California voters may again have a big impact on the future of
the state when they go to vote on two important propositions on the
March ballot.
In his budget announcement Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
talked in length about Proposition 58, which he is planning to
introduce on the March ballot.
The proposition will include a $15 billion “recovery
bond,” which the governor hopes will help offset the more
than $15 billion deficit facing California.
“If this bond will not pass in March, we will be forced to
make painful cuts to essential programs,” Schwarzenegger said
during his budget announcement.
UCLA Anderson School of Management Professor Daniel Mitchell
said it is important for Californians to pass the bond once the
proposition is on the ballot because without the bond, the new
budget would have tremendous difficulties passing through the
Legislature.
“A lot depends on the bond measure,” Mitchell
said.
Voters, however, do not seem supportive of the proposition. In a
press release, the Libertarian Party urged its Web site visitors to
vote no on Proposition 58, stating that bonds are “expensive
ways to pay for government.”
Some organizations, such as the League of Women Voters of
California, choose to remain neutral on Proposition 58, electing to
support other ballot measures instead.
“The provisions of Proposition 58 don’t really fit
our position, and we think the important one to pass is 56,”
said Trudy Schafer, program director for the LWV.
Proposition 56, the budget accountability act, would introduce
reforms to the budget process such as changing the Legislature vote
for budget approval from two-thirds to 55 percent.
“This would stop a small group of legislators from
blocking the passage of a budget. It would make legislators more
responsible and accountable,” Schafer added.
Bipartisan bickering has caused the state Legislature to miss
the July deadline to approve a budget for the past several
years.
Not everyone said a 55 percent vote would be more beneficial
than a two-thirds majority.
The California Chamber of Commerce and the California
Taxpayer’s Association are among the organizations opposing
the passage of Proposition 56.
On its Web site, Caltax,stated that a two-thirds majority vote
in the Legislature is essential for California’s political
and fiscal future. It also said a two-thirds vote is absolutely
necessary for continuing bipartisan debate in the Legislature.