Briefly describe the three stages through which an initiative must pass in order to become law in California.

What will be an ideal response?

Stage 1, Preparation Stage, in which drafting, public review, and titling occur. A proposed law is written and given to the Attorney General's Office with a $2,000 filing fee. Measure is posted online for 30 days for public review, and (at end of 30-day period) authors have 5 days to change wording in response to public comments. Attorney General's office assigns a title and summary. Stage 2, Qualification: Circulating Petitions, Gathering Signatures, and Verifying Signatures. Authors circulate petitions to gather enough signatures to qualify their measure within a given time frame. After the deadline, the Secretary of State verifies whether enough signatures are valid, and assigns it a number if it qualifies for the ballot ("Proposition #"). Stage 3, Campaign: supporters and opponents campaign to convince voters to reject or accept the measure. A simple majority vote is needed to pass initiatives; supermajority votes are needed to pass bond measures (two thirds).