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It has been 17 years since the California Legislature last passed a budget on time. One main reason that the legislators have been unable to perform their fiduciary responsibilities in a timely manner is the need for a two-thirds super majority in both the State Assembly and the State Senate in order to pass the budget. Only two other states, Rhode Island and Arkansas, have such a hurdle. This allows a small number of legislators to hold the whole budget process hostage until certain legislators agree to vote for the budget in exchange for expensive projects, i.e., pork, in their districts or tax breaks for their corporate contributors.
This minority rule is undemocratic and expensive. It creates a situation where no legislators can be held accountable for their actions. Proposition 56, the Budget Accountability Act, would help change this situation by reducing the requirement to pass the budget from a 2/3 super majority to 55% of both houses of the Legislature. This is still more than a simple majority of 50% plus one vote, but it is something that we can work with.
Last year, the State Supreme Court ruled that if the budget is not passed by the June 15 deadline, state workers will be paid the minimum wage of $6.75 an hour until the budget is passed. Real people, who are providing us with many of our needed services, could lose their homes or their cars.
If the Budget Accountability Act becomes law and the constitutional deadline is missed, members of the legislature and the governor will share the pain by permanently forfeiting their pay, expense money and car allowances until a budget is passed. In addition, it requires the Legislature to stay in session and, unless an emergency is called by the Governor, prohibits them from taking action on any other legislation.
Proposition 56 would require the state to include a two page summary of how the state spends the money it receives in the Official Voter Information Guide as well as establishing a web site where voters could see how their legislators voted on the budget. When good financial times return, this proposition would require that 25% of excess revenues be placed in a mandatory reserve fund to be used when we are again short of money.
Proposition 56 qualified for the March 2, 2004, direct primary election with over 1,000,000 signatures that were gathered by thousands of volunteers in less than three months. Hundreds of organizations, including Peace and Freedom Party, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, AARP, and many private- and public-sector labor unions joined together to qualify and pass the Budget Accountability Act.
The opposition comes from anti-tax groups who argue that we need the two-thirds rule to protect us against high taxes. They don't want California to provide services to working-class and poor people at the expense of the rich and their corporations. Why else would the insurance, tobacco and oil companies oppose this measure? They want to make sure the California legislature continues to serve them.
Vote yes on March 2, 2004, for Proposition 56, and bring democracy and budget accountability to California!
[C.T. Weber was the Peace & Freedom Party candidate for Governor in the 2003 recall election.]
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