State lawmakers urge against pricey ballot measures
From Sunshine Review
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August 5, 2009 Lawmakers across the country are pushing back against the costly procedures of petition initiatives to pass measures in this time of economic crunching.[1]
[edit] Suspending measures
Oregon lawmakers have taken steps in pushing back the policies by suspending for two years sections of a voted-in law mandating longer sentences for repeat property offenders and drug dealers. The lawmakers passed a new set of restrictions keeping costly initiative measures at bay.
Washington lawmakers passed a law to save almost $1 billion by essentially ignoring some state education initiatives. One of these called for annual teacher raises.
Washington Democrats suspended a initiative that makes requirements for training for home-care aides who serve the elderly and disabled.
"One of the biggest concerns that lawmakers have is the financial straitjacket that initiatives can put on legislatures through big spending proposals or through spending and revenue caps," said Jennie Drage Bowser of the National Conference of State Legislatures.[1]
[edit] Oregon alternative
The Oregon Legislature, in an attempt to have a cheaper alternative to a strict sentencing policy, put the crime measure on the November 2008 ballot. Voters rejected it and lawmakers crunched the numbers enough to know that they could not afford the less costly version also, and suspended it for the aforementioned two years. They are expecting a savings of $25.5 million.
Similarly, in Florida in 2004 voters opted out of a $25 billion initiative that had been imposed to mandate a high-speed rail system, saving money in a time of economic trouble.[1]
[edit] Initiatives
There have been more state use of initiatives since the 1990s and it has turned into a form of business, collecting mass amounts of signatures to get an initiative passed.
Bowser says that recent years have brought tougher restrictions on signature tallying in Oregon and other states so that more decisions are made through voting.
The initiative system was established in 1902 and Oregon leads the county in the number of passed initiatives, holding at 349. California is next in line with 331.
Some of these measures have been expensive and do not include a way to fund them, contributing to California's, for example, $26 billion budget gap. Of course, California's budget gap cannot be blamed entirely on these measures.[1]
[edit] The arguments
Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a Los Angeles think tank that advocates for reform of California's initiative system, said there have been more than 60 initiatives passed since 2000.
"People are voting on too many things," Stern said. "Some of them do cost the state a lot of money."
Bill Lunch, a political scientist in Oregon, thinks that voters are tired of the long list of things to vote on, yet they "want to have the initiative process available as a backstop in case they need it."
The Lake Ridge, Virginia-based advocacy group, Citizens in Charge Foundation, said the Oregon restrictions are a "blatant attempt to hamper and obstruct the petition process and citizen initiatives."
"I don't think it's surprising that the empire is striking back," said Paul Jacob, president of the group. "Those in power don't want citizens looking over their shoulder, and from time to time, dictating what happens."[1]
[edit] External links
- Oregon's website
- Washington's website
- California's website
- Florida's website
- Virginia's website
- Citizens in Charge Foundation's website
- Center for Governmental Studies' website
- National Conference of State Legislatures' website
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Lawmakers Pushback Against Costly Ballot Measures," New York Times, 5 August 2009
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