Posted on 06/29/2006 4:52:59 PM PDT by SmithL
SACRAMENTO -- California legislators began a five-week summer recess Thursday without voting on a constitutional amendment that would take away their powers to draw their districts, reducing the measure's chances of making the November ballot.
"I think it's a long shot...," said Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, the amendment's author. "It's very late in the process."
Lowenthal said he couldn't line up enough votes to get the amendment out of the Senate on Thursday, but would bring it up when lawmakers return in August after trying to remove some of the opposition.
"The overarching issue that fundamentally trumps all issues is a lot of people are uncomfortable giving up power," Lowenthal said. "I said that only by giving up that power can we re-establish the trust that has been so seriously eroded between the people and the Legislature. We are held in very low esteem."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
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