California Propositions is a series about propositions that will be on the California ballot in November. 

Graphic by Monica Nguyen. Creative Commons images by Flickr user rdangeo.

My Two Cents: Most would agree that California’s current budget is a sloppy, cobbled-together, hodge-podge of a mess.

This year was particularly troublesome for California. Forced with the daunting task of closing a $19.1 billion dollar budget deficit, state lawmakers didn’t even agree upon a new one until earlier this month—well after the June 15 deadline. The 100 days it took to balance the books set a new tardiness record in the state.

Furthermore, the current budget was so poorly done that fiscal experts predict next year’s budget process could be even worse; already next year’s shortfall is expected to be at least $12 billion.

At this point, the only thing that might be worse than the actual budget is the budget process. California is just one of three states that mandates a super majority to approve a state budget--almost every other state requires a simple majority.  Currently, two-thirds of the State Senate and Assembly must agree on a budget before they can send it off to the Governor for final approval.

But Sacramento is notorious for its partisan bickering which usually results in long delays followed by more stalling; to whit, only 5 budgets have been passed on time in the past 30 years.

Two-thirds approval? Good luck with that!

That’s where Proposition 25 comes in. Prop 25 would lower the requirement to pass a new budget from a two-thirds super majority to a simple majority.

Moreover, the ballot initiative would hold state Legislators accountable if they fail to pass a budget by the June 15 deadline. If they miss the target date, all members would not be paid for every day it is late until a budget bill is passed. This includes salary, travel and living expenses, and—much to the chagrin of State Legislators, I’m sure—could not be made up at a later date.

There’s no denying that something must be done to end the budget gridlock in Sacramento. Amending the constitution to change the voting requirement to a majority, along with imposing stiff penalties when legislators don’t come up with one on time, is one way to ensure that California begins each fiscal year with a budget in place. Hopefully, we can all agree that is not just a good thing but also a necessity.

The result of not having one in place has been devastating financially to the state; California’s credit rating was downgraded to the lowest of all 50 states as a result of the budget delays. The impasse also held up payments to state agencies and forced the state to issue costly IOUs. In short—budget delays end up costing the state a pretty penny.

Without a new system in place to pass a budget, California will continue on its downward spiral financially. Delayed payments, furloughs and IOUs are all something the state should actively strive to avoid at all costs. Given how poor the past few budget agreements have been, Prop 25 just makes sense. –Tracy Bloom

To reach writer Tracy Bloom click here. To reach designer Monica Nguyen click here.