“I can’t stand this indecision married with a lack of vision. Everybody wants to rule the world.” – Tears for Fears

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If only I could be in charge of everything, I would be able to make the world a much better place.”?

House Bill 561 was introduced late in this year’s legislative session and was immediately placed on the fast track to Nowheresville, but it would have offered you as a citizen some authority in deciding under what laws Alabama government should operate.

HB 561 would have installed a form of direct democracy in Alabama called the initiative process. Direct democracy provides citizens with opportunities to affect government without the involvement of one of the three branches of government.

Specifically, initiatives offer a method for voters in the state to introduce a law or constitutional amendment through circulating a petition. With enough signatures collected, the proposed law appears on a ballot at the next election for voters to approve or reject without the involvement of a legislature, governor or court system.

Pretty cool, huh? It is like DIY public policy. Ready for a lottery, higher speed limits on state roads, or a raise of the minimum wage? Tired of watching the Legislature twiddle its metaphorical thumbs about it? Initiatives can move the ball into the people’s court.

Yet, the problem with initiatives is oftentimes the public’s prescription for society’s problems ends up being worse than the disease. Why is this?

First, the public usually has no idea how much a policy can cost and little interest in finding out all the complexities of how a new policy can distress a state budget. An initiative that passes, even if it is wildly popular, leaves the governor and legislature stuck figuring out how to pay for it. This can mean raising taxes or taking resources from other government programs.

One example of this is California’s Proposition 13 passed in 1978. It greatly limited state and local government’s ability to raise property taxes, an idea that would likely be popular in Alabama. However, it worked only too well.

Back in 2003, financial guru Warren Buffett pointed out in a “Wall Street Journal” article he paid $14,401 in property taxes on his Omaha, Neb., home worth $500,000. The same year he paid only $2,264 on a second home valued at $4 million in Laguna Beach, Calif.

While you may have some thoughts about the property taxes in Omaha being that high – Nebraska does not collect a state property tax thanks to an initiative its citizens pushed through in 1966 – I think most people can agree property taxes that paltry on a $4 million property in California are too low.

This places greater burden on other forms of taxation in California, a state that often struggles with balancing its budget.

Second, what happens when the public passes a bad law?

It is difficult to get rid of a bad initiative policy because a legislature is often reluctant to try to remove a law for which a majority of the citizens voted. Also, using a new initiative proposition to repeal a previous proposition can be a tough sell to the same public that passed the original.

An example of this is Arizona which passed a law by initiative in 2004 requiring voters to produce documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote – another idea likely popular in Alabama.

Yet, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that Arizona could not require additional forms of citizenship as a requirement for registering to vote on federal races such as president, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House.

This created a confusing system in Arizona where some voters are only allowed to vote in federal races while most voters could vote in all races.

Mistakes have since been made in placing people on the correct voter list and in providing the correct ballot in elections because of this complication. This system also created a perception that voters who receive a ballot with only federal races must not be citizens, which is untrue.

Overall, the initiative process allows a public that is not fully informed and is inexperienced with most policy issues to make major, long-term decisions. Frequently, initiatives are pushed on to a ballot by people who have a self-interest in seeing a proposition pass rather than having the public good in mind.

The legislative process can be frustrating, but it also can actually improve bills as new ideas from experienced legislators can be added, and bad ideas can be removed when other legislators scrutinize the policy.