Despite Concerns, Initiative Process is Here to Stay
For its October poll, the Public Policy Institute of California tested support for California’s initiative process. In a series of four questions the pollsters asked voters if they were satisfied with the initiative process, if the process was controlled by special interests, if there are too many propositions on the ballot, and if initiative wording […]
2021 and Another Minimum Wage Hike Coming
Just like earlier this year, because of the enactment of SB 3 (Leno) in 2016, California’s minimum wage is going up again. On January 1, 2021, the state’s minimum wage will be increased for all sizes of businesses, including “small employers,” who will see their fourth wage hike in recent years. Under prior state law, […]
California’s Tax Revenue
According to the October Finance Bulletin issued by the Department of Finance, California’s tax revenues in September were 43 percent greater than forecast by the 2020-21 Budget Act enacted in June. Revenues for the first three months of the current fiscal year are now $8.7 billion greater than forecast. That’s good news for programs worried […]
Prop. 15 backers try to mislead homeowners
It’s a sign of desperation. When anyone in politics starts making wild claims less than a month before an election, you know something is amiss. So it is with the proponents of Proposition 15, the “split roll” initiative which would impose the largest property tax increase in California history. Throughout this campaign, proponents have consistently […]
How to Save California’s Forests
For about twenty million years, California’s forests endured countless droughts, some lasting over a century. Natural fires, started by lightening and very frequent in the Sierras, were essential to keep forest ecosystems healthy. In Yosemite, for example, meadows used to cover most of the valley floor, because while forests constantly encroached, fires would periodically wipe […]
What New Polling Tells Us About Propositions 15 & 16
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) tested two ballot propositions in its October poll and while things can certainly change as the election campaigns head into the home stretch the poll results have something to say about the campaigns and the issues they represent. In a couple of words, on Prop 15: a difficult […]
Reading the Props: 24 Is Being Used to Lock in an Earlier Law
Every two years, I read the full text of all statewide ballot propositions—because at least one Californian should. Next is Proposition 24 Prop 24 almost broke this reader. The Consumer Personal information Law and Agency Initiative, as it’s called, runs 50 mostly single-spaced pages, and includes 26,279 words, making it by far the longest initiative […]
Environmentalists Getting What They Wanted
It’s just what environmental activists hoped would happen. California is losing people. It’s not because folks are dying sooner, either. Both natives and newcomers have decided they’ve had it and are departing the state. What is different from other points in history? Golden State residents have repeatedly endured the surging rents and sky-high costs of […]
Prop 22 reflects desperate Uber’s missed opportunities
Like so much about politics today, the debate around Uber and Lyft’s Proposition 22 in California has quickly become polarized. Advocates on both sides have engaged in simplistic arguments of Silicon Valley versus labor unions, or drivers really want flexibility instead of security. Yes, the future of work is changing, and the labor laws must […]
Ballot Integrity Questions Could Upset Typical Vote Patterns
Fire in official ballot drop boxes, unofficial ballot drop boxes set up to harvest ballots, the attorney general demanding the names of voters using the unofficial drop boxes, questionable ballots mailed in California, warnings of violence erupting around the election, and the COVID-19 crisis have all made the process of counting this year’s vote the […]