March 24, 2006

Politicians bid to alter state initiative process

"California's top election official Thursday said he has a remedy for voters who say they are sick of being propositioned endlessly by everyone from governors to masked interests, using everything from twisted advertisements to flurries of fliers.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and lawmakers, backed by the League of Women Voters, pitched a bipartisan package of initiative revamp bills that would even let the Legislature just adopt a proposition, avoiding a nasty, costly campaign.

McPherson said at a Capitol news conference that the legislation would "provide greater access for all Californians,strengthen the integrity of the initiative process and result in less reliance on special-interest money."

There was immediate reaction on the emotionally charged and politically sensitive topic of altering the legacy of Hiram Johnson — the governor credited with breaking Southern Pacific's grip on California a century ago with direct democracy initiatives.

Responding to McPherson, state Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, issued a statement calling his legislation "significantly weaker" than her own.

The myriad issues surrounding California's freewheeling initiative process have been studied for decades by everyone from think tanks to pollsters. It has yielded many calls for major overhauls that have resulted in a few tweaks.

But lawmakers said Thursday that in the wake of the gubernatorial recall of 2003 and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's subsequent special elections, this might be the year for change."

You can read the article here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at March 24, 2006 08:35 AM