Alright, in a normal state, there is either a majority of democrats or a majority of republicans in the legislature. Either way, the state is able to use typica

Alright, in a normal state, there is either a majority of democrats or a majority of republicans in the legislature. Either way, the state is able to use typical party based agreement to get a budget passed. This works well in these states: If taxes get too high, fiscally conservative, tax cutting republicans get office. If services get too incomplete, public policy creating, program creating democrats are put in office, in the majority, and their party can make a budget, and taxation to go with it to support their plans. The people get control over this process by booting state legislators of the wrong party when the state runs to excess in one or the other area. Now in California, with this bonehead 2/3 rule, one party can get a majority (50% +1) for sure, but rarely a supermajority. That's where horsetrading comes in. People have to give things to the other side of the isle to get them to vote for this. And one of the things they can give to the other side of the isle would be votes to stay in office and money to run for re-election. And that's where the magic of special interests come in. They can cause their interested members to vote for these people who only will vote for the budget if they get something out of it. They're now getting votes/campaign contributions, so they get to keep their legislator job longer. If you got rid of the 2/3rds requirement, when repubs got in office, they'd cut services, when dems got in office, you'd get new ones, and you'd match the rest of the states in the union. While it turns out voter amendments turn out to often be hijacked by the special interest groups as well, that is not the huge problem. The property tax freeze is not the problem. The fact that 1/2 the legislature has to give away the farm to get the remaining 1/6 of the legislature to pass a budget is the issue. Get rid of that, and public unions, and every other special interest in California will feel its powers go down greatly.