Jeri Costa
During each of the past three years, I have introduced a bill encouraging the Legislature to hold hearings on ballot initiatives. And each year the proposal receives a hearing before my Senate committee, free from controversy.
Until this year, that is.
Frankly, the storm of criticism has been surprising. My detractors have ascribed motives ranging from targeting certain individuals to using the bill as a Trojan horse to kill the people’s right to pass ballot measures.
Neither could be further from the truth.
I have long been a vigorous supporter of initiatives. I helped write and actively sponsored several, including the successful "Three Strikes, You’re Out" and "Hard Time for Armed Crime" campaigns. I believe the initiative process encourages citizen participation in state government, and I have no intention or desire to restrict that involvement in any way. In this age of declining voter interest, initiatives play an important role in bringing more people into the political process.
My bill simply states that Senate and House committees may hold a hearing on the impact of initiatives on state finances and services, or to explore possible conflicts with other laws. These hearings could take place only after the secretary of state certifies the initiative and no later than 60 days before the election.
Clearly, the hearings are not designed to sink a worthy initiative by discouraging voters from signing petitions or by distorting the debate in the final weeks of a campaign.
My proposal will encourage more dialogue and more voter participation. And it will bring the initiatives to an even broader audience. These hearings will be an opportunity for all of us to hear from an initiative’s sponsors and opponents, from expert outside witnesses and the Legislature’s own analysts. Bills before the Legislature get the same review, and discussion in committee often brings to light new dimensions of the issue. Families don’t make major decisions about finances without talking about the repercussions, and neither should the state’s voters.
No sponsor will ever be forced to testify before the committee, but with such a valuable opportunity to share an initiative’s rationale with the public and the press, who would refuse to show up? Only those who fear a full airing of the facts would oppose more public discussion.
In no way do these hearings change the mechanics of initiatives. Initiative sponsors will never be required to gain the Legislature’s approval before filing, building petitions, campaigning or passing their initiatives. That power continues to rest with the people as required by the state constitution. This idea is simple, it’s straightforward and it helps voters be better informed about the effect of initiatives. The very foundation of our democracy is an informed electorate, and anything we in the Legislature can do to encourage full discussion of the facts is positive.
State Sen. Jeri Costa, D-Marysville, serves on the Senate Judiciary, Health &Long-term Care, Human Services &Corrections, and Rules committees.
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