California Proposition 31
This is designed to restructure government somewhat, requiring a two-year budget process, giving more power to the Governor in times of "fiscal emergencies", requires various oversight processes and provides even more inflexibility for changing things that affect financials than are already in place. And other stuff that isn't very clear.
It is incredibly confusing. A ballot initiative such as this that can't be reasonably explained should never be allowed on the ballot.
Basically, I think some of the ideas in this might be good (two year budgeting seems plausible, for example), and some of them might be bad (giving the Governor power to cut in emergencies, especially if you have a two-year budget process, so theoretically the Governor could have his or her way for 23 months), and some of them who the fuck knows? No one, including the people who wrote the thing, seem to know what the effects might be, except that it will almost certainly generate long, drawn out court battles.
I'm going to vote NO, and you should too, unless you want to spend five+ hours dissecting this thing and arriving at a much better understanding of it and concluding that it is beneficial without a reasonable chance of nasty, unanticipated side effects.
It is incredibly confusing. A ballot initiative such as this that can't be reasonably explained should never be allowed on the ballot.
Basically, I think some of the ideas in this might be good (two year budgeting seems plausible, for example), and some of them might be bad (giving the Governor power to cut in emergencies, especially if you have a two-year budget process, so theoretically the Governor could have his or her way for 23 months), and some of them who the fuck knows? No one, including the people who wrote the thing, seem to know what the effects might be, except that it will almost certainly generate long, drawn out court battles.
I'm going to vote NO, and you should too, unless you want to spend five+ hours dissecting this thing and arriving at a much better understanding of it and concluding that it is beneficial without a reasonable chance of nasty, unanticipated side effects.