(March 29, 2010) The California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently voted to oppose two proposed initiatives: The Passing the Budget on Time Act and the Financial Accountability in Redistricting Act (FAIR).
Passing the Budget on Time Act
This proposed initiative would change the vote requirement for passage of a state budget and other related appropriation bills and penalize legislators for not passing a budget by the constitutional deadline.
The CalChamber Board voted to oppose this measure because it will eliminate the ability of members of the public to potentially refer new fees or fee increases to voters for a referendum election if those fees are included in a bill that is an appropriation related to the budget. In addition, the measure threatens to reduce the vote threshold for state tax increases and has the potential to give the majority party in the Legislature, with the approval of the Governor, exclusive domain over the size and shape of the state budget.
"The problem with California’s budget is not that it is late, but that it’s unbalanced and undisciplined," said CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg.
Financial Accountability in Redistricting Act (FAIR)
According to a summary prepared by the California Attorney General, this measure eliminates the 14-member redistricting commission selected from an applicant pool picked by government auditors. The measure also reduces the budget and imposes a limit on the amount the Legislature may spend on redistricting.
The CalChamber Board voted to oppose this initiative based on the fact that it would overturn the California Voters First Act reform (Proposition 11 of 2008), which the CalChamber supported. The FAIR measure would eliminate the current commission process and return the responsibility of redistricting back to the politicians in the Legislature.
"This measure seeks to overturn Proposition 11, which allows the voters to select their elected representatives. We simply cannot afford to return to a system where the politicians select their voters,” said Zaremberg. “It is not surprising that politicians are working behind the scenes to try to overturn meaningful political reform. While Proposition 11 is not popular with politicians, it is strongly supported by a bipartisan coalition of consumer, senior, public interest, taxpayer, community and business groups."
More information on CalChamber ballot measure positions is available at www.calchamber.com/ballot.
Staff Contact: Denise Davis