INITIATIVE REFORM IS LONG OVERDUE

The Commission on the California Initiative Process has a tall order -
fixing it. Reform is needed in what has been called "the fourth branch of
government." One of the main shortcomings of the current system is that
once a reform initiative passes the voters it may be shot down in a court
challenge because it is unconstitutional.

The reason is primarily that reform initiatives have not been checked by
the right authorities to make sure they are constitutionally sound before
they are placed on the ballot.

Another weakness in the process, in our view, is that a California
initiative, once passed by the voters, cannot be amended by the Legislature
unless the text of the initiative provides for it. And because there is no
review process before the election, errors in an initiative and unintended
bad consequences become part of the law.

The initiative was originally designed to give engaged citizens a chance to
propose laws that the Legislature refused to deal with. Most voters believe
initiatives are put on the ballot for the benefit of the rank-and-file in
California's population.

But Scripps-McClatchy Columnist Peter Schrag says that is civics-book fiction.

"Most," he said, "were put on the ballot either by economic interest groups
- - developers, the insurance industry, oil companies, tobacco companies,
labor unions - or by deep-pockets individuals pushing their own reform
ideology."

A good example is Proposition 36, passed by the voters in November.

It provides that users of dangerous and illegal drugs will not be treated
as criminals. They are to be sentenced to probation rather than jail. They
are considered victims of drug addiction who need treatment and care, not
punishment by incarceration.

Opponents of that initiative estimate that the new law will allow 37,000
felony drug users to remain on our streets every year - many of them
addicted to drugs that often ignite violent criminal behavior.

Voters apparently were unaware the initiative was written, not by drug
treatment experts, but by a criminal lawyer financed by wealthy
out-of-state backers whose ultimate goal is legalization of drugs.

If you want to buy a piece of legislation, it is cheaper to pass an
initiative than to get a proposal through the Legislature.

But that works only for sponsors with deep pockets because it is impossible
to get an initiative on the table for less than $1 million. In other words,
money talks.

Indian gaming interests, for example, laid out $65 million in 1998 to pass
Proposition 5, legalizing electric slot machines in reservation casinos.

The Commission on the California Initiative Process is supposed to finish
its work by March.

If it can come up with some substantive improvements - rather than just
crossing some t's - it will be of great benefit to California voters and
ultimately the rest of the nation.