CA: Prop 93 – Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office.

There is nothing more satisfying then holding another person’s future in the palm of your hands. This is what Proposition 93 is all about, to decide how long career politicians can spend their time in the Assembly or the Senate of California.

Proposition 93: Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act

  • Reduces the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years.
  • Allows a person to serve a total of 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or a combination of both.
  • Provides a transition period to allow current members to serve a total of 12 consecutive years in the house in which they are currently serving, regardless of any prior service in another house.

- Voters Information Guide

Proposition 93 is pretty direct in what they want. Currently, a person can only hold a State Assembly position for three two-year terms and a State Senate position for two four-year terms. This totals up to a 14 years, 6 as Assembly member and 8 as part of the Senate. Proposition 93 will do away with the limits and shorten the years a person can be in office from 14 years to 12 years. However, those 12 years can be spent in either the Assembly or the Senate by their discretion. So a person can spend the full 12 years in the Senate or in the Assembly if he/she wishes.

Coincidentally, if proposition 93 passes, those currently in the Senate or the Assembly will recieve the full benefit of the 12-year rule without subtracting the years they have spent in the either house. So, say a person has been with the Senate for the final 8th year. Once, this proposition passes, that person will be considered a “new elect” and be able to serve an additional 12 consecutive years in the same position. So, in essence, that is a free 12 years on the job without going through an election process. Yay. I wish I could do that at my job.

Personally, I prefer how the system is set up now. I believe it is essential for a person to have worked in each house at one time, so they can understand how each system works. Really, the houses do pretty much the same thing. Except the Assembly members represent a smaller population of California so they are able to create laws geared more towards the common people. While the Senate represents almost double the amount of people and create broader laws or laws that are more political in nature.

In fact, I rather have them not to be able to have concurrent terms in one house. They should flip-flop between the two houses after each term ends, so they won’t forget what the people in the state need.

Some may argue that a person staying in one house will gain the much needed experience to do a good job in the position. I call BS. My boss expects me to know the ins-and-outs of my position by the time he meets me for a mid-year review. If the politician doesn’t understand his job midway through the first year of his term, then that person should step down and let someone more competant do it.

Vote NO on Proposition 93.

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