CALIFORNIANS SICK OF ANNUAL BUDGET CRISIS

Californians are tired of the annual mess of a late budget. At best, it’s an annoyance; at worst, a dangerous cutoff of funds for important state programs. Millions of Californians depend on the state budget for services—for some it's life and death. Thousands of state employees, contractors, and vendors don't get paid. When legislators aren't doing their job, everyone in California suffers—and currently, there are no consequences. Now a San Francisco group is trying to change that by creating an initiative to give a little encouragement to legislators to pass the budget by the July 1st deadline.

“We believe that the consequences to citizens of failing to pass the budget on time is criminal. It's negligent. And it should be illegal,” says Ian Kleinfeld, initiator of the California Budget Initiative, found at http://www.DemocracyMeansYou.com/budget.

The goal of the group is to get a California referendum on the ballot to:

1) Fine (or dock) legislators $1000/day after July 1st until the budget is passed.
2) Make them stay in session in Sacramento until the budget is passed, with no other business allowed until it’s passed, with heavy fines imposed on legislators who leave the city before that.
3) Define that after three weeks of not passing the budget, because of the severe consequences to Californians of not having a budget, the failure becomes gross negligence on the part of legislators, a punishable offense with even heavier fines and possible time in jail.

The group hopes to have the Initiative on the ballot by early 2003. Your help is encouraged.
Find out more at http://www.democracymeansyou.com/budget