State lawmakers in California got a lesson in grassroots democracy this week, and also a reminder of the dangers of abuse of power.They are lessons that Albany Democrats might well learn as they begin to come to the grips with the reality of a gaping, new in the bloated budget that they enacted just one month ago.

Golden State voters rejected every one of the $16 billion that Democrat state lawmakers wanted to close a budget gap caused by years of reckless overspending and the tanking economy. (They approved a referendum that denied pay raises to legislators and staff in times of fiscal distress. More on that below.)

Why ask them? Because the Legislature lacked the two-thirds, or supermajority that’s required under California law to enact broadbased tax increases. That was a Proposition 13-era reform aimed at reining in spendthrift pols.

And it worked. Albany has no supermajority requirement for new taxes. It also doesn’t allow referenda of the type that let California voters be heard on just how deep they were willing to let Sacramento dip into their pockets to fix the problems that they created.

Both are ideas the Republicans–who, once upon a time, controlled the State Senate–favor, but which have been consistently blocked by Democrats.

As Albany Democrats undoubtedly look for new and creative ways to solve their newest budget crisis (did anyone say “soda tax?”), it’s probably time to revisit both ideas.

Call them “Tom’s Law” for the most recent ex-New Yorker who packed up and moved away to escape the Vampire State.

On that issue of pay raises, this is a good time to remind all about the double-digit pay raises that Democrats lavished on their staff in January, in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis since the Depression.