BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  ACA 21
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 19, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   ACA 21 (Calderon) - As Amended:  July 16, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:4-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This measure:

          1)Proposes amending the California Constitution to authorize the  
            Legislature to propose amendments, to constitutional  
            provisions enacted by voter-approved initiative, with bills  
            passed by a majority vote in each house and approved by the  
            governor.

          2)Applies the above only to constitutional amendments enacted  
            after the effective date of this measure.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)One-time General Fund costs of about $220,000 to include the  
            analysis of this measure and the arguments for and against the  
            measure in the statewide voter information guide.

          2)For any measure placed on the ballot by the Legislature  
            through the alternative process provided by this measure,  
            which would not have otherwise been placed on the ballot  
            through the existing legislative process, General Fund costs  
            similar to those in (1) will be incurred.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  .  Under current law, the Legislature may propose a  
            constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote of each house of  
            the Legislature.  Once approved, such a proposal does not go  
            to the governor for his or her signature, but instead goes  
            directly to the ballot at a statewide election, and if  
            approved by a majority of voters, the constitutional amendment  








                                                                  ACA 21
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            goes into effect.

            In contrast, the author notes that the State Constitution may  
            alternatively be amended by initiative following signature  
            gathering and a majority vote of the electorate.  The author  
            argues that, under this process, "There is no deliberation.   
            There is no vetting.  There is no testimony.  All of these are  
            replaced by commercials and 30 second soundbites that often  
            distort the issues and appeal to the lowest common  
            denominator.  There are no real constitutional checks and  
            balances, save for potential legal challenges.  An initiative  
            to amend the constitution requires one thing: money, and lots  
            of it."
             
          2)Purpose  .  ACA 21 would provide the Legislature with a second  
            option to propose certain types of constitutional amendments.   
            Specifically, for any constitutional provision added or  
            amended by an initiative measure, ACA 21 would allow the  
            Legislature to propose an amendment to that provision by  
            enacting a bill by majority vote of each house, which would go  
            to the governor for his or her approval.  As with any other  
            bill, the governor could sign the bill or allow the bill to go  
            into effect without his or her signature, in which case the  
            proposed constitutional amendment would appear on the ballot  
            at a statewide election.  If the governor vetoed the bill, the  
            proposed constitutional amendment would not appear on the  
            ballot unless the Legislature overrode that veto.

           3)Opposition  .  The California Taxpayers Association argues that  
            ACA 21 "would allow the Legislature to more easily place on  
            the ballot measures to reverse voter approved initiatives,  
            similar to Proposition 13, that are enacted in response to  
            legislative failure."
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081