Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Democrats Want to Kneecap Ballot Measures
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 6 years ago on
September 23, 2019

Share

Democrats own virtually every lever of government in California, including the governorship, both U.S. Senate seats, 46 of the state’s 53 congressional members, and three-fourths of state legislators.
However, they apparently want more.


Dan Walters
CalMatters

Opinion
For the umpteenth time, the Democrat-controlled Legislature has passed a measure clearly aimed at kneecapping the one remaining political process they don’t dominate — the power to place issues on the ballot via voter signatures on petitions.
Assembly Bill 1451, now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, would prohibit paying initiative, referendum, or recall petition circulators on a per-signature basis, and require 10% of signatures on an initiative petition to be collected by either unpaid circulators or the employees or members of nonprofit organizations.
Its author, Assemblyman Evan Low, a Campbell Democrat, and other advocates of the bill contend that it’s a good government measure to protect voters from being fooled by unscrupulous signature-gatherers who misrepresent the issues for which they are working.

Brown Had Used per-Signature Petition Circulators to Qualify a Couple of Initiatives Himself

But everyone familiar with the years-long effort to enact such a law knows that it’s an attack on the use of the ballot by business, politically conservative and/or anti-tax organizations trying to bypass the Legislature and seek voter approval of their proposals or to overturn laws that the Legislature has passed, or recall politicians.
It does not prohibit people from being paid to gather signatures, but they would have to be paid salaries, not on a per-signature basis, thus changing the dynamics of the process.
As former Gov. Jerry Brown said last year in vetoing a virtually identical bill by Low, per-signature is “often the most cost-effective method for collecting the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to qualify a ballot measure.”
As governor, in fact, Brown had used per-signature petition circulators to qualify a couple of initiatives himself, including a hefty increase in state income taxes on the wealthy and the creation of a “rainy day” fund to protect the state budget.
The second major provision of AB 1451 is the requirement that 10% of signatures be collected by unpaid volunteers or the members or employees of a non-profit organization.
It’s a carveout that would help labor unions qualify their own measures for the ballot, which typically seek higher taxes, such as those that may appear on the 2020 ballot.

Newsom Enhanced His Own Political Career by Sponsoring Initiatives

Since unions are technically non-profit organizations, they could hire as many signature-gatherers as they wish to collect signatures meeting the 10% requirement.
AB 1451 would not erase the initiative process, which was adopted by California in 1911 as a check on the power of a Legislature controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad. But it would, by changing the rules of the game, disadvantage those on the right side of the political balance beam by making the process more expensive, while protecting those on the left side.
As mentioned above, it’s not the first time the game-changing maneuver has been tried.
Brown not only vetoed Low’s previous bill in 2018, but rejected similar measures in 2011 and 2016, and his predecessor, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, had done the same to bills in 2006 and 2009.
Now Newsom must decide whether to join Brown and Schwarzenegger in rejecting the perennial proposal, or finally give Democratic legislators and their union allies what they’ve yearned to gain for so many years.
It’s noteworthy that Newsom enhanced his own political career by sponsoring initiatives, including those to legalize marijuana and to impose new restrictions on guns and their owners.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

DON'T MISS

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

DON'T MISS

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

DON'T MISS

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

DON'T MISS

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

DON'T MISS

Newsom Promises Funding to Jump-Start ‘Science of Reading’

DON'T MISS

Feds Indict SoCal Hospice CEO for Medicare Fraud in Fresno and Kern Counties

DON'T MISS

Fresno Downtown Parking Costs Taxpayers an Extra $4 Million

DON'T MISS

NASA and the Defense Department Rely on SpaceX in So Many Ways

UP NEXT

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

UP NEXT

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Is Just Limping Along. Why Is Newsom Always Boasting?

UP NEXT

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

UP NEXT

It’s Expensive to Become a Teacher in California. This Bill Would Pay Those Who Try

UP NEXT

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

UP NEXT

Millions Invested in Land for Innovation Village. Will It Be a Fresno Game-Changer?

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Misty Her Says She Was Assaulted. Police Have No Reports

UP NEXT

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

1 hour ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

2 hours ago

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

2 hours ago

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

2 hours ago

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

2 hours ago

Newsom Promises Funding to Jump-Start ‘Science of Reading’

3 hours ago

Feds Indict SoCal Hospice CEO for Medicare Fraud in Fresno and Kern Counties

3 hours ago

Fresno Downtown Parking Costs Taxpayers an Extra $4 Million

4 hours ago

NASA and the Defense Department Rely on SpaceX in So Many Ways

5 hours ago

Whooping Cough Is Surging. Do You Need Another Shot?

5 hours ago

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

DIAMOND BAR — Air quality regulators in Southern California heard impassioned public comments Friday before an anticipated vote on proposed ...

49 minutes ago

49 minutes ago

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

54 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

1 hour ago

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

1 hour ago

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

2 hours ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

2 hours ago

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

2 hours ago

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

2 hours ago

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend