Is California dysfunctional?

The New York Times of Sunday, October 11, reported on a speech by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Ronald M. George, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The thrust of his speech was that the referendum process in California has created anarchy and "rendered our state government dysfunctional."
The legislature cannot amend or repeal specific laws without voter approval, rendering both legislature and the executive impotent. State officials may not raise taxes without a two-thirds approval of the electorate. This "places California lawmakers and the state itself in a fiscal straight jacket," said the Justice.
Justice George indicated that constitutional and legislative action in California is not the end point of "fact-gathering and deliberation, but rather by the approval of voter initiative measures." He emphasized that ballot outcomes are often manipulated by special interests.
Over the past few years it has become evident that states with voter initiatives incorporated in their constitutions are vulnerable to the effects of lobbying by activist groups. Nowhere is this more evident than the initiatives promoted by HSUS and its surrogates. ... Read the full blog.