In its optional form a specified number of signatures from voters must be collected within a certain time period to trigger a vote on a budget item.
A mandatory financial referendum automatically leads to a vote as soon as the conditions regarding the amount and duration of a budget item are met.
2. new recurring expenses of more than 600,000 francsThe introduction of the financial referendum at federal level has been discussed in Switzerland for several decades, but has so far been rejected by a majority of Swiss political parties.
Colorado and some local governments have enacted a Taxpayer Bill of Rights which mandates any tax and spending increases exceeding a certain limit be approved by referendum.
Due to the largely positive experience with the financial referendum in Switzerland, some civil society organizations in Germany[7] and Austria are calling for it to be introduced there as well.
In many cases this would require a change in their respective constitutions because these often explicitly prohibit votes on parts of the budget, or simply no regulations exist for holding a financial referendum.