Thread: California: Open up constitution

Most populous state could open up constitution

By BETH FOUHY, The Associated Press
11:22 a.m. April 23, 2009

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Fed up with the budget crises and partisan battles that have paralyzed California for years, some influential voices believe it's time to tear open the state constitution and start anew.

Once dismissed as a hokey gimmick, support for a proposed constitutional convention has been building in the nation's most populous state. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has indicated he would back an effort to retool the document to make state government function more smoothly.

Opponents of the step say it's just a ruse to raise taxes and could expose the constitution to a host of ideological and special interest-driven changes.

Indeed, constitutional conventions haven't been embraced in other states in recent years. In 2008, voters in Hawaii, Connecticut and Illinois soundly rejected similar proposals.

Those results demonstrate the skepticism many voters bring to such efforts, according to John Matsuzaka, director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.

"It's reasonable to expect that voters would be very scared of the idea of a constitutional convention. Once you open it up, you don't know where it's going to go," Matsusaka said.

But in California, a tradition of ballot initiatives and other expressions of direct democracy have made the state's constitution among the longest and most complicated in the world. The best known of these initiatives is Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment passed in 1978 that slashed property taxes and helped spark a taxpayer revolt across the country.

"The system is broken because the constitution is outdated and has been amended more than 500 times, and each new amendment pays no attention to last year's amendment," said John Grubb of the Bay Area Council, a San Francisco business organization spearheading the constitutional convention effort.

Backers of the constitutional convention want to put a proposal on the November 2010 ballot that would narrowly focus the convention on budget reform and a few other specific matters. Divisive social issues like gay marriage would be excluded.

At issue is the requirement that a two-thirds vote of the California Legislature is needed to pass the state's budget and tax increases.

California is one of just a handful of states requiring such a supermajority, and most years it leads to a weeks-long budget impasse. Convention backers want to drop the two-thirds majority rule to 55 percent.

The budget situation was particularly acute this year, as the state nearly went broke while lawmakers locked horns over how to close a projected $42 billion gap. Schwarzenegger signed a budget agreement in February but it will not go into effect unless voters approve several provisions of the agreement in a special election scheduled for May 19.

Polls show the ballot measures will likely fail, throwing the state back into fiscal chaos.

"Look anywhere in California and you'll find a crisis," Grubb continued. "Our education system used to be the best in the country, now we're 49th or 50th. Our transit network is the worst in the nation, our water system is on the verge of collapse, and our prison system is overflowing. The Legislature is responsible and they aren't able to do their jobs."

Interest in the proposed constitutional convention has been growing. A February meeting in Sacramento to discuss it drew several hundred attendees. Another meeting last week outside Los Angeles, organized by several local chambers of commerce, drew broad interest.

State Senator George Runner, a Republican, spoke out against the proposal at that meeting.

"If the purpose is to make it easier to raise taxes, there will never be an agreement," Runner said, adding he was concerned about who would be chosen as delegates to the convention.

"California is a very diverse state," he said. "I can't think of anything more emotional or controversial than choosing who the delegates would be to rewrite the state's constitution."

Organizers are proposing that 200 people serve as delegates, including 80 elected officials from across the state.

In addition to budget reform, backers want to change the constitution to allow nonpartisan or "open" primaries in hopes that more moderates will be elected to the Legislature. They're also proposing that the constitution allow local governments to collect and spend tax revenues, rather than have them centrally controlled by the state.

That's a key reason why Rich Gordon, a county supervisor in San Mateo County outside San Francisco, says he's in favor of the constitutional convention.

"What's really happened in California is we have disconnected revenue and responsibility," Gordon said, noting that counties are charged with services included child protection, welfare assistance, and job training.

"We haven't had a cost-of-living adjustment in a decade," Gordon said. "And because of the state budget crisis, we have job training centers where people have to wait in line. Patients who need to see us in our medical clinics may wait six-to-eight weeks

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... on-042309/

Thanks in part to the illegal aliens in this state. Our state WAS one of the best. People came here from all over to live and work. Now it is getting to be a third world cess pool. We are short on water, get rid of all of the illegals and we will have better roads, schools and hospitals. I realize that our poiticians don't care so we have to. We need to add an amendment to our state consitution to rid our state of illegals. Regardless of waht Arnold says, they are a threat to our state economy and natural resources.

While I am not against looking at the Constitution again, this is the absolute wrong time to throw us into that kind of turmoil. We do not need to show the world, most of whom seem to be loaning us money for survival, that we are a shaky nation, just like we criticize Pakistan and Mexico.
With apologies to all residents of California, this will only prove that we are on the verge of the French revolution. This country and the Constitution is what I embrace, and I really don't want us reduced to one of the nations that the rest of the world does not take seriously.

Originally Posted by vortex

While I am not against looking at the Constitution again, this is the absolute wrong time to throw us into that kind of turmoil. We do not need to show the world, most of whom seem to be loaning us money for survival, that we are a shaky nation, just like we criticize Pakistan and Mexico.
With apologies to all residents of California, this will only prove that we are on the verge of the French revolution. This country and the Constitution is what I embrace, and I really don't want us reduced to one of the nations that the rest of the world does not take seriously.

This article is about the California constitution NOT the U.S. constitution.

I realize that, but my point being is that at this time we need to show some unity, and tearing up a state's constitution is only the harbinger for tearing up the US Constitution. Then with Rick Perry of Texas and groups in Alaska threatening to secede from the union is already proving that the cracks are here for any country to crawl through as undoubtedly their patriots are already here awaiting orders. We are an open country, and our news and inside battles are broadcast all over the world.
And California, from reports I have heard, were they a country they would have the fifth largest economy in the world. The droughts and illegal aliens are already disrupting that, so why not throw in tearing up the consititution? This makes no sense when the entire country is already vulnerable.

California WAS the 5th largest economy in the world, but because of the growth of other economies
it is now the 8th largest economy in the world.

Economy of California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
According to the California Legislative Analyst's Office, if California were an independent state,
it would have had the eighth largest economy in the world ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California

Let's not nitpick. Fifth or eighth or tenth makes no real difference, when the unified front to the rest of the world as one nation under God is much more important in these days of cultural and economic strife.

Originally Posted by vortex

I realize that, but my point being is that at this time we need to show some unity, and tearing up a state's constitution is only the harbinger for tearing up the US Constitution. Then with Rick Perry of Texas and groups in Alaska threatening to secede from the union is already proving that the cracks are here for any country to crawl through as undoubtedly their patriots are already here awaiting orders. We are an open country, and our news and inside battles are broadcast all over the world.
And California, from reports I have heard, were they a country they would have the fifth largest economy in the world. The droughts and illegal aliens are already disrupting that, so why not throw in tearing up the consititution? This makes no sense when the entire country is already vulnerable.

Very true, we need to use caution anytime we hear anything about changing a constitution.
The rest of the states seem to follow Ca. and if they start messing with this the others will follow suit. We need to have a desired and definate change to be made before we simply want a change.
But then that's what Obaba said, America want's change and we're getting it!

I fail to see why anyone in any other state, much less another country, would care, or be concerned, if California, or any other state, decided to rework their state constitution.