Sunday, September 20, 2009

Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight


Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight:

"Also contributing to our state government woes is a representative democracy that is not functioning properly. According to think tanks watching these things, California's election districts are frequently producing little two-party competition, and state legislators tend to come from the two parties' ideological poles.
Furthermore, California is the only state where passing a budget and passing a tax increase both require a two-thirds majority vote in each house. As a result, the minority party has more power than is true in other state legislatures. With one-third plus one votes, it can block programs since most legislation has budget implications. Hence, the California Legislature's lack of accomplishments and annual budget fights."