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Calitics reports on CA Democracy Act papers filed

12 months ago


GEORGE LAKOFF SUBMITS MAJORITY VOTE INITIATIVE

Calitics | September 25, 2009 | By Robert Cruickshank | LINK TO ARTICLE

With tomorrow being the recommended deadline for submitting initiatives for the November 2010 ballot, we're starting to see people file their proposals. One of those is George Lakoff's initiative to restore majority rule on both the budget and revenues. His initiative is quite simple, reading in essence:

“All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote”

Of course, this initiative doesn't address the requirement for voters to approve taxes by a 2/3rds rule, nor does it seem to deal with the Prop 218 requirements for local governments to submit tax increases to those voters. But this would almost totally eliminate the conservative veto in Sacramento.

It's unclear whether there will be the resources to get this on the ballot. But you can learn more about this in LA tonight at 7PM at a meeting Lakoff and grassroots activists are holding at the SEIU 721 offices at 500 S. Virgil just west of downtown LA.

We still expect to see other initiatives dealing with the 2/3rds rule to be filed in the coming days.

Tags: Election 2010, (All Tags)

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    LAKOFF'S INITIATIVE: DON'T T-YOU, DON'T T-ME, T-THE MAN BEHIND THE TREE

    CA Progress Report | April 5, 2010 | By Peter Schrag | LINK TO ARTICLE

    The chances that Berkeley linguistics expert George Lakoff will get his California Democracy Act initiative on the November ballot range between slim and slimmer. But in contending that Attorney General Jerry Brown’s title and ballot summary would destroy any chance of its passing even if it qualified, Lakoff starts an argument that goes well beyond semantics. It tells a lot about why California is stuck in the mess that it’s in.

    In requiring two-thirds majorities to approve both the annual budget – and all other spending measures – and to raise taxes, California is the only state in the union that gives legislative minorities -- usually meaning Republicans – a veto on both budgeting and taxes. Lakoff, who’s been a guru on language to a lot of politicians, wants to end what is in effect minority rule.

    As it came from the author, his measure is summarized by one simple sentence: “All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.” Wherever California’s constitution provides for two thirds majorities in the Assembly and Senate on appropriations and tax increases, it changes the “two-thirds” to a majority...

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    3 months ago

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