Somewhat Good News On SB 48

California Gov. Jerry Brown has just signed a bill restricting all public referendums to a November vote in even-numbered years. This means that even if those attempting to repeal SB 48 manage to get enough petition signatures in these remaining few days, the bill will not appear until November 2012. Republicans, of course, are furious at Brown.

"The idea of direct democracy is to involve as many voters as possible," Brown, a Democrat, wrote in a signing message. Senate Bill 202, signed just days before the 100th anniversary of the initiative process in California, was seen by Republicans an example of extreme partisanship. In a written statement, Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga called the bill "a blatant power grab by the powerful public employee unions."