Section 1. Title.

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the No Blank Checks Initiative.

Section 2. Findings and Declarations.

The People of the State of California find and declare as follows:

(a) The politicians in Sacramento have mortgaged our future with long-term bond debt obligations that will take taxpayers, our children, and future generations decades to pay off.

(b) Under current rules, the sale of state bonds only needs to be approved by voters if they will be repaid out of the state's general revenues. But state politicians can sell billions of dollars of additional bond debt without ever getting the voters' approval if the bonds will be repaid with specific revenue streams or charges imposed directly on Californians like taxes, fees, rates, tolls, or rents. The politicians should not be allowed to issue blank checks Californians have to pay for. Voters must provide prior approval for all major state bond sale decisions, because voters are the ones who ultimately pay the bill.

(c) According to a 2014 report from California's independent, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, the State of California is carrying $340 billion in public debt. (Legislative Analyst's Office, "Addressing California's Key Liabilities," Mar. 7, 2014.) Interest and principal payments on our long-term debt obligations will cripple the state if we keep spending the way we do now-reducing cash available for public safety, schools, and other vital state programs.

(d) Moreover, voters are rarely told the true costs of bond-funded projects. We were originally told that the bullet train would cost $9 billion. But now the estimated cost has ballooned to nearly $70 billion. (Los Angeles Times, "The Hazy Future of California's Bullet Train," Jan. 14, 2014.)

(e) This measure puts the brakes on our state's public debt crisis by giving the voters a say in all major state bond debt proposals that must be repaid through specific revenue streams or charges imposed directly on Californians like taxes, fees, rates, tolls, or rents.

Section 3. Statement of Purpose.

The purpose of this measure is to bring the state's public debt crisis under control by giving the voters a say in all major state bond-funded projects that will be paid off through specific revenues streams or higher taxes, fees, rates, tolls, or rents collected from Californians, their children, and future generations.

Section 4. Section 1.6 is added to Article XVI of the California Constitution, to read:

Section 1.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all revenue bonds issued or sold by the State in an amount either singly or in the aggregate over two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) for any single project financed, owned, operated, or managed by the State must first be approved by the voters at a statewide election. "State" means the State of California, any agency or department thereof, and any joint powers agency or similar body created by the State or in which the State is a member. "State" as used herein does not include a city, county, city and county, school district, community college district, or special district. For purposes of this section, "special district" refers only to public entities formed for the performance of local governmental functions within limited boundaries.

(b) A single project for which state revenue bonds are issued or sold in an amount over two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) may not be divided into, or deemed to be, multiple separate projects in order to avoid the voter approval requirements contained in this section. For purposes of this section, multiple allegedly separate projects shall be deemed to constitute a single project including, but not limited to, in the following circumstances: (1) where the allegedly separate projects will be physically or geographically proximate to each other; or (2) where the allegedly separate projects will be physically joined or connected to each other; or (3) where one allegedly separate project cannot accomplish its stated purpose without the completion of another allegedly separate project.

(c) The two billion dollar ($2,000,000,000) threshold contained in this section shall be adjusted annually to reflect any increase or decrease in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Treasurer's Office shall calculate and publish the adjustments required by this subdivision.

Section 5. Liberal Construction.

This act shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate its purposes.

Section 6. Conflicting Measures.

(a) In the event that this measure and another measure or measures relating to voter approval requirements for state bonds shall appear on the same statewide election ballot, the other measure or measures shall be deemed to be in conflict with this measure. In the event that this measure receives a greater number of affirmative votes, the provisions of this measure shall prevail in their entirety, and the provisions of the other measure or measures shall be null and void.

(b) If this measure is approved by the voters but superseded in whole or in part by any other conflicting initiative approved by the voters at the same election, and such conflicting initiative is later held invalid, this measure shall be self-executing and given full force and effect.

Section 7. Severability.

The provisions of this Act are severable. If any portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, or application of this Act is for any reason held to be invalid by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Act. The People of the State of California hereby declare that they would have adopted this Act and each and every portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, and application not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this Act or application thereof would be subsequently declared invalid.

Section 8. Legal Defense.

If this Act is approved by the voters of the State of California and thereafter subjected to a legal challenge alleging a violation of federal law, and both the Governor and Attorney General refuse to defend this Act, then the following actions shall be taken:

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code or any other law, the Attorney General shall appoint independent counsel to faithfully and vigorously defend this Act on behalf of the State of California.

(b) Before appointing or thereafter substituting independent counsel, the Attorney General shall exercise due diligence in determining the qualifications of independent counsel and shall obtain written affirmation from independent counsel that independent counsel will faithfully and vigorously defend this Act. The written affirmation shall be made publicly available upon request.

(c) A continuous appropriation is hereby made from the General Fund to the Controller, without regard to fiscal years, in an amount necessary to cover the costs of retaining independent counsel to faithfully and vigorously defend this Act on behalf of the State of California.