Tom Torlakson isn’t the flashiest of Senators, just a workaday kind of Senator who happens to covet the State Superintendent gig.  He just moved up a big notch with his recent post on the California Progress Report:

The two-thirds vote requirement to pass a budget has created an ongoing battle. The current system allows a minority of the Legislature to make it impossible to pass a rational state budget. The failure to resolve the ongoing state budget stalemate has grown into nothing less than a serious constitutional crisis.

This deadlock is threatening our state’s ability to remain competitive in the 21st Century global economy. It threatens to leave California incapable of providing a public education system offering students a rigorous and relevant curriculum, the infrastructure needed to support continued economic vitality, or a health care system able to care for and protect our residents.

As some people have noted, the definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. After years of gimmicks and delayed budget reckoning created by the two-thirds vote requirement, it is time to fundamentally change our dysfunctional and undemocratic state budget process.

This is why I have authored Senate Constitutional Amendment 22 to allow the Legislature to pass a state budget by a majority vote-and restoring democracy to the process!

While this has tried and failed in the recent past, we have an opportunity with the growing consensus of our revenue problem.  Who knows how big the window is, but a vote now seems to be as good as any other time.  Unfortunately, the Constitutional amendment itself requires a 2/3 vote, and don’t expect the Republicans to be hopping on board anytime soon.  Nonetheless, props to Torlakson for bringing it up.  It’s a conversation that needs to occur.