Many people are unhappy with California government.
One way in which they express their unhappiness is through the initiative process. Over the last twenty years, unhappy Californians have attempted to constrain their government by imposing taxation limits, spending restrictions, and term limits. One increasingly common view is that they have emasculated the state legislature. Proponents of this view claim that decades of voter initiatives, combined with thousands of federal mandates, render state legislatures unable to solve California's present and future problems. Clearly, the purpose of many federal mandates and voter initiatives is to constrain California legislatures.