Legislators Miss Deadline for the November Ballot
With the 2008-09 fiscal year entering its third month, a key component to resolving the record-making Budget impasse has been foreclosed. Secretary of State Debra Bowen informed Governor Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders on Friday, August 29, 2008, that the deadline for placing legislative measures on the November ballot had passed.
Several Budget proposals under consideration would require voter approval in order to take effect. However, the statutory deadline for placing measures on the November presidential election ballot was June 26, although this date could be extended by legislation. Legislative leaders and the Governor considered waiving several timeline requirements and issuing a supplemental ballot pamphlet, thus extending the deadline for including measures on the November ballot. In response to this proposal, Secretary Bowen advised the Governor and legislators that the final deadline for the November ballot was August 16, though many Capitol insiders felt that there was significant wiggle room in this date.
In fact, legislators felt that the following weekend (August 23 and 24) was the real absolute drop-dead date for the ballot and Governor Schwarzenegger was of the opinion that, until both presidential nominees had picked their running mates, placing measures before the voters in November was still possible. On August 29, Senator John McCain (the presumptive Republican nominee for President) announced his pick for Vice President, thus allowing Secretary Bowen and county registrars to complete their work on the November ballot in time to begin mailing them out to military personnel and registered voters overseas.
Given that any Budget solution will likely require voter approval of one or more elements, the failure to complete the 2008-09 State Budget in time to place the requisite measures on the ballot means that a costly special election is now a likely option. California’s last statewide special election was held in November 2005 and cost local counties more than $50 million. The costs of a special election this year would likely be higher, with some speculating that it could be close to $100 million.
The earliest a special election can occur is 148 days after the Governor’s proclamation calling for the election (Elections Code Section 12000). This means that any special election won’t occur any earlier than late January. To help reduce costs, a special election likely would be consolidated with the March 2009 local election already scheduled.
Since a special election won’t occur until well into the 2008-09 fiscal year, the measures that would be considered by voters would have no impact—or a limited impact—on the current year’s $15.2 billion deficit since they probably wouldn’t go into effect until the 2009-10 fiscal year.
—Dave Heckler