During the past 30 years, McCarthy said, most major policy changes in California have been effected by initiatives. Generally, they ve reached too far, and usually they ve had glitches. Since the initiative process does not allow for amendments, he said, they often result in flawed policies that take years to correct. Meanwhile, the Legislature has been marginalized. McCarthy observed that various interests have embraced the initiative process in California much as they have here.
Successful initiatives can produce perverse consequences, however.
The upcoming statewide vote on a licensing fee for geologists, for instance, is a result of last year s passage of Initiative 695, which mandated voter approval of tax, and fee increases. Nonetheless, efforts to curtail the ability of the voters to bypass the legislative process would be premature here. Washington differs substantially from California. It is relatively more difficult here to qualify an initiative to the people, and voters may not amend Washington s constitution by initiative. Business leaders here traditionally have been reluctant to promote ballot initiatives, but they will have to bethink their attitude in light of recent initiative victories.