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THE CITIZEN'S LINE ITEM VETO PROPOSITION "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal." -- Karl Hess "If a law is disliked by as many as one-third is it not likely that you would be better off without it?" -- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein Here's a proposition that, if passed, would convince me to abandon two decades of abstinence from the political process, register to vote, and vote early and often -- too often, I think, for this proposition to stand any chance of being enacted, for it would actually place real power in the hands of the average voter in a way that the established Powers That Be would not permit. You are free to try proving me wrong by attempting to get it passed: I assure you it will not be enacted into law without being watered down so much as to be meaningless. But I offer it as an exercise for the politically active, to demonstrate to them the contempt in which the electorate is held by elected and appointed officials, and how any real attempt to enfranchise power in the hands of the people will be resisted tooth and nail. California has in place a method of amending the state constitution through voters' initiatives called propositions. Very well -- California is as good a place as any to test any whacky new idea. If successful here, it will be imitated in other states, and perhaps even federally. Therefore, herewith proposed to be placed before the voters of the State of California is ***** THE CITIZEN'S LINE ITEM VETO PROPOSITION Summary: The State of California shall establish a statewide voicemail telephone system whereby voters may exercise a line- item veto over all legislation signed by the governor. A one- third vote in favor of vetoing a line item shall prevent it from becoming law, with no override available. The proposition: Within one year of the passage of this proposition: I. A. The State of California shall register any California voter who wishes to enroll for Citizen's Line Item Veto participation. Such enrollment shall identify these voters in a manner not invasive to their personal privacy, but with a level of security equivalent to that used by the commercial banking industry for telephone banking transactions. B. The State of California shall establish a state-wide voice- mail telephone system, operated by touch-tone telephones using an (800) area code telephone number or other free-to-caller area code. All California voters enrolled for Citizen's Line Item Veto participation shall be entitled to vote on this system. C. Each line item in all legislation signed by the governor the previous week shall be placed before the enrolled voters on this voice mail system. Each voter on the system shall be given one vote per line item of legislation signed by the governor, YES or NO. D. A count shall be made each week of all votes on each line- item. If a line-item gains one-third or more NO votes, it shall fail to have been passed into law, and no appeal to any legislative, executive, or judicial authority may override this veto. II. The State of California shall provide a weekly line-item summary of all legislation which has been signed into law by the governor the previous week. Such summary shall be in a form understandable to any resident of the State of California with a high school diploma issued by a California public school, and shall be made publicly available. III. To compensate voters in the Line Item Veto for the time and effort of reading the legislation and registering their vote, all voters enrolled in the Line Item Veto who vote on the system at least eight times per year shall be exempt at point of sale on all purchases from the California Sales Tax for the next year. IV. No line-item vetoed by the voters of the Line Item Veto may be reintroduced into legislation for a period of three years. V. No tax or other method of public funding, including all usage fees, shall pass into effect without being subject to the Citizen's Line Item Veto, nor shall any tax or other method of funding, including all usage fees, remain in effect two years from the passage of this proposition unless it is placed before the enrolled voters of the Citizen's Line Item Veto. ***** --J. 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