Abstract

In 1933, State Controller Ray Riley and Board of Equalization member Fred Stewart recommended to the legislature spending controls to close a $50 million budget gap. One idea that caught on was to require a two-thirds vote to pass the budget if it grew by more than five percent a year. Almost as an afterthought, the legislature added the two-thirds vote to a constitutional amendment the voters passed in November 1933. In the 1960s, the five percent requirement was dropped and all budgets required a two- thirds vote.

Recommended Citation

Quinn, Tony (2009) "Origins of a Stalemate," California Journal of Politics and Policy: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1, Article 7.
DOI: 10.2202/1944-4370.1009
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/cjpp/vol1/iss1/7