Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/699198
ByMichaelR.Blood TheAssociatedPress LOSANGELES Californiais again testing how much de- mocracy is too much, with voters facing up to 18 bal- lot questions in November that could end the death penalty, cut into the cost of prescription drugs and free marijuana smokers to legally light up in the na- tion's most populous state. The cascade of proposals is certain to create confu- sion at the ballot box, along with fresh criticism that the state's system of direct democracy has run amok. Low voter turnout in 2014 meant campaigns needed relatively few signatures to qualify for the ballot. Collectively, the propos- als would cut into a broad swath of life in California, involving issues from class- rooms to prisons, the porn industry to cigarette taxes. Voters will ponder whether gun owners should be subject to back- ground checks to buy bul- lets, if a state ban on sin- gle-use plastic bags at gro- cery stores is needed or whether adult film actors should wear condoms dur- ing shoots. There are proposals to take on $9 billion in pub- lic debt to build schools, to repeal an "English-only" rule in classroom instruc- tion approved by voters nearly two decades ago, and to require voters to sign off on huge construc- tion projects financed by public debt, which could threaten the state's unpop- ular and costly high-speed rail project. Questions on either re- pealing or speeding up the death penalty and le- galizing recreational pot use could drive voters to the polls. But dense ballots can turn off others, warned Kim Alexander of the non- partisan California Voter Foundation, which seeks to improve the way elections are conducted. The logjam this year can be partially attributed to the Legislature, which pushed all the ballot ques- tions to November. The list will appear alongside the presidential contest and races for Congress and the Legislature. "People don't like to do things they feel they are not good at, and it can be chal- lengingforCaliforniavoters to feel confident about their choices," Alexander said. Simply sifting through the details of the proposals can be a tricky, time-con- suming task. For example, it will be a tough sell to get voters to read the fine print in the 15-page proposal to overturn a 2014 law to ban single-use plastic bags at supermarkets. Then there's the so- called Children's Education and Health Care Protection Act, one of several propos- als yet to be cleared for the ballot. In effect, the mea- sure raises taxes by extend- ing a post-recession, per- sonal income tax increase for a dozen years that was sold to voters by Gov. Jerry Brown and other support- ers as "temporary." Brown, a Democrat near- ing the end of his final term, has not endorsed it. While the array of ques- tions can be daunting, long ballots in California are more routine than not. Since 1912, state general elections have averaged about 18 ballot questions, according to the Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California. The record for a cluttered election was set in 1914, when voters had to sift through 48 questions. As of Thursday, 14 ques- tions had qualified for the November ballot, either through petition drives or by approval by the Legisla- ture, according to the sec- retary of state. Along with the tax-in- crease extension, three other proposals were pend- ing Thursday that would: • Raise California's cig- arette tax by $2 a pack to $2.87, making it ninth- highest in the nation. • Allow earlier parole in certain cases for non-vio- lent felons and let judges decide which juvenile of- fenders are tried as adults, part of plan backed by Brown to cut the prison population. • Allow the state to sell $3 billion in bonds for maintenance at state and local parks, a measure be- ing contemplated by the state Legislature. ELECTION California voters will confront crowded November ballot By Alison Noon and Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press SACRAMENTO The Califor- nia Legislature on Thurs- day sent Gov. Jerry Brown 12 gun-control measures as Democratic lawmakers try a last-ditch effort to con- vince Lt. Gov. Gavin New- som to drop a proposed bal- lot initiative. Legislative leaders hailed the move as the nation's most aggressive gun con- trol effort and proof that firearm restrictions are po- litically viable. Their mea- sures earned a sharp rebuke from gun-rights advocates who say the Legislature is shredding constitutional gun-ownership rights. Senior California Demo- crats have been waging an increasingly tense battle over how to strengthen the state's gun laws. Newsom, a Democrat running for gov- ernor in 2018, is promot- ing a ballot measure that includes some of the same policies approved by the Legislature Thursday. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, wants the Legislature to address the issue, fearing gun-con- trol would fail at the bal- lot box or at least drive up turnout of conservatives who will vote against Dem- ocrats. "We are proving to the rest of the nation as well as the rest of the world that we are ready to act," de Leon said. Newsom has until 5 p.m. Thursday to withdraw his measure from the Novem- ber ballot. Brown, a Democrat who has in the past vetoed some gun-control measures and signed others, hasn't said whether he'll sign the bills or if he'll do so in time for Newsom to drop his ballot measure. Brown's spokes- man, Evan Westrup, de- clined to comment. Lawmakers approved a bill expanding a six-month- old program that allows courts to temporarily re- strict gun ownership rights for people with potential mental health problems. Currently, immediate fam- ily members and law-en- forcement officers who are concerned someone may be a danger can seek a court order temporarily restrict- ing the person's right to own or buy a gun. AB2607 would expand that right to employers, co-workers, mental health workers and employees of high schools or universities. They also backed a mea- sure regulating ammuni- tion sales, requiring sell- ers to get licenses and buy- ers to be screened. They voted to ban assault weap- ons with features known as bullet buttons, which allow a shooter to quickly change magazines. And they backed legislation re- quiring people to turn in magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. "The Legislature's manic attack on law-abiding gun owners, democracy, and the legislative process jeopar- dizes not only civil rights but public respect for the law and our governmen- tal institutions," Craig De- Luz, a lobbyist for the gun- rights advocacy group Fire- arms Policy Coalition, said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Assem- bly asked Brown to declare a state of emergency on homelessness, which he has resisted doing. The move came just after legislators approved a massive invest- ment in the nation's largest population of mentally ill homeless people with a $2 billion bond to build perma- nent, supportive housing. Democratic lawmakers say homelessness is a pub- lic health crisis affecting tens of thousands more peo- ple than those who will be helped with the bond. SACRAMENTO California Democrats rush to approve gun-control measures RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, le , Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, center and Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, shake hands a er a measure to restrict the sale of ammunition was approved by the Assembly on Thursday in Sacramento. 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