A leading California think tank on Thursday rolled out its latest ballot proposal to tackle the Golden State's fiscal and governance woes.

The list of fixes endorsed by California Forward includes shifting to a two-year budget and curbing last-minute legislative amendments by requiring that all bills are made available to the public at least three days before final passage.

The political arm of the foundation-funded nonpartisan group filed paperwork Thursday to place its full proposal on the 2012 ballot through a constitutional amendment.

"It's really about figuring out steps that we can take to ensure that government is delivering results in a transparent and accountable way," Zabrae Valentine, executive director of the California Forward Action Fund, said of the plan.

The initiative proposal would also mandate "performance-based budgeting," requiring departments to provide lawmakers with goals, performance measures, target outcomes and require that a funding source is identified for any new program or tax cut expected to cost more than $25 million.

Under the plan, counties, cities and schools and special districts agreeing to collaborate on plans to improve their communities would be eligible for financial incentives, including relief from some state regulations and more sales tax money from the state.

California Forward, led by former legislators, political consultants and business leaders, has tried to overhaul government before, both through the ballot and the Legislature. A 2010 effort to qualify two budget-related initiatives fell short due to a lack of funding. "Performance-based budgeting" legislation it backed this year was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who called it "another siren song of budget reform."

Valentine said while it is "not going to be easy," she believes the organization will be able to raise the funds necessary to put its ideas in front of voters in 2012. "We've been cultivating potential donors for a long time now and we've got a number of people who we think are prepared to write checks," she said.

Once the constitutional amendment language is cleared by the attorney general's office, supporters will have 150 days to collect the 807,615 valid voter signatures needed to qualify for the November election.

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