Part-Time Legislature Initiative Enters Circulation (Californians Revolt!)

Source News ^ | July 11, 2009 | Debra Bowen

[americanophile]

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced that the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for her measure. The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is comp lete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Attorney General's official title and summary for the measure is as follows: PART-TIME LEGISLATURE. IN ITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Reduces the total amount of time the Legislature is in session each year to no more than ninety-five days

[americanophile]

This is huge people! Californians are starting to wake up. An initiative for a California constitutional amendment has qualified to begin gathering signatures. It will punish those statists in Sacramento by making the legislature part-time - limiting it to 95 days! As it is, they meet year-round to meddle in our affairs and raise taxes. We need to gather 750,000 valid California signatures (registered voters). You can download the petition and get more info here: http://www.reformcal.com/cms/

[americanophile]

We need to push this through with everything we’ve got!!

[Dilbert San Diego]

Sounds like a good idea. It’s hard to say with a straight face that Calif. gets better government with a year round legislature.

[Oratam]

Every elected representative in every state should be a part-timer. Send Congress packin’ every summer, too. They create a lot of mischief thinking of ways to fill their days.

[Steelfish]

Ready to sign!

[CounterCounterCulture]

Bookmarking. This is too delicious.

[SierraWasp]

On tonight's KOVR-TV Channel 13 news they showed Darrel Steinberg's (Senate Pro Tempore) office door and reported that the typical state senator retained 22 staffers at and average salary of over $100,000/yr.

Although this is gross, it's only a small indicator of the waste going on withing state agencies that these jerks are supposed to be overseeing on our behalf!!!

[CounterCounterCulture]

Reduces the total amount of time the Legislature is in session each year to no more than ninety-five days. Directs the Legislature to convene in early January for up to thirty days and again in early May for up to sixty days. Allows the Legislature to reconvene for up to five additional days to reconsider bills vetoed by Governor. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Potential annual state savings of tens of millions of dollars. Actual savings would depend on future actions of the California Citizens Compensation Commission, the Legislature, and the Governor. (09-0013.)

(Full Text)

[SierraWasp]

Oh! And those are political appointees, appointed because they know somebody, or worked on the Senators campaign, or are somebody’s spouse, etc., etc...

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I like it! It’ll force them to work normal jobs the rest of the year (or at least it should). Then maybe they’ll think about what the rest of us deal with before they pass another tax or more onerous regulations on business.

[Truthsearcher]

We should make all legislatures part time. Including the Federal one.

And also make them all stay in their own district. With modern means of communication there is no need for them to all physically gather in one place. The more they are isolated from each other and remain in their own district/state, the more they are forced to listen to their constituents and the less they are able to conspire against our liberties.

[Squawk 8888]

Every elected representative in every state should be a part-timer. Send Congress packin’ every summer, too.

That was the Founders' rationale for locating DC where it is- the Potomac was malarial in the summer which guaranteed that the lawmakers were gone by April.

[JSDude1]

For years I have supported the idea of a Constitutional Amendment to the USA Constitution in which it would “limit congress to no more than 3 months in any fiscal year, baring national emergencies, in which the President alone could call congress back into session for a one month period”..my words!

[kmiller1k]

I know part-time sounds like a good idea but the reality is that most people cannot ask their current employer for a 95 day furlough—I know I can't. So those left to work part-time in the legislature are either unemployed now or indepentaly wealthy. Unintended consequences of a good idea.

Maybe paying them full-time but on allowed 95 days in Sacramento and the rest in their districts helping constituents with their problems and concerns.