State of the Special Election: Will the People Decide?

Gov. Brown's budget plan was built around the idea that it would be a mix of cuts and temporary tax extensions, with the taxes subject to voter approval in a late spring special election. But now the cuts have been made, and the tax extensions have been stalled, so there's no election. What comes next?

The answer is: no one knows. And everyone in Sacramento has a different take on when and whether the people might weigh in on the question of extending the taxes on income, sales and vehicles. For those who wish to know more, the Sacramento Bee has a very useful synopsis of where all the major politicians and interests groups are on this question.

My own take: an election is useful primarily as a way of ending the small and mostly pointless debate about the budget. Republicans, Democrats and the governor should put their best budget offer on the ballot -- and let voters decide which one they want to support. In the meantime, folks in Sacramento can focus on constitutional reform.

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