Fact Sheet The Initiative Process in California By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Oct 7, 2013
blog post The EPA’s Martha Guzman Discusses New Environmental Justice Initiatives By Sarah Bardeen May 15, 2023 Martha Guzman is leading the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to protect public health and the environment for Region 9, which includes California. We spoke with Ms. Guzman to learn more about the EPA’s latest environmental justice initiatives—and found her to be a fountain of both information and enthusiasm about the new opportunities.
blog post Reengaging Citizens in the Initiative Process By Mark Baldassare May 11, 2022 California’s initiative process generally receives favorable reviews from voters, but overwhelming majorities across partisan groups say that at least some changes are needed.
At Issue, Report Reforming California’s Initiative Process By Mark Baldassare Oct 8, 2013 Californians are highly supportive of the initiative process but see room for improvement. Three steps to improve the process—connecting the legislative and initiative processes, increasing disclosure of initiative funders, and reengaging citizens in the initiative process—reflect Californians’ critiques and their desire to continue making laws at the ballot box. These reforms could have far-reaching consequences, with considerable promise for increasing citizen engagement, encouraging voter participation, and building trust in state government. This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.
blog post New Era for Initiatives? By Mark Baldassare Nov 12, 2014 The drop-off in state propositions and citizens’ initiatives—which have often captured media attention and voter interest in the past—may mark the beginning of a trend with profound implications for voter engagement and state policymaking.
Report The Local Initiative in California By Tracy Gordon Sep 14, 2004 In The Local Initiative in California, PPIC research fellow Tracy Gordon provides the most comprehensive evaluation of the local initiative to date. Drawing on previously unexplored data, her report examines trends and patterns in local initiatives and investigates their causes and policy consequences. Gordon finds that local initiatives are more numerous, more likely to qualify, and more likely to become law than statewide initiatives. The major criticisms of the statewide initiative—for example, that it benefits special interests, depresses turnout, or tramples minority rights—do not seem to apply to the local initiative. Instead, local voters appear to use this process to tackle issues that are not adequately resolved by their elected representatives or by state policy.
blog post Voters’ Wish List for the Next Election Cycle By Mark Baldassare Nov 10, 2022 California’s citizens’ initiative process remains popular as a way of addressing the state’s most important challenges. But voters believe that the system has certain shortcomings and should be reformed.
Report Interest Group Influence in the California Initiative Process By Elisabeth R. Gerber Nov 1, 1998 Perhaps the most dramatic change in the California political system over the past two decades has been the increasing use of the initiative process. Between 1976 and 1996, Californians voted on 106 statewide ballot initiatives. Spending on initiative campaigns has grown commensurately, peaking in 1996 at an all-time high of $140 million. Many observers argue that the initiative process has been captured by wealthy economic interests able to "buy" favorable initiative legislation. This background paper presents evidence to the contrary. Despite their vast monetary resources, economic interests are generally unable to enlist the sympathy of a sufficiently large number of people to pass new laws through the initiative process. Economic groups more often and more successfully use their resources to oppose ballot measures and thereby maintain the status quo.
Fact Sheet California’s Initiative Process: 100 Years Old By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Sep 21, 2011
