California and debt

In light of the shift by Australian state governments towards debt-fianced infrastructure this report from the the Los Angeles Times on the fate of California ballot initatives is interesting:
The voters' verdict on ballot measures was clear — no to taxes, yes to debt. Upholding a tradition they set in the Proposition 13 tax revolt of 1978, Californians nixed four proposals to raise taxes — even as they passed immense borrow-now-pay-later bonds for highways and other construction projects. Californians see state government as "a bottomless hole" of wasted money, Republican strategist Wayne Johnson said. But when weighing bond proposals, they say, "At least we're going to get some bricks and mortar, at least we're going to get some asphalt. At least we know what it's going for."