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California Voters to Decide on Pot, Global Warming, Fiscal Affairs
Proposition 23 would suspend California's unique global warming law, which seeks to cut the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The eyes of the world are on this proposal, says former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, as oil-producing nations wait to see if the United States is serious about developing alternative sources of energy and reducing dependence on foreign oil. Shultz heads a group opposing the initiative.
Proposition 19 would legalize marijuana and allow Californians to grow their own supplies of the drug. It is widely opposed by most law enforcement agencies. Late last week Attorney General Eric Holder said that the federal government, which has tacitly permitted medical marijuana clinics in the state that were approved by a 1996 initiative, would move vigorously to enforce federal law and attempt to block Prop. 19 if it passes.
Both of these measures have led for much of the year. But this week a poll by the respected Public Policy Institute of California, noted for its large survey samples, found both measures trailing as Election Day nears. The marijuana initiative, still close, trailed 44-49 percent among likely voters. Prop. 23, narrowly ahead in a PPIC poll a month ago, now lags with 37 percent of likely voters supporting it and 48 percent opposed.Prop. 23's shift in fortunes is a testament to the power of California's environmental lobby, particularly when allied as it is in this case with well-heeled Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who stand to benefit from alternative technologies. Prop. 23 is largely bankrolled by two Texas oil companies, who have contributed most of the $9 million that is being spent to pass it. The sponsors claim that California's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, much praised as the wave of the future when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law, is costing California jobs because of the environmental restrictions it imposes. Prop. 23 would suspend the law until California's jobless rate, now over 12 percent, fell to 5.5 percent for a full year, a rare occurrence in this state.
More than any other ballot measure in the nation, this issue has galvanized conservation groups. Together with their Silicon Valley allies, and a few strategically placed Hollywood moguls, they have raised $26.7 million to defeat Prop. 23, receiving in the last week alone $3 million from the National Wildlife Foundation and $1 million apiece from "Avatar" director James Cameron and from Intel co-founder Gordon Moore. The pro-environmental forces were also given a valuable chit by the California Air Resources Board, which released a 103-page report last spring concluding that the 2006 law signed by the governor will not harm the state's economy.
California's global warming law has taken on outsize importance in the wake of Congress' failure to pass -- or even seriously debate -- legislation that would cap gashouse emissions. As home to nearly one in eight Americans and with a budget that is larger than all but seven countries in world, California has now become the principal national incubator for alternative energy technologies that might reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.
The issue has also played a role in the closely contested race for governor, in which Democrat Jerry Brown holds a slight but steady lead over Republican Meg Whitman. Brown has strongly opposed Prop. 23. Whitman has attempted to dodge the issue, annoying both sides. Without committing herself on Prop. 23, Whitman says she favors a year's moratorium on the global warming law. Brown maintains that any interruption of alternative energy programs would be harmful.
The state's organized business community, represented by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Business Roundtable, has maintained neutrality on Prop. 23 because they have members on both sides of the issue. The absence of a strong California business voice for Prop. 23 has left its Texas sponsors on the defensive in what has become an uphill battle.
As for the marijuana initiative, it is facing increasing criticism from health groups because it provides no funds to treat marijuana addiction and from law enforcement because it leaves decisions on how to regulate the drug commercially up to the state's 478 cities and 58 counties. Steve Cooley, the Republican nominee for attorney general, said it would be an enforcement "nightmare." But supporters say Prop. 19 would provide needed revenue for hard-pressed local governments, some of which are on the edge of bankruptcy.
Another California ballot measure could have an impact on whether the state continues to be dysfunctional in dealing with its fiscal affairs. Proposition 25 would allow passage of a budget by a simple majority instead of a two-thirds vote. California is one of only three states that require a two-thirds majority for a budget and the only state requiring this margin for both a budget and a tax increase. The measure leads narrowly in the latest PPIC poll.
Some analysts trace the Legislature's dysfunction to the partisanship produced by gerrymandered districts that protect incumbents of both parties. Since most districts are drawn to be overwhelmingly Democrat or Republican, candidates normally appeal only to their base voters. This has reduced the number of centrists in the Legislature. Four years ago voters approved a measure to take redistricting from legislators and place it in the hands of a non-partisan commission. The commission is scheduled to do the 2011 redistricting based on the 2010 census, but legislators have other ideas. They are backing Proposition 27, which would disband the commission before it begins its work. Another measure, Proposition 20, would extend the commission's powers to congressional redistricting. (PPIC did not poll on these measures.)
Ballot initiatives have been a staple of California politics for a century since the concept was introduced by the Progressive leader Hiram Johnson as part of a package of reforms aimed at giving the people more say in their government. California then had a population of slightly more than 2 million people, compared to more than 37 million today. Over the years it became so expensive to qualify measures for the ballot that the initiative became a favored tool of well-financed interests and industries, rather than the recourse for ordinary citizens that it was intended to be. But Californians still prefer the initiative to their elected leaders. In the latest PPIC Poll, 55 percent of Californians said they thought the initiative process worked better than the governor and the Legislature and only 30 percent said it worked worse. In contrast, Gov. Schwarzenegger had an approval rating of 29 percent and the Legislature an approval rating of only 10 percent.
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CA. goverment will pass legalization of dope because they need the money!! Plain and simple. They don't give a crap about the people of their state or the rest of the country. They'll go after the allmighty dollar!!!
October 26 2010 at 7:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replynews flash...the drug dealers AND your neighbors won't ask them for ID when it's legal either.
October 26 2010 at 6:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf scientific issues could be solved by popular vote, Columbus would never have sailed west: nearly everyone agreed the Earth was flat. Few items of current debate are more heavily hyped by fervent pseudo science than the anthropogenic links alleged to Global Climate variance.
October 24 2010 at 6:15 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyDecriminalization of marijuana is long over due, as is developing safe cost effective alternatives to fossil fuels.
October 24 2010 at 6:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe quickest way for us to become independent of foreign oil is to quickly drill and refine our own oil.
October 24 2010 at 3:09 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down ReplyWhat's easier for a kid to buy....marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol? Marijuana because drug dealers don't ask kids for ID.
October 24 2010 at 8:39 AM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Replyprop 23 would suspend carb rules until unemployment drops. considering the fact that carb's head scientist bought his diploma online carb is as invalid as global warming. california is bankrupting itself with carb laws and worse their mistakes spread east to destroy our business' also.
October 23 2010 at 9:39 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down ReplyI hope they tax the crap out of it.
October 23 2010 at 8:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply$26 billion in debt. Illegals running the state and they are worrying about global warming and curing their problems with pot. Pitiful California. Why not create a state ID card tied to citizenship and residency and tell all the others no free education, health care, jobs or mortgages. The celebrities with their money are leaving, once you lose those that can pay the bills you can kiss your state goodbye.
October 23 2010 at 5:19 PM Report abuse Permalink +4 rate up rate down ReplyRead this article carefully!!! Now think, how can it be that the two Texas Oil Companies can openly boast that they have funded a State of California Ballot Initiative. I'm from Texas! Our Governor Perry (R) wants to defect from the USA dang near every day on my TV set... Folks, there already is an undeclared Civil War going on here funded by Big Business against those who might still believe we are of the people, by the people and for the people. Our last president tried to make the whole USA conform to "Texas Justice" where the Republican Party actually have forced the entire State of Texas Democratic Party Representatives to leave the State to avoid forced hand politics on State measures...
October 23 2010 at 5:18 PM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down ReplyI'm with you to a point, the point being that only Big Government has the power to attract huge corporate bucks because only Big Government can pick who wins and who loses economically in a politically-tilted playing field. The answer is not bigger, stronger government, but dramatically smaller government denied the power to stack the economic deck in favor of the highest bidder/contributor. Jefferson was wise enough to get this. Current leaders of both party affiliations are too busy lining their pockets to think about it.
October 24 2010 at 6:21 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Reply
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