Citizens in Charge

As supporters of petition rights call on Gov. Jerry Brown to veto another attack on Californians’ initiative and referendum rights, anti-voter legislators hope that three is a charm.

Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob tells the story in his weekly column at Townhall.com:

Actually, like Dr. Frankenstein, the new bill revived the dead. Insiders call this particular maneuver “gut and stuff.” Senate Bill 202 was dead for the session … and then it came roaring back to life with its original language completely stripped out and new language, for a brand new subject, abruptly inserted. Indeed, it took less than 24 hours to resurrect, transform and pass the bill — without a single minority party vote. Public hearings were slapped together with just ten minutes notice, hardly including the public, but boasting a full contingent of the lobbyists who regularly loiter about capitol halls. The Senate hearing on the bill commenced an hour before midnight; it passed during the morning’s wee hours.

SB 202 would ban Californians, but not the state Legislature, from submitting qualified initiatives on the June ballot.

State Senator Doug LaMalfa blasted the bill, saying it “makes a mockery of the legislative process.” In a statement released Saturday he went on to note:

“I think that the Legislature is very aware of how unpopular stripping direct democracy rights from the People is. That is why this bill was passed at 1:00am, after the press has returned to their offices to meet their deadlines.”

Legislators, such as Sen. Ellen Corbett and Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, have been working all session to find a way to increase Legislative power by cutting off the people from their initiative and referendum process through burdensome restriction. Dan Walters of the Sacremento Bee explains the dynamic:

A coalition of public employee unions is reportedly pressing Democrats to make the change in hopes of thwarting a pending initiative that would bar unions from collecting political funds through members’ paycheck deductions.

The bill’s sponsor calls it “good government,” but Paul Jacob sees the reality: “Sen. Hancock’s last-minute bill is not “good government,” but a bald-faced attack on good government.”

In the last two months Gov. Brown has vetoed a scheme that would have banned productivity pay for petitioners, and another that would have forced petitioners to wear dehumanizing badges while engaging voters. His executive check on legislators helped him earn the title of “Governor Veto” from the Cato Institute’s David Boaz, and the August 2011 Lilburne Award from Citizens in Charge Foundation. Given his past support for petition rights, there is reason to believe Gov. Brown may do the right thing again and veto SB 202, but it’s up to initiative process supporters to let him know how destructive the bill could be. Call the Governor’s office at (916) 445-2841 and respectfully ask him to VETO SB 202.