Tomorrow is the day Governor Brown is supposed to unveil his May-revise budget. Various elements have been leaking out to the news media. There was also an announcement concerning closing selected state parks which reflects an element of political theater as well as the reality of the continuing budget crisis. Earlier posts have noted that Republicans have indicated that they might accept a deal that would include putting on the ballot a state spending cap. By way of background, California has a state spending cap – the Gann Limit – passed by voters in 1979 in the wake of Prop 13, the year before. Gann was a formula based on inflation and population growth. It was largely gutted by Prop 98 (1988) and Prop 111 (1990). Various efforts were made subsequently to enact a new, tighter limit but none succeeded. Republicans have essentially proposed reviving Gann but lowering the base so that it would “pinch” as the economy recovers. Note that whatever Governor Brown proposes tomorrow will still likely require a 2/3 vote if it involves tax extensions or increases. He can only get 2/3 with some GOP support.
The story of attempts to impose a state spending limit go back before Gann. In 1973, then-Governor Ronald Reagan put Prop 1 on the ballot, a complicated spending limit by formula. Voters defeated it. An article on Prop 1 can be found at http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/Documents/areas/fac/hrob/mitchell_ballot_box.pdf
Videos on Prop 1 can be seen below:
On the Gann Limit proposition (Prop 4), see
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