The Progressive Magazine has this story about the many instances when local initiatives are being kept off ballots because of their content. The old rule for initiatives all across the nation is that if there is a constitutional infirmity with the idea proposed by the initiative, courts won’t consider that until after the initiative has passed, if it does pass. But now the trend is shifting, according to the story, to keeping them off the ballot before any popular vote is held.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
What is next ???
Reviewing ALL bills in ALL legislative bodies before they get enacted ???
Just more MORONS at work.
Demo Rep: They are not morons. They know exactly what they are doing – restricting the rights and abilities of the people to control and/or modify government actions. They act deliberately.
ANY difference between elected or HACK appointed judges ???
A very important story. The old single-subject rule now has morphed into a totally arbitrary and capricious standard of declarations of ‘scope of authority’ by office holders that have the prerogative of immunized discretion from charges that decisions are politically centered.
Taking a longer view though the natural and inevitable course of evolution of the public’s right to legislate outside the existing captured representative system must confront the infantile capacity of what is still work in progress with regard to the comprehensive initiative process that is still a project of invention if any close to democracy is every going to happen.
Local regimes inside the States are NOT local independent empires – by definition.
General remedy – ONE type of *city*.
ALL cities having equal legislative and executive powers provided by GENERAL State laws.
Local HACKS are often even more rotted than State HACKS — esp regarding pay to play contract corruption, direct bribes, etc.
See the rotted mess in Detroit – ex-Kilpatrick mayor regime >>> later Detroit city bankruptcy