Missing deadlines that frequently would get most of us fired, but for some reason, we voters - who do the hiring and firing of state legislators - keep rehiring these folks who regularly fail to meet the most basic of their job duties: managing the state's funds.

Getting a budget in place on time is one part of managing funds, but state legislators regularly fail at another important duty: Spending within their means. This year, they're trying to close a $15.2 billion budget gap. California's general fund is $101 billion. It's another in a long line of budget crunches.

One reason it's so hard to pass a budget is that the California legislature requires that two-thirds of each body approve budgets. Majority rule is a pillar of democracy. The legislature's undemocratic rule means that a minority of legislators can hold the budget process hostage, allowing the minority to control the budget.

It's time to change this in the California legislature - just like it's time to change the rules that require two-thirds or 55 percent of voters to approve of non-general fund taxes. This is a democracy - Fifty percent plus one vote should pass any bill, budget or tax, whether it's presented at the statehouse or the ballot box.

This budget crisis is unlike others in one respect: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week issued an executive order laying off 10,000 contract and part-time state workers.The order also cut state workers' wages to the federal minimum wage of $6.65 per hour - although State Controller John Chiang says he won't comply with that part of the order.

Labor unions that represent state workers are filing suit to try to reverse Schwarzenegger's order. In addition, Frank Kelso, who oversees the state's prison health system, said that he was exempting 60,000 of the prison system's 66,000 workers. Most of the state's 7,000 fire workers are expected to be exempt from the order. State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell said he would not comply with layoffs or pay cuts for any of his department's 2,500 employees.

In what has to be one of the dumbest quotes of the year, O'Connell said, "All CDE employees are valued and important assets of this organization, and we all deserve to continue to work and be paid." Ask anyone who has ever been laid off or forced to take a pay cut in a struggling private sector industry and they'll tell you that they deserved to work and deserved to be paid their full salary. But when the money's not there, something's got to give.

Here's what I'd like to see, in addition to reforming the super-majority rules for budget and non-general fund tax passage: A law that says state legislators forfeit their pay, perks and benefits whenever a budget is late. There's an initiative I could get behind. Anyone ready to put together a petition?

Meanwhile, do you think that you can do better than the supposed pros in Sacramento? Give balancing the state's budget a try. Next 10, a nonpartisan group focused on California issues, has a web-based game called California Budget Challenge that allows players to make policy choices and see how they translate to fiscal realities as they try to balance the state's budget. It's available online at www.next10.org/budget/challenge.html.

And this November, when you get ready to cast your ballot for state Assembly or state Senate candidates, ask incumbents hard questions about their role in the chronic state budget impasses, and ask all candidates for detailed plans on how they'll fix it.

Lisa Pampuch Lisa Pampuch is a technical editor and a member of the newspaper's editorial board. She lives in Morgan Hill with her husband and two children. You can reach her at lisapampuch@iname.com