‎(RESTORE MAJORITY RULE)‎

Yes We Can Change California:

Overturn the Two-Thirds Rule

Restore Democracy: Eliminate CA's Two-Thirds Rule

Here's what Speaker Karen Bass recently said about this year's budget nightmare:

The California budget approved last week by the legislature and signed by the governor is tough medicine and hard to swallow. But with our state on the edge of a fiscal cliff, it had to be done.

Without this budget, hundreds of infrastructure projects would have been stopped, which means the state would have lost even more jobs; 20,000 layoff notices were ready to go to state workers; taxpayers' refunds would have continued to be withheld, small business vendors would get IOUs for payment, and students wouldn't get financial aid. And it would only have gotten worse.

With 9.3% unemployment and the highest number of foreclosures in the nation. California has been battered by the national economic crisis. This budget stops the bleeding and buys California time to weather the recession and move into recovery. . . .

As a former community organizer, this kind of insider process isn't my preferred way of reaching a compromise, but given the severity of the crisis, it was a necessity. . . I also hope we -- and that includes voters -- will finally fix the two-thirds vote requirement and remove the harm that it causes. In the best of times the two-thirds requirement can lead to budget game playing from those in the minority. In a crisis like we are in, the two-thirds requirement essentially allows budget solutions to be held up for ransom. That has to change.

To learn more about why we need this change, check out the resources on the left. Questions? E-mail us here: changecanow@gmail.com

Fix California's Broken Politics

California - like the nation - is in a serious economic crisis. But California has another crisis - our state government is simply broken. It is not accountable to the people. We have a rule that budgets must be approved by a 2/3 majority. This rule made it possible for a small minority to literally hold the state hostage to special interests. The budget standoff threatened money for our schools, roads, and other critical needs of our communities -- at a time when we can least afford it.

California is one of only three states that has the two-thirds rule. The other two states are Arkansas and Rhode Island, whose budgets are a fraction of California's. The two-thirds vote requirement has made California's budget negotiations drawn-out affairs almost every year. Lawmakers have missed the June 15 constitutional deadline to approve a budget in 28 of the last 32 years. We must stop the insanity and restore democracy to California.

YouTube Video

Show the Obama Network Supports Repealing the 2/3 Rule

We are a group of former Obama campaign staff and volunteers from California who believe this is exactly the kind of change we have been working for on the national level. We need to take what we have learned and use it to tackle the powerful interests standing in the way of change. We need to keep organizing in our communities to make sure our government works for the people.

We are hoping to join with other grassroots organizations in the state who want to fix California's broken government. This is a big task, so we need as many of you to join us as possible.

Please register your support for restoring democracy to California. Add your name to our list of supporters to the form above so we can show how many Obama volunteers back repealing the 2/3 rule. We need to collect as many supporters as possible by March 31.

Showing how many former Obama volunteers and their friends and families support repealing the 2/3 rule sends the message to the voters of California that we need change, and that we have the power to make it happen.

And share this page with your friends, family and neighbors, and ask them to sign up here too.

We can't do it without you.