Constitutional Reform in California: Making State Government More Effective and Responsive

Constitutional Reform in California: Making State Government More Effective and Responsive
Bruce E. Cain and Roger G. Noll, Editors 514pp, $19.95 

    Californians have passed many ballot initiatives to limit local taxes, restrict spending, limit the terms of state legislators, and reduce legislative staff. But reform by initiative has created other problems.

    In 1993, a group of scholars in California universities began to investigate how the structure of the state constitution affects the performance of state and local government. Chosen for expertise rather than partisanship or ideology, they sought to determine whether research in economics, law, and political science could produce constitutional reform proposals that might win widespread public support.

    In 1994, the governor and the state legislature created the Constitution Revision Commission. The scholars engaged in much productive conversation with commission members and interested public figures. The highlight of their interaction was a three-day conference in June 1995, when the research team, members of the commission, and nearly 100 scholars, members of citizens groups, and journalists met to discuss a broad spectrum of issues pertaining to the California Constitution.

    Constitutional Reform examines why the existing system appears to be unresponsive, and how matters could be improved through constitutional reform. Its publication coincides with the release of the commission’s report and will, we hope, inform the discussion of its recommendations.

    The authors identify ways to make government more responsive without sacrificing efficiency, equity, and flexibility. They propose a unicameral legislature, with 120 members from geographic districts and 120 more elected by proportional representation, 30 each from four large, geographic regions. They would abolish all statewide elective offices except a governor-lt. governor slate, a controller to oversee state and local financial management, and an attorney general as a watchdog for law enforcement. They would have the state set and pay for minimum service standards for core local services.

     An intriguing combination of proposals from across the political spectrum, Constitutional Reform establishes a point of departure for debate about California governance.