Proposition 56, the initiative designed to eliminate budget
deadlock, has been called the “Budget Accountability
Act” by supporters and the “Blank Check
Proposition” by opponents.
Whatever one calls it, Proposition 56 promises to impact the
state budget process, spending and taxes, as well as higher
education.
Proposition 56 primarily calls for the lowering of the
percentage of votes needed to pass budget resolutions in the
Legislature from the current two-thirds majority to 55 percent.
The initiative also requires 25 percent of excess state revenue
to be put aside, only to be spent under special circumstances.
As a punitive measure for late state budgets, the proposition
requires that the legislators’ and governor’s salaries
be withheld when budgets are not passed on time, which would save
the state approximately $50,000 a day when the budget is late. The
Legislature is also forced to stay in session until a budget is
passed.
Proponents of Proposition 56 say the Legislature needs to be
held accountable for passing a budget on time and that the
initiative will make timely budget ratification easier.
California has not approved a budget on time for 17 years and
was more than a month late last year in passing the budget.
Opponents of the proposition are most concerned with the
lowering of the votes needed to raise taxes from the current
two-thirds majority to 55 percent, and say Proposition 56 is an
attempt to increase spending and make raising taxes easier.
Greg Turner, General Council of the California Taxpayers
Association, said Proposition 56 “puts one party in control
of raising taxes in California. It is essentially about raising
taxes.”
A late budget has many implications for public schools, as well
as the University of California and California State University
systems.
Supporters of the initiative say the proposition will help in
university budget planning, as university administrations
won’t be forced to plan spending without knowing how much
money will be available.
John Travis, President of the California Faculty Association,
which represents Cal State faculty, said, “If it passes and
forces the Legislature to pass budgets on time, we will have
greater ability to predict what funds will be available for the
fall semester or quarter.”
When the administration is forced to plan enrollment and funding
without knowing what spending the actual budget will entail, it
makes it easy for colleges to over-enroll. California Faculty
Association Treasurer Kim Geron said a late budget “plays
havoc with enrollment.”
The fiscal impact of the proposition will depend entirely on the
spending and taxing proposals the Legislature enacts.
The budget process would be streamlined and the potential for
deadlock decreased, but taxes and spending could be raised because
the Democratic majority in the state Legislature could more easily
muster 55 percent of the vote without Republican support.