What it is

Prop. 25 is an attempt to reform the budget making process in California. Currently, the legislature is required to pass a budget with a super majority by midnight on June 15. This means two-thirds of both the State Senate and the State Assembly must agree in order to pass the budget. If they are not able to pass the budget by then their pay is withheld until they do pass a budget. Prop. 25 changes this so that instead of a super majority, a simple majority will be required. Their pay will be docked for every day the budget is late.

Pros/Cons

Supporters of Prop. 25 say, “[It will] reform California’s broken state budget process. Prop. 25 holds legislators accountable for late budgets by stopping their pay and benefits every day the budget is late. This ends budget gridlock by allowing a majority of legislators to pass the budget, but does not lower the two-thirds vote required to raise taxes.”

Opponents of Prop. 25 say, “Politicians and special interests are promoting Prop. 25 to make it easier for politicians to raise taxes and restrict our constitutional right to reject bad laws. Prop. 25 doesn’t punish politicians. They’ll just increase their lavish expense accounts.

Supporters and opponents

Prop. 25 is supported by a diverse group of organizations such as Californians for Tax Reform, California Association of Highway Patrolmen, California Association of Law Enforcement Employees, California Professional Firefighters and the California Nurses Association. Other supporters of note are League of Women Voters of California, Sierra Club, and California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

In opposition to Prop. 25 are groups such as the California Taxpayers’ Association and Citizens for California Reform. Other opponents come from the business sector and include National Federation of Independent Business/California, Latin Business Association and Small Business Action Committee.

Student Impact

The state provides all funds for SRJC that do not come from property taxes and student enrollment. According to the California Teacher’s Association, every day the budget is late costs public schools $53 million. When the state is unable to pass a budget, the school needs to find other sources of income to meet the costs of operation. The only element of the school funding equation that SRJC has some measure of control over is the cost per unit for classes. For students Prop. 25 could mean fewer fee hikes on campus, fewer classes being cut from course catalogs and more services being available to students.

Funding pro and con

The campaign for Prop. 25 has raised approximately $9 million through the first half of October. The largest donations to this fund have come from the California Federation of Teachers, which gave $2,072,550, the AFLIO with $1,000,000 and the SEIU, a union which represents the college’s classified staff and donated more than $1.1million.

Because the committee against Prop. 25 is also for Prop. 26 the finances are somewhat confusing. This joint committee is largely supported by California Chamber of Commerce, which gave more than $1million, the Small Business Action Committee which gave them more than $1.3 million and Chevron which gave them more than $1.2 million.