By Jill Ratner

California (the 8th largest economy in the world) recently suffered through a 10-month budget standoff, harming the state's credit rating, which makes it more expensive for the state to conduct its daily operations. As a result, every California taxpayer will now have to foot increased costs of all state government and government services. As the pressure mounted to resolve the stalemate, the Governor imposed mandatory unpaid furloughs on state employees, income-tax refunds were delayed, and payments for billions of dollars of environmental projects were suspended - forcing many nonprofits into their own severe budget crises when the state froze funds committed to building trails, protecting watersheds and preserving parks. Even though a budget was passed, many environmental cutbacks and freezes remain in effect.

Behind the closed doors of the budget negotiations, schools and community services were the hardest hit. But California's environmental regulations were casualties, as well. The Governor and legislative leaders exempted several huge projects from environmental review and pushed back the effective date of rules requiring soot filters on construction equipment. Those filters trap the toxic diesel particles that cause cancer, heart disease, asthma and other respiratory illnesses. The delay in implementing the diesel rule means that approximately 260 Californians will die before their time. Hundreds more will suffer preventable illnesses requiring hospital care, and thousands of Californians face preventable asthma attacks.

The Air Resources Board had previously adopted the diesel rule in a public process, relying on careful scientific analysis, and refined the rule based on extensive public comment, including detailed testimony from Rose's New Voices Are Rising students. Our students were thrilled when the rule was adopted and deeply empowered to be part of a victory that would allow every Californian to breathe cleaner air. To see the rule pushed back as part of a backroom deal is more than disheartening. It is infuriating. And it is wrong.

How could this happen? Instead of approving budgets by a regular majority vote like the legislatures of 47 other states, California requires a 2/3 vote in both the Assembly and the Senate. This "super-majority" requirement places extraordinary power to obstruct in the hands of a few.

This year, 40 of California's 119 legislators clung blindly to an ideological pledge not to raise taxes - despite an increasingly desperate shortfall in state revenues. The deal to end this stalemate was negotiated in secret - and then "publicly" debated by the legislature literally in the dead of night. In the end, a handful of legislators extorted environmental cutbacks in exchange for their votes to close the budget deal.

This fiasco teaches a civics lesson that we ignore at our peril. California's super-majority requirement puts too much power in the hands of too few. It is time to eliminate the 2/3 requirement and bring the budget process back into the light of day. Every Californian who cares about clean air and clean government needs to demand elimination of the super-majority requirement as soon as possible. The sooner the better!