California. What a mess. How did we get here? Like this:
Do nothing feel-goodism. A full time legislator must feel the need to show that they are worth their full time Salary of $95,291 a year. It’s more important to feel good than to actually do what the constitution requires them to do. Pass a budget.
Is there a reason we need to enact HUNDREDS of pieces of legislation EVERY year? Don’t you think over the course of 150 years, previous legislators might have addressed most of these issues already? It is specious, at best, to assume that we have that many issues to address in a year.
A simple search of the California Legislature website using the “Bill Finder Tool” for the 2009 – 2010 session with just the search term “California” yields 5286 bills as a result. YOU are paying for this folly.
Why not this:
A part time legislature, with the appropriate reduction in salary.
Reduce Legislator per diem to cover meals only. Address the reduction in per diem by providing:
Dormitory housing near the capitol while they are in session.
A private bus line between the Dorms and the Capitol Building.
Two Year Budgeting
Banning all termed out Legislators from being appointed to any paid position on a State Board or Commission for two years after leaving office.
Eliminate all paid State Board or Commission members, save for one paid Board Chairperson – all other Board or Commission members are unpaid volunteers, with a full per diem.
Until a budget is passed, no other bill may be proposed, debated, or allowed into committee, unless a finding of emergency is agreed upon by two thirds of both the Assembly and the Senate.
We have real problems, requiring the urgent attention of our legislature. We don’t only have a budget deficit, but a legislature with Attention Deficit. The Annual Budget is a constitutional requirement of the office.
If you were the employer of these people, and found them behaving like this instead of doing their jobs, wouldn’t you fire them?
News Flash: You ARE their employer.
Governor Schwarzenegger campaigned during the recall election on “blowing up boxes”. Six years later, it’s probably time to get to work on it.
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