https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_22,_App-Based...
Like, something better than "okay app-based drivers don't have to deal with that mess"? Perhaps a simpler, general rule for when contractor rules wouldn't apply? Though I guess the politics of it mean that you do have to be super narrow like this just to get it passed.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24134978
[2] ctrl-f for "35" https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/02/links-12-19/
But solid general purpose laws are the responsibility of the lawmakers. They're the reason there's a crazy exception list, and they deserve the blame for it. The proposition doesn't make it meaningfully worse.
And no surprise, it was written and pushed by Uber and other app-based gig work companies, and they're going to spend a lot of money to promote it. From your link:
> On August 30, 2019, three companies—DoorDash, Lyft, and Uber—each placed $30 million into campaign accounts to fund a ballot initiative campaign should the legislature pass AB 5 without compromising with the companies.... The companies Instacart (Maplebear, Inc.) and Postmates also joined the campaign, each contributing $10 million. Together, the five businesses had provided more than $110 million in support of the ballot initiative.
To put that amount in perspective, it's 40% of the amount the Biden campaign plans to spend nationally on ads in Septemter: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/us/politics/biden-ads.htm....
This is why the proposition system in CA is screwed. It's no longer being used in good faith. Almost every proposition is a law written by a lobbyist group who couldn't find a sponsor in the legislature so they take it directly to the people.
It truly highlights the folly of direct democracy.