Scandals cost California Democrats supermajority in Senate

[alp227]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

SACRAMENTO -- It took Democrats more than a century to win a supermajority in both houses of the California Legislature, but a pair of high-profile corruption cases has now cost them their dominating two-thirds majority in the state Senate in little more than a year.

State Sen. Ronald Calderon's decision Sunday to take a paid leave of absence while he fights federal corruption charges will eliminate the supermajority his party won in 2012, threatening the policy priorities of some Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown.

Proposals to create a new rainy-day fund and tax oil companies operating in California would have sailed through the Democrat-controlled Legislature last year, but now, the majority party will be forced to drum up some Republican support for those and other plans that require a two-thirds vote.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25267973/corruption-scandals-cost-california-democrats-supermajority-control-senate

[stopbush]

1. Of course, what needs to happen is for that idiotic 2/3 rule to go away.

That rule has allowed the R minority in this state to keep anything productive from happening for almost four decades. The chances of the Ds keeping a supermajority were never good, even in the best-case scenario.

There needs to be a ballot initiative or a legislative action to undo that, and to put CA back into a simple majority to pass legislation. If that was the case, we'd never need worry about the Rs in this state again, because they are never going to get a majority in the legislature.

The REAL bummer is that unlike all those R-controlled red state legislatures, the D-controlled CA legislature has been disappointingly moderate in it's approach since gaining the super majority. What they haven't watered down legislatively, Gov Brown vetoes. 2013 ended with no new taxes and fees and no real spending sprees.

[Live and Learn]

3. While that is true, the real problem is still money in politics

and a lack of regulation. Without getting rid of those problems we will always be targets of corruption.

[Live and Learn]

2. Yep, truly sad isn't it?

Why do we allow these people so much power that they are nearly guaranteed to be corrupt to even want the job? This just sickens me.

[freshwest]

4. Oh, no. nt

[jaysunb]

5. Rod & Ron both need to retire.

Their seats would go to other Democrats and we can continue our turn around.

[davidpdx]

6. Yeah, but that would be the honorable thing to do

We wouldn't want to set any kind of new precedent now would we. lol