Setting Aside Politicians: The Effects of Set-Aside Initiatives on California's Local Governments

Nicholas Hromalik
2010 California Journal of Politics and Policy  
Through direct democracy, California voters pass local and state initiative measures, assuming the role of the legislature and many times mandating how government should act or spend funds. But are voters really getting what they want through the initiative process? Initiatives known as "set-asides" provide a unique aspect of local direct democracy to study because they interact with fiscal policy differently than other ballot measures. A set-aside initiative directs a local government to spend
more » ... money on a specific program without identifying a new source of revenue. This study analyzes the effects that set-asides have on local fiscal policy. It asks whether local governments respond to set-asides either by spending more overall or by taking funds from one service to increase spending on another. It finds that the passage of set-asides causes cities to spend and tax more than cities without these ballot measures. There is no preponderance of evidence to suggest that governments take from one service to meet the mandated funding of a set-aside. Instead of "robbing Peter to pay Paul," they impose slightly higher taxes on all.
doi:10.5070/p2vc8m fatcat:kwncfbavmzdrrpberrjsix2upa