay
its bills as witnessed by repeated downgrades to California’s bond ratings.
Too many politicos in Sacramento assume the state’s problems
are part of the larger national recession and/or that California is plagued by
a regional problem affecting other southwest and Pacific states. Both arguments
are incorrect.
Pre-recession data shows California’s economy struggled
compared to the nation as a whole, as well as to our own potential. A 2009 study
examining the most recent five years of economic performance prior to the recession
across a wide range of economic variables ranked California 38th out of the 50
states. Clearly, our economic problems pre-date the recession, are not entirely
cyclical in nature, and remain worse than those of neighboring states during
the same period.
Ron Kaye’s State of the City: The Sun Will Always Shine
(L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave his State of the City Speech this week. Ron Kaye satirizes the speech on www.ronkayela.com)
My Fellow Angelenos:
Let me tell you about my Grampa Hymen who worked as a tailor in sweatshops so my mother could get a high school education and I could grow up to be a spoiled brat with a degree from a great university.
I’ve lived my whole life believing everyone deserves the same opportunities to enjoy decent wines from BevMo during the 5 cents for the second bottle sales and to dine occasionally at Pocket Pita and Fab Dogs whether or not they are actually willing to go to school, get jobs and obey the laws.
In recent years, I have done everything humanly possible to hire more city workers and raise taxes, fees and rates to balance the city budget but it has become obvious that Goldman Sachs and those other Wall Street thieves have brought our nation and our city to its financial knees despite my best efforts.
Legislature: Heal Thyself
With an approval rating of nine percent, the California Legislature is more unpopular than Richard Nixon during the depths of the Watergate scandal. Yet there is no scandal in Sacramento prompting such low numbers – rather it is a function of an ongoing political malaise that has settled upon the Capitol.
The institution’s dysfunction is well documented and acknowledged by all – including by the members of the Legislature itself. Frustration is found throughout the Capitol – yet this frustration is outweighed by the ongoing failure to implement any type of minor, but important, committee process changes that potentially could make both Legislative houses more deliberative, encourage more debate, and increase the focus on addressing some of the fundamental problems facing the state.
In years past, the Legislature successfully grappled with complex issues and problems – it was an institution that fostered opportunities for California residents. The work of the Legislature in crafting legislation involved a mixture of politics and policy. It was part art, science and process. It wasn’t always pretty, but the State was able to create the basic foundations for our society to function and flourish.