Merced Sun-Star
Organized labor has every right to promote initiatives. Labor-backed initiatives often resonate with the electorate and occasionally with editorial boards.
But labor doesn’t deserve a special edge. For this reason, Gov. Jerry Brown should veto Assembly Bill 857, a loaded piece of legislation that masquerades as initiative reform.
Assemblyman Paul Fong, a Silicon Valley Democrat, said in three press releases that he proposed to “ensure the sanctity of the initiative process” by requiring that unpaid volunteers gather some signatures to qualify statewide ballot measures.
Read more of this editorial: here
The Merced City Council decided Monday night to go to the ballot with a half-cent sales tax measure for 10 years, with the date of the election yet to be determined. A few council members voiced concerns about whether city staff could handle a June ballot date for the measure. City officials say the tax measure might be the only way to raise revenue for the city’s general fund that would prevent layoffs of police officers and firefighters.