Two Vitally Needed Voter Watchdogs : Why, more than ever, statewide Propositions 158 and 159 are necessary

Weary voters may be drawn into indifference over Propositions 158 and 159, with their dry language and lack of noisy media advertising, while being mesmerized by this election’s more provocative propositions. In reality, 158 and 159 are among the most important state measures on the November ballot. Vote for them.

Sadly, the offices of the state legislative analyst and the auditor general both were decimated in recent years; Propositions 158 and 159 would embed these offices in the state Constitution and help protect them from partisan politics and budget-jockeying.

Both offices perform vital state functions not duplicated elsewhere. The legislative analyst’s office conducts nonpartisan analyses of the fiscal impact of proposals from the Legislature and governor (thousands of bills a year) and writes ballot summaries so voters can understand what they are being asked to decide at the polls. The auditor general performs independent audits of the executive and judicial branches; the office is designed to ensure that public funds are indeed spent the way the public intended.

Both offices are of long standing. The analyst’s office, established in 1941, was the first in the nation and is a model for similar offices in other states. Both have more than proven their value, not only in terms of tax dollars saved (an estimated $4.2 billion for the analyst’s office alone over the last 10 years) but in policy implications illuminated.

While the legislative analyst and the auditor general technically report to the Legislature, in practice they serve the governor. Yet because their funds are within the Legislature’s budget, they became casualties of the legislative bloodletting in Sacramento following passage of the state’s term limits initiative in 1990. In responding to Proposition 140’s mandate to severely cut its own staffing and funding, the Legislature slashed the analyst’s budget by nearly 60%, to $3.6 million, and the auditor general’s by 36%, to $7 million.

Propositions 158 and 159 would amend the state Constitution by creating an Office of the California Analyst and the Office of Auditor General, removing funding for both from the Legislature’s budget. The functions of these offices would remain as they are, but their funding would be on the same basis as other state agencies.

Without these measures, there is no guarantee that these nonpartisan offices will continue. Term limits and the resulting drastic reductions in the Legislature’s staff and expertise have made the independent and nonpartisan analyses of the legislative analyst and the auditor general more necessary than ever. Both propositions emphatically deserve a “yes” vote from Californians.