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Will Californians Vote Out Drivers Insurance? And Goodbye Redistricting Commission?
No insurance, no worries? Photo by bcmacsac1 via Flickr
In addition to an initiative seeking an increase in alcohol taxes by, ohhhh, 10,000%, two others were cleared for signature gathering last week. One deals with auto insurance and the other with congressional districts.
The auto insurance initiative (.pdf) asks Californians to "repeal laws that require every driver to maintain automobile liability insurance." Commercial drivers and those with certain vehicular crimes on their record, however, would still have to carry the insurance. It would also strike down a requirement forcing insurance companies to report information to the DMV and would spare drivers involved in accidents of fines or license suspension for not having insurance. New Hampshire and Wisconsin do not require insurance.
The other initiative (.pdf) would transfer the duty of drawing congressional districts from elected officials to the recently approved 14-member redistricting commission, which is already "charged with redrawing California's Senate, Assembly and State Board of Equalization districts based on information gathered during the 2010 census." However, another initiative (.pdf) currently in circulation seeks to eliminate the commission and give the power back to state politicians.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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