Legislators should welcome the voucher referendum. Their constituents will have the satisfaction of expressing their support or concerns regarding state assistance to students attending private schools. Because of this outlet for opinions, most lawmakers will not be held responsible for the voucher vote in the last session.

As an activist in an initiative effort, I was sued twice and my livelihood threatened. During the difficult process and afterward, my colleagues always believed that Utahns could make important policy decisions. The process is inefficient and the immediate results are oftentimes mixed. Yet, only good comes from involving Utahns in the decisionmaking process.

Webb: Making public policy — enacting laws, regulations and ordinances — is no trivial pursuit. Policymaking innately utilizes the powers of force and coercion that we, as citizens, delegate to our various levels of government. Such sacred power — the power to tax, the power to imprison, even the power to take a human life — is not to be exercised lightly.

Most public policy should be made by legislative bodies like the Legislature, city councils, county commissions/councils, and school boards.

I believe in representative government, and I believe our elected officials are best positioned to make the best decisions. They're the ones we "hire" to be well-informed, to study the issues and to wisely create public policy, protect our freedoms and fund necessary functions of government.

But state and local laws that provide for direct votes by the people on certain limited issues, including a variety of tax increases, are also proper. Some issues rise to the level where it makes sense to have voters decide, especially proposals for particular tax increases where the choices are clear. Citizens should have the ability to vote for or against taxing themselves in some instances.

It's really a matter of balance. A modest number of direct democracy initiatives is appropriate. But we shouldn't get carried away. Policymaking in California is nutty, with so many proposals on the ballot that citizens can't keep track of them.

The people should have the opportunity, if they meet conditions specified by law and the constitution, to override their elected officials and to make laws themselves.

In Utah, I think we're pretty well-balanced. The Legislature has provided clear guidelines about what issues can be decided by direct democracy. It is a relatively modest number, and the process is not being abused.

Generally, the ballot proposals that pass are the ones that have been put on the ballot by legislative bodies who want the citizens to have a chance to vote. The ones that fail are mostly the grass-roots issues requiring signature-gathering. An exception this year might be the education voucher issue.

Utah has struck the right equilibrium between direct democracy and representative government.

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Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. A former candidate for Salt Lake mayor, he served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. Pignanelli's spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a Utah state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.