You do not need to be a political scientist to know that our government in California is broken. Our state is perpetually plagued with mountains of debt and the government gridlock is worse than the traffic on our overcrowded highways.
There are many theories about what should be done to change the system and to end this gridlock. Part of that conversation must include the idea of returning to a part-time, citizen legislature in California.
Our experiment with a full-time legislature has failed.
No longer do we have citizen legislators who work in Sacramento and return home where they hold jobs and spend most of their time in their districts living under the rules they make. We have instead created a system dominated by career politicians who have lost touch with everyday life in California.
The time has come to shift the balance of power in California back to the people; to return to a part-time legislature.
By shortening the legislative session to 90 days, we will take power away from Sacramento and return to local control to ensure that legislators stay in touch with the challenges of everyday life in their communities.
To that end Citizens for California Reform has proposed a constitutional amendment (Proposition 13) to return California to a part-time legislature.
Not only will this initiative help end the gridlock in California, but according to the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance it also has the potential to save the state, “tens of millions of dollars.”
We must limit the time that legislators can spend in Sacramento. As we have seen, the alternative result is endless and unnecessary legislation to ensure state buildings are sufficiently “feng shui” and the creation of endless boards and commissions for political patronage.
It is not unprecedented in California to have a part-time legislature. Since statehood, California has experimented with how frequently and for what periods of time the Legislature should meet in session.
Sessions have been one year or two years, limited and unlimited in duration, with and without mandatory intervening recesses, and limited to certain legislative matters during specific types of legislative sessions.
Other large states have a part-time legislature as well such as Texas which limits the time of their legislative sessions. As a matter of fact, California is only one of seven states to have an unlimited full-time legislators.
Having our legislators in Sacramento full time has produced endless gridlock and massive budget deficits. It is time for a change, not just to our politicians, but to the very system that governs our state.
The more I look at our government and its performance in California the more I am reminded of the old adage – less is more.