This is the first in my series of articles for IVN on the 2012 California ballot propositions. Some propositions are arcane and complicated. Some will, if passed, bring huge changes to California. Sometimes these are the same propositions.
The article is a quick explanation of the propositions. The the most visible one is Prop 30. If it doesn’t pass, the state immediately gets $6 billion in mandated budgets cuts. The real sleeper is Prop 31. It’s ahead, probably because most don’t even know it’s there. It would constitutionally change how the legislature votes to fund. The Democratic Party and labor oppose it but are putting their resources into stopping Prop 32 (paycheck deductions.)So, Prop 31 has no organized opposition and doesn’t even have a website that I could find.
In my opinion, the California proposition system is broken and should be abolished. No other state allows such nonsense, even if it started for the best of purposes, to allow direct voter participation. But special interests with deep pockets can simply buy a proposition now. Worse, the propositions often mandate that money be spent only in a specific way, without detailing where the money comes from. This means money can’t be used elsewhere in emergencies and the lack of funding forces money to be spent when it doesn’t exist.
I’ll be discussing each proposition in detailed articles, including pro and con arguments, in future articles.