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January 16, 2008
FCL's Recommendations for the February 2008 Primary Election
Dear FCL Supporter,
FCL's Board of Directors met in December 2007 to make its recommendations on the seven ballot propositions appearing on February ballot. The FCL Board makes a recommendation only when reaching unity. Below are FCL's recommendations as well as some additional resources. More resources will be made available as they become available.
We welcome your comments concerning these recommendations. Click here to read the full text of FCL's analyses.
Proposition 91: No. Transportation Funding. In 2006, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1A which specifies that sales taxes collected from the sale of gasoline be transferred from the state's General Fund to the Transportation Investment Fund and used only for transportation projects. Proposition 91 makes it harder for the Legislature to suspend these transfers. While Proposition 91 creates more stability for transpiration projects, it reduces the Legislature's flexibility to deal with budget shortfalls.
Proposition 92: No. Community Colleges. In addition to reducing student fees from $20 to $15 per unit, this initiative-constitutional amendment creates a new funding formula that guarantees increased funding for community colleges, even in years when enrollment declines. Without providing a revenue source for the increased spending or the reduced fee revenue, Proposition 92 could reduce funding for other important government services, such as health care, services to the poor and the University of California and California State University systems.
Proposition 93: Neutral. Term Limits. Modifications to term limits needs to be coupled with redistricting reform. The Legislature failed to pass redistricting reform, but is pressing ahead with a measure that reduces the maximum time served in the Legislature from 14 to 12 years, but extends terms for current legislators. While there is strong sentiment in FCL for changing term limits, unity was not achieved on this proposal.
Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97. No. Indian Gaming Compacts. These propositions would ratify amended gaming compacts that would allow four gaming tribes in the San Diego-Riverside area to add thousands of slot machines in exchange for making payments to the state's General Fund. While FCL respects the sovereignty of gaming and non-gaming tribes, revenues collected from gaming should be used only to regulate and mitigate the effects of gaming -- not as a source of general revenue.
For Further Reading:
What Would Proposition 92 Mean For California? California Budget Project.
Community College Initiative Won't Solve Anything, by Peter Schrag, The Sacramento Bee.
A deceptive Prop. 93, by Debra J. Saunders, The San Francisco Chronicle.
How Have Term Limits Affected the California Legislature? Research Brief by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Schwarzenegger to endorse term-limit changes, by Jordan Rau, the Los Angeles Times.
Voters should reject Propositions 94, 95, 96, 97, editorial by The Sacramento Bee
Sincerely yours,
Jim Lindburg
Legislative Advocate
Friends Committee on Legislation
717 K St., Suite 500-B
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 443-3734
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