Constitutional convention idea gaining traction

GLENDALE — The idea of tearing up chunks of California’s constitution and starting anew is gaining traction among area lawmakers and residents who say the state’s government has become overly complex and incapable of effectively solving problems.

Local lawmakers have increasingly called for major government reforms as recent struggles to solve the state’s financial crises have hit walls, but only during the state’s latest budget stalemate have they become more receptive to proposals for a rewriting of major portions of the document that sets California’s legal foundation.

Although leading legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reached an agreement Monday on a solution for solving the state’s $26.3-billion budget deficit, the plan includes a series of questionable maneuvers and dramatic cuts that Californians should not have to stand for, Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams said.

The solution was drafted after a protracted standoff that illustrated the real obstacles preventing leaders from creating sensible plans, Adams said.

“From my perspective, the state has so many incredibly unique challenges that it may be time to take a good, hard look at a top-to-bottom approach to redoing government,” Adams said.

Problems ranging from the state’s processes for drafting a budget to its methods of collecting and distributing tax revenues for local governments are among the key concerns raised by residents locally and across the state.

Other issues being raised for consideration are the state’s primary election system, its ballot initiative process and its two-thirds majority vote requirement for approving a budget, said John Grubb, a spokesman for San Francisco-based Repair California, which is pushing for a limited constitutional convention.

Lawmakers statewide and throughout the region agree that major reforms are necessary, but have been hesitant about the correct approach to solving the state’s problems.

While some have suggested a recent voter-approved plan to redraw legislative districts will solve problems by creating more competition for open seats and attracting more moderate candidates, that step alone won’t solve California’s dysfunctional government, Grubb said.

“We feel that if you throw out these bums, the next set of bums are going to have the same problems and that is indicative of the real problems that the state has,” he said.