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ANTI-IMMIGRATION PROPOSITION WON'T BE ON CALIFORNIA BALLOT
The effort to place a proposition on the ballot in California that would echo much of Proposition 187 has failed.  Proposition 187, which was passed by about 60% of the voters in 1994, restricted the access of undocumented immigrants to most social services.  Large portions of the law were declared unconstitutional by a federal judge, and the rest of the law was abandoned after mediation between supporters of the proposition and the California governor. 
Supporters of the bill, angered at the way Gov. Grey Davis allowed the law to die, were determined to get a similar bill to vote in November.  However, many groups that supported Proposition 187 were hesitant to support a new version.  Proposition 187 was seen by many as mean-spirited, and many political observers feel it contributed to the loss of Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican who supported it, to Gray Davis, a Democrat. 
Ron Prince, an accountant who co-authored Proposition 187, also wrote the most recent version.  He blames the failure of his latest effort on a number of factors.  First, because Proposition 187 was still in effect until last summer, he says his efforts for a new bill did not start earlier enough.  Second, many groups that supported Proposition 187 declined to back the new version.  Many Republican Party leaders in the state say their support of the bill has cost them in elections.  Despite the lack of support for his efforts this year, Prince says he thinks the public is behind such an idea, and that he may try again next year.