We all know that California is in a severe fiscal crisis, which, in turn, has the potential to spawn numerous other calamities here in the Golden State.
While there are myriad reasons behind this, most of them are manifestations of one or both of these two: 1) the requirement for two-thirds majorities in the Legislature to pass a budget and to raise taxes, and 2) the popular initiative process.
Currently, the Democrats hold considerable majorities in Sacramento: in the Assembly, there are currently 49 Democrats, 29 Republicans, one independent, and one vacancy; while in the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans. So we're close to the requisite two-thirds majorities, but not quite there yet.
You may think that since it's California, there might be a few moderate Republicans we can pick off when budget time comes, but as anyone who knows California politics can attest, this is very seldom the case. Golden State Republicans (at least those in the Legislature) are some of the most conservative in the country, even if they're not necessarily of Bachmannian wackalooniness. Then again, Bob Dornan did come from Orange County.
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As if the two-thirds rule wasn't onerous enough of an obstacle to getting a budget passed on time (something California has rarely, if ever, done in the past 30 years), there's the issue of ballot initiatives. Californians have passed rafts of initiatives that mandate new government programs, yet, all too often, have rejected other propositions that raise taxes that would pay for them. Obviously, Californians aren't the only people in America that love government spending but hate paying taxes, but, as Dick Cheney would never say, deficits matter. Another side effect of the popular initiative process is that it makes legislators less willing to, you know, legislate; they just let the people do it for them.
California's situation is not going to improve until and unless these rules are scrapped. What is ironic is that it would take a constitutional amendment ballot initiative to overturn the two-thirds rule.