Since Governor Smith and Secretary of State Robert Moses consolidated all of the state's budgetary function primarily under the executive branch it has served the purpose to have only one person with the accountability of budget success and failure.
Prop 1 on all ballots statewide will amend the state's constitution so that legislature will merely needed to drag its feet on state budgets till past the April 1st deadline every year to go over the head of the governor (whom ever is governor) and begin writing its own budget. The diffused accountability amongst the state legislature’s 212 members (Senate & Assembly) will allow legislature to spend wily-nily especially given the fact that by 2010, the turnover of Republican legislators and the growth of the Democratic enrollment and constituency will ensure State Senate to turn to a majority Democratic before the next census & redistricting that will ensure gerrymandering to keep both the Assembly & Senate in Democratic control for at least a generation.
I of course look forward to the state capitol being in solid control of the Dems, what troubles me is if the budget doesn’t have only one head on the chopping block then no one will have to deal with the consequences of the budget. As long as the governor is the one with most skin in the game, the governor will be able to keep petty and impulsive budgetary items from actually getting financed.
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