The question of whether California should require out-of-state online retailers like Amazon.com to collect sales tax came down to the final hours of this year's legislative session.  That's when Democratic and Republican leaders and Amazon struck a deal that would allow such retailers to delay collecting sales tax until late next year.  In return, Amazon agreed to end its efforts to force a costly showdown at the ballot box.  According to the Field Poll, Californians would have narrowly sided with Amazon at the polls.  But by a 51-to-40 percent margin, they believe it's bad policy for online retailers to not collect sales tax when brick-and-mortar retailers must.

Meanwhile, Republicans are crying foul over a union-backed bill that would place all ballot measures on November general elections, rather than June primaries.  But the poll shows that bill actually has bipartisan support - including 52 percent of GOP voters.