BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  ACA 6
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          Date of Hearing:   May 27, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                      ACA 6 (Gatto) - As Amended:  May 19, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This measure proposes to amend the State Constitution to 
          prohibit an initiative measure-if determined by the Director of 
          Finance and Legislative Analyst to result in a net increase in 
          state or local government costs exceeding $5 million-from being 
          submitted to the electors or from having any effect until it is 
          jointly determined by the Director and Analyst that the 
          initiative measure provides for additional revenues in an amount 
          that meets or exceeds the net increase in costs. This 
          restriction would not apply to initiative bond measures.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)One-time GF costs of about $220,000 to include an analysis of 
            this measure, and arguments for and against the measure, in 
            the state voter pamphlet.

          2)To the extent enactment of this measure would keep initiative 
            constitutional amendments with significant net state or costs 
            off future statewide ballots, there could be significant state 
            or local savings.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . According to the author, "The fiscal crisis in which 
          California finds itself today was not created overnight. The 
          state continues to face structural budget deficits year after 
          year for a variety of reasons, some legislatively created, some 
          created by economic forces beyond the control of State 
          officials, and some created at the ballot box through voter 
          initiatives?Free from the fiscal vetting process provided by the 
          Legislature, these measures pass by a majority vote of the 








                                                                  ACA 6
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          people and handcuff lawmakers to high spending without providing 
          them with the revenues to pay for the additional programs. As a 
          result, California's budget deficit has increased and the state 
          has been plunged into fiscal crises. If California is to 
          continue allowing the creation of new fiscal mandates on the 
          legislature by the initiative, it is reasonable to expect the 
          discipline that voters so often demand from their legislative 
          representatives?ACA 6 is an important step in relieving some of 
          the pressure on our general fund moving forward, by expecting 
          the same fiscal responsibility from initiatives as is expected 
          from the legislative process."

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081