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Sunday, March 22, 2009
Law - "Supermajority rule: good or bad?"
An interesting "Backgrounder" today in the LA Times, written by Nicholas Goldberg. It begins:
It is one of the many oddities of California law that in order to pass a state budget or raise taxes, the Legislature must win two-thirds approval in both houses. This unusual "supermajority" rule is a big part of the reason the Legislature has missed the legal deadline for a new state budget in 16 of the last 20 years, and why gridlock so often seems to rule the day in Sacramento.It is another oddity of California law that sweeping constitutional change can be accomplished with nothing more than a simple majority vote at the ballot. Proposition 8, for example, the constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage in the state, passed with just 52% of the vote.
Does it make sense that passing a budget or a tax hike is so difficult while fundamental changes to the state's foundational document can be made so easily?
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 22, 2009 08:43 AM
Posted to General Law Related