Prop 54: Billionaire funded prop is not what it seems

The California state legislature is one of the country’s largest, made up of 120 men and women. They create new laws and repeal or modify existing state laws. Last year alone the legislature proposed over 900 different bills, and according to NBC Los Angeles News, Governor Jerry Brown signed 808 new laws, only a mere 133 of them were actually vetoed on.

In regards to the way the system is streamlined, accountability and transparency within our legislature is not a pressing issue.

Currently, these bills are posted on the internet and the information is free and available for the public to view, further, if residents wanted to watch an actual voting session, they could easily tune into the live video stream. If by chance, they miss it, not to worry… video and audio recordings are also on record and stored within an accessible web database/archive.

If the bill hits close to home and affects a person directly, great news, that person can testify at a hearing and see it through by attending a state floor session.

Proposition 54 seeks a yes vote in order to “require every bill to be posted online and distributed at 72 hours before each house of the legislature is permitted to vote on it (except when the Governor declares an emergency)” as stated in the official voter information guide. Supporters of the bill also suggest that it promotes “transparency”.

However, every item this proposition is promising already exists for public consumption. The notable difference lies within the 72-hour delay, which can play out in a menacing way, in turn aiding special interest groups along the way.

As Steve Maviglio and Californians for an effective State Legislature point out, “while it sounds good, requiring the Legislature to wait 3 days … [it] will give powerful lobbyists and well-funded special interests groups time to launch campaigns to attack bipartisan compromises.”

Even more striking, proposition 54 is solely funded by republican billionaire Charles Munger Jr.

According to the online Encyclopedia for American Politics, Munger developed the initiative and contributed 99.9 percent of the campaign’s funds.

It’s necessary to question why a republican billionaire would be concerned with a so-called lack of “transparency” within a largely leaning democratic senate and assembly, when in fact, the transparency already exists.

This is not new territory for Munger who has spent more than $78 million on various campaigns. It’s clear, Munger has an agenda.

According to an LA Times article, he is a central force in the Republican Party’s attempted comeback from its two-decade slide in California. If it weren’t for Charles Munger, the California Republican Party would have been driven into the sea at this point,” said Kevin Spillane, a GOP strategist.

In contrast with democratic views, Munger has a reputation for contributing millions to “candidates that oppose increased education funding, the minimum wage, and other progressive issues,” Maviglio further argues in the official voter information guide.

California is a state that demands blue ideals, therefore proposition 54 can not be trusted whilst Charles Munger is behind it. Vote NO on Prop 54.