California End the Two-Thirds Requirement Amendment (2010)
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A California End the Two-Thirds Requirement Amendment (09-0037) may be on the November 2, 2010 ballot in California. On September 23, 2009, George Lakoff filed a request with the Office of the California Attorney General for an official ballot title on an act that he is calling the "California Democracy Act". Once the attorney general's office has provided that title, Lakoff and other supporters will be able to start collecting signatures on this initiated constitutional amendment.
The goal of the amendment is repeal the language in Section 12 of Article IV and Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution that says that in order to raise taxes, a two-thirds supermajority vote is required in the California State Legislature. If Lakoff's amendment is successful, the state legislature will be able to raise taxes through a simple majority vote.
A similar measure, Proposition 56, was defeated in 2004. 65.7% of voters said "no".
Supporters
- George Lakoff, the official sponsor. Lakoff refers to the proposed initiative as the "California Democracy Act". In Lakoff's eyes, the change he wants should not be described as making it easier for Democrats in the state legislature to impose higher taxes on Californians. Rather, Lakoff wants voters to regard the change as having to do with "revenue" and democracy. According to Lakoff, "This isn't about taxes. It's about democracy." Lakoff wants journalists and advocates to use words like "democracy" and "revenue" instead of words like "tax hikes" and "higher taxes", because he believes that the way voters think is significantly influenced by "cognitive frames".[1]
- Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Irvine Law School, believes that removing the 2/3rds requirement would solve part of California's budget problems: "If a statewide initiative to eliminate the two-thirds majority requirement can pass, that will solve a lot of the problem."[2]
Opponents
- Joel Fox, president of the Small Business Action Committee, who says, "The two-thirds requirement in the State Constitution is the last protection California taxpayers have against those who would spend us into oblivion."[3]
- Steve Williams, the opinion page editor for the Victor Valley Daily Press, who says, "If the measure to change the two-thirds rule does make it to the ballot, California voters should be prepared to guard their wallets, their jobs and their future."[3]
Polling information
A Field Poll survey of 1,005 California voters was conducted between September 18-October 5, 2009. This poll showed that a minority of California's voters support this proposed initiative.[4],[5]
| Date of Poll | Pollster | In favor | Opposed | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 18-Oct 5 | Field | 43% | 52% | 5% |
Previous attempts to qualify
Some state legislators tried to get a similar measure on the May 19, 2009 ballot as part of a package they believed would fix the state's budget problems, but were unsuccessful.[6]
After the budget negotiations were over, Mark Leno, a State Senator, said he would hold a series of meetings with labor and business interests to raise money to gather signatures to get a ballot measure to eliminate the 2/3rds budget requirement on the 2010 ballot.[7]
On February 18, 2009, Maurice Read filed two proposed amendments that would end the 2/3rds requirement with election officials. Both of his proposed amendments were certified for circulation with a deadline of July 30, 2009. No signatures were filed by the July 30 deadline on those amendments.[8],[9]
See also
- California signature requirements
- California 2010 ballot propositions
- California Proposition 56 (2004)
External links
- Letter from George Lakoff requesting a ballot title
- Californians for Democracy, website of advocacy group in favor of the measure
- State Party Must Focus on Ending “Two-Thirds Rule”
References
- ↑ University of California-Berkeley, "How to solve California's fiscal crisis? First, don't think of an elephant", November 12, 2009
- ↑ Time, "California's Budget Crisis: Is There a Way Out?", July 2, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Victor Valley Daily Press, "Ever-predatory Democrats ask voters to OK easier taxation", September 28, 2009
- ↑ Field Poll Online, "Polling on the Next 10 Questions", October 14, 2009
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Field Poll: Support for Constitutuion Changes", October 14, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "The Next Special Election: April? May? June?", February 9, 2009
- ↑ SF Weekly, "Leno Says He'll Have Measure on Ballot to Kill 2/3 Threshold for State Budget Votes By 2010", February 19, 2009
- ↑ Maurice Reed, "End The Two-Thirds Requirement Act", Version 08-0022
- ↑ Maurice Reed, "End The Two-Thirds Requirement Act", Version 08-0023
