A study published March 2 by the Field Poll indicates that most California voters oppose some of the major provisions of several high-profile political efforts. The poll asked likely voters of their views on whether or not the Legislature should be able to pass a budget by a bare majority vote, and if constitutional changes are needed to deal with the state's major problems.
Of the likely voters polled, 75 percent said they oppose fundamental constitutional changes, and instead would rather see the Legislature work in a bipartisan way to solve the state's major issues.
The poll also found that only 43 percent of voters favor authorizing the Legislature to pass the budget by a simple majority vote. Since the passage of the Riley-Stewart Act in 1933, the Legislature has used a two-thirds vote to approve a budget.
The poll was released just as two high-profile initiatives to alter the budget system floundered. Repair California, a group backed by the Bay Area Council, unsuccessfully sought to place two initiatives on the November ballot to authorize voters to call, and then hold, a constitutional convention. This week, California Forward, a group of former policymakers announced that it also has been unsuccessful, as of this writing, in gathering financial support for proposed initiatives that would, among other things, reduce the budget vote threshold, eliminate the public's right of referendum of certain items, and, for all practical purposes, prohibit future tax cuts via legislative ballot measures.
The Field Poll suggested that voters are not opposed to reform, but rather are cautious about what type of reform is being proposed. Polling data suggests that voters would support a reform that would require two-thirds of the electorate to approve constitutional changes put before voters through the initiative process.
Field also asked voters about how the Legislature should go about balancing the budget. Half of the registered voters preferred closing California's $20 billion deficit entirely with spending cuts or mostly spending cuts, while a mere 13 percent preferred closing the budget gap through tax increases.
Cal-TaxReports, March 8, 2010
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