2007 Ballot Initiative Bill

Crossposted from Betwen the Links.

2007 Ballot Initiative Bill Rep. Mike Ball

First of all, I’d like to thank Dan for the invitation to publish on this weblog. Once again, I have introduced my modest ballot initiative bill, HB263. It is the same bill that I’ve sponsored for the past 2 years. I am not particularly optimistic about its chances for passage this year because of the lack of demand among the general population. Those who have power have worked hard to attain it and will not give up even a small part of it unless they absolutely must. The amount of public demand necessary to overcome this natural resistance can only be generated if there were some sort of crisis. I’m glad things are going well, though.

It is interesting how support and opposition lines up for this particular issue. It is not liberal vs. conservative as much as it is populist vs. elitist. Most grassroots organizations (comprised of more people than money) and many individuals across the political spectrum tend to support it; however, I can’t think of a major lobbyist (with $$$$) in Montgomery who supports it. If this issue were to ever begin to get legs, you would see some strange bedfellows fighting it.

One of the reasons the heavy-hitters oppose it is because it is very difficult and expensive to block a ballot initiative if there is overwhelming public support. It is not nearly as difficult to block the passage of legislation (regardless of public opinion) in order to protect their interests. I’ll keep it in the hopper and maybe someday it will happen.