Murriel Oles, Editor

Tomorrow we celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Many CFRW members will be participating in Tea Parties and parades throughout the state. Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg (D-6) has sent legislative members home for the holiday weekend but has advised them to stay within four hours of the Capitol should the budget process require a floor session.

Next week. California legislators will be back at work attempting to solve the financial crisis facing the state. Registered warrants for payment of debts will be issued with a due date of October 2nd and an interest rate of 3.75%. State employees will be furloughed three days a month through June of 2010. The Governor has, once again, declared an economic crisis enabling him to institute a variety of executive orders.

Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-5), in his July issue of Niello News, states: “The budgetary crisis has provided us with an opportunity to help people understand that we don’t have to be so reliant on government. As this crisis has taught us, government can’t be all things to all people. Surely, certain obligations are the province of government and a safety net must exist, but I have always insisted that the private sector must play a strong role in any real recovery.”

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CFRW OPPOSES AB 962 and Encourages Member Action

This bill includes provisions that would require that commencing July 1, 2010, no person shall sell or transfer more than fifty rounds of handgun ammunition in any month unless he or she is registered as a handgun ammunition vendor. This is a private property issue and is another example of the government’s invasion of the private property rights of its citizens.

This “big brother” bill will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. CFRW has forwarded its letter of opposition to the members of the committee, but we need you, our members, to become proactive to stop this legislation. While our letter of opposition will be entered into the record, the real pressure comes from the constituents in the districts represented by the elected officials.

If your representative is a member of the Senate Public Safety Committee, we need you to act now by emailing or calling your elected representative. The contact information is:

Mark Leno (D-3), Chair, 916-651-4003
John Benoit (R-37), Vice Chair, 916-651-4037
Robert Huff (R-29), 916-651-4029
Gilbert Cedillo (D-22), 916-651-4022
Loni Hancock (D-9), 916-651-4009
Darrel Steinberg (D-6), 916-651-4006
Roderick Wright (D-25), 916-651-4025

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CFRW OPPOSES ACA 13 and ACA 14, (Hernandez, D-57)

Analyses by Joan Clendenin, Legislative Analyst – Election Laws

Article II, Section 8, of the California Constitution grants voters the power to propose statutes and constitutional amendments through the initiative process. Once qualified, the Secretary of State is required to place the initiative measure on the ballot at the next general election held at least 131 days subsequent to qualifying or at a special election, called by the Governor, prior to that general election.

Briefly, ACA 13 would require the Secretary of State to send an initiative measure to the Legislature prior to certifying the signatures gathered by the petitioners, and that the initiative be subjected to joint public hearings along specific guidelines.

ACA 13 is an attempt to engage the Legislature in the initiative process and reintroduces California to the indirect initiative, thereby granting the Legislature the opportunity to reshape ballot initiatives before they are acted upon by the voters. Proponents argue that this change could result in fewer and better proposals reaching the ballot.

ACA 13 was adopted as amended by the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting on June 23, 2009. It is pending hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

ACA 14 limits the number of initiative measures the Secretary of State may place on each statewide election ballot, permitting only the first five initiatives that qualify. It prohibits other measures from appearing on the same election ballot but does not prohibit the authors from seeking to qualify for a subsequent election.

The initiative process is a Progressive Era reform that enables voters to enact laws or constitutional amendments that had presumably been blocked by the legislators’ failure to respond to popular demands. It was also designed to prevent special interests from influencing state law and policy. The process was meant to give California voters more power, more influence and a stronger voice in their government.

SCA 22 on the 1911 ballot established a direct and an indirect initiative process in addition to the referendum.

From 1912 until 1966, California had two initiative processes. The direct initiative allowed the proponents of a policy to bypass the Legislature and have an initiative placed directly on the ballot for voter approval or rejection. With the indirect initiative, an initiative statute that qualified for the ballot could be submitted to the legislature for action. The Legislature then had 40 days to enact the proposal without change or amendments. If the Legislature rejected the proposed law, the Secretary of State had to submit it to the voters at the next general election. If the Legislature accepted the measure as written, it became law and was not placed on the ballot. Neither initiative procedure allowed a veto by the Governor. Amendment or repeal of an initiative or legislative measure was forbidden, unless the measure itself allowed it.

In 1994, in an effort to develop reasonable and workable ways to reform state government, Governor Pete Wilson and the Legislature appointed the California Constitution Revision Commission. The commission identified a number of problems with the current initiative process; chiefly, the current process does not have a mechanism for evaluating the effects of the proposed initiatives and for revising them if they are “not accomplishing their intended purpose.” Initiative statutes may only be amended if the Legislature places the proposed changes before the voters by another initiative or by the courts as they rule on the constitutionality of the measure. Of the 20 plus states that provide for some form of initiative system, California is the only state with no provision for some type of legislative involvement. The initiative process provides a valuable means for citizens to influence public policy when the Legislature has failed to act.

Contact the CFRW Advocacy Office if you would like to receive a complete copy of either of these analyses.

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Tracking Legislation

Would you like to do your own legislative research? Although we are unable to give our members access to our web-based bill tracking service, there is a way that one can find and monitor California legislation. You can access that information on the internet by going to the Legislature Home Page and completing the information on the right side by either indicating the bill number, the author, or key words. You can then subscribe to an email update and be notified when there is action on particular legislation of interest to you.

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Special Note for Members

NFRW Biennial Convention information is available on the NFRW website by following the links on the left or by clicking the flamingo on the right.

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Recent Legislative Updates

2009-07-03
2009-06-26
2009-06-19
2009-06-12
2009-06-05
2009-05-29
2009-05-22
2009-05-15
2009-05-08
2009-05-01

Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.

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