Reform

If you're interested in reform in California and haven't already done so, please sign up for what promises to be a groundbreaking event on Nov. 19 in Sacramento. The subject may sound dry -- California's regions, and policy proposals to improve regional political accountability and coordination. But the specifics are very new and interesting,  and could lead to new approaches to reform in the state. Sign-up form and details are here.

In this morning's LA Times, Bob Stern and Tracy Westen of the Center for Governmental Studies offer some suggestions for reforming California's initiative process. These ideas are drawn from CGS's excellent report on the process. They include providing voters with better information on initiative, expanding the amount of time needed to get measures on the ballot, requiring any measure that establishes a super-majority for something to pass by the same super-majority, and making it possible for initiative sponsors to withdraw an initiative, even after signatures are filed, if a compromise is reached with the legislature. Those are fine ideas, but they are, at root, half-measures that only make minor changes in a deeply flawed process. And they don't respond to the main problem that Stern and Westen identify, particularly the over-use of ballot initiatives as a tool of policy making. In fact, by making it easier to qualify measures for the ballot with a time limit, and making withdrawal easier, Stern and Westen's plan would likely increase the number of initiatives on the ballot. (That number is already going up).