Longtime Strategist Explains Recent Evolution of Ballot Initiative Process

By
CalChamber
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Jim DeBoo, founder of DeBoo Strategic Affairs, describes for the CalChamber Board of Directors on September 13 how the process of getting a proposal placed on the ballot has evolved since the enactment 10 years ago of legislation permitting proponents to withdraw their proposal before the deadline for the Secretary of State to put the measure on the ballot. The ability to call back ballot measures, he says, gives proponents of a policy the leverage to negotiate a deal to achieve policy objectives that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. Among the examples he cited was the CalChamber-led drive to reform the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).