California Approves Budget; Taxes Going Up

• Drop the gas tax increase part of the proposal
• Suspends pay for legislators when they miss the budget deadline (this demand was rejected)
• Freeze pay raises for legislators when the budget is not balanced
• (Most controversially,) submission of a "top two" primary system for public vote, whereby all candidates run in a primary race and only the top two votegetters go on to the November ballot. Such a system has the pro of empowering moderate candidates that can draw from primary voters of all parties, but has the con of shutting out smaller parties statewide and even a major party in a district that is sufficiently gerrymandered.