Criticize Prop 1A if you like, but opponents of the measures (and heck, even some supporters) should stop saying that it’s long. It’s not.
By comparison to other California ballot measures, 1A is short and compact. And the legislative and gubernatorial staffers (not to mention the interest group folks) who drafted 1A have done a much better job of being concise than sponsors of ballot initiatives.
Prop 1A is a little less than 3,000 words. If that seems like a lot, consider this: between 2000 and 2006, 15 of the 46 voter-sponsored initiatives on the ballot were over 5,000 words long, according to a 2008 report from the Center for Governmental Studies. Eight of those 46 initiatives were longer than 10,000 words.
The trend, the CGS report found, is at least 20 years old. Between 1980 and 1987, only two initiatives were longer than 5,000 words. (Irony: One of those initiatives, Prop 37, the lottery initiative, would be changed under Prop 1C on next Tuesday’s ballot). Most initiatives in this era – and previous eras – were about the same length as Prop 1A, between 1,000 and 3,000 words. But in the 1988 and 1990 elections, all 13 initiatives exceeded 5,000 words.
How about this for an irony? A big reason why voters must decide on Propositions 1A thru 1E is because of previous ballot initiatives that were themselves longer than Prop 1A. In addition to the lottery initiative of Prop 37, Prop 98 (the education initiative that provides the basis for parts of Prop 1A and Prop 1B), Prop 10 (the early childhood initiative that would be partially undone by Prop 1D) and Prop 63 (the mental health initiative that would be partially undone by Prop 1E) were all longer than Prop 1A.
If anything, instead of criticizing 1A for being long, opponents would be more honest to argue that it’s not long enough. Prop 1A doesn’t always explain or define its terms. And in the unlikely event it were to pass, there would be quite a bit of debate – and litigation – about the exact meaning of some of its terms.
So, voters, please give Prop 1A a read. It won’t take you long.
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Not long. Just wrong.
You're right. It's not all that long, Joe. But it doesn't take that many words to craft a bad ballot measure.
Proposition 1A is not a solution. I've read it, I know what is in it, and know what is not in it. What is in it is an extension of several tax increases recently passed by our legislature and signed into law by the Governor. There is also a spending reform package which contains no strong restrictions on overall spending levels, and absolutely no protection for California taxpayers, who are now among the highest taxed citizens in the entire nation.When are the folks in Sacramento going to realize that they've ALREADY driven the state off the cliff? We just had, arguably, the largest package of tax increases by a state in the history of the country, pushing our income and sales taxes beyond those of any other state, and even if these measures pass, we still have a $15 billion deficit with which to deal? The writing is on the wall. Current spending levels are simply unsustainable. There must be very significant cuts in state expendatures, PERIOD.
I'm sorry, there isn't any other option. The stone has been bled as far as taxes are concerned. Californians are simply not going to tolerate any more tax increases. We will either vote them down, remove their proponents from office, or simply vote with our feet by leaving and taking our money with us.