A proposal to fix California’s Government - Part 2

Because this has gotten a lot longer then I originally thought it would, I'm breaking this up into more parts. Part 2 will be about the Senate under my new system, part 3 the Assebly and part 4 the Judiciary

Last time I made the following statement:

“We should move the ENTIRE Executive branch of the government into the Assembly, make the assembly elected by proportional representation and change the districts in the Senate so they represent one county each.”

Instead of going on and explaining how this new system would work and solve all our (California’s) problems, I gave a tutorial on the current governmental system in California.

While I DO NOT think any system of government can magically solve all the problems faced by the residence of this state, the current system is not working. (Note, the new fiscal year started today (July 1) and the Assembly adjourned for the July 4 holiday on 30 June WITHOUT passing a budget for the State.)

New Governmental System:

The Senate:
The Senate would consist of 58 members who would be elected from and represent one of the counties in the state. If a new county is formed or two merge together, then the number of senators would be adjusted accordingly.

The purpose of the Senate would be to represent the COUNTY’S interest in the government and not a political party. For example, the senator from Los Angeles would be expected to fight to make El Toro into an airport and not a park while the senator from Orange County would have to balance the differences between north county residences (who want an airport) and south county (who want a park instead).

The Senate would not be able to start any bills but rather would only vote on an up or down, no amendments allowed on all bills passed by the Assembly. If they veto a bill, it would go back to the Assembly where the veto could be over ridden with a 60% vote of the Assembly. If the Senate does not take action on a bill in 20 days, it automatically becomes law. If a Senator wants to have a law made, they have to ask someone in the Assembly to introduce the bill and it must pass the Assembly then pass the Senate before it becomes law.

The Senate by nature does not have much power or authority. Their job is to slow down legislation so it can be looked at and to represent their county’s interest in the capital. They would be the main lobbiest for their respective county. By having the Senate representing the counties, it would help insure that all areas of the state are represented and the rural areas won't be over looked as easily as they are now because the urban areas have more voters.