WHEREAS, California’s budget process has become crippled by a complex entanglement of constraints that interfere with an orderly and comprehensive consideration of all fiscal matters; and
WHEREAS, A complete review of the process by an independent citizens’ commission would provide the Legislature a basis for considering changes that would result in a more thoughtful and deliberative process; and
WHEREAS, The legislative process has at times become mired in gridlock and rivalries between the two houses of the Legislature and the executive branch have deterred the state’s ability to make significant policy changes in response to the changing times; and
WHEREAS, Changes to existing government organizational structures may provide a more responsive and productive form of governance for California than the current system; and
WHEREAS, California’s existing “system” of government is dysfunctional and does not work together sufficiently to achieve the public’s goals; and
WHEREAS, The various components have no common conception of mission and often work at cross-purposes; and
WHEREAS, California’s Constitution has become a patchwork of detailed, statutory, and regulatory material, instead of a statement of the basic and fundamental law of the state, as it should be; and
WHEREAS, The methods by which the Constitution can be amended or revised has led to the Constitution being amended over 500 times since its adoption in 1849; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That there is hereby created in state government the California Constitution Revision Commission, which shall hereafter be deemed the “commission” and which shall consist of 25 members, appointed as follows:
(a) Ten members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, in accordance with the following:
(1) No more than six members shall be registered with the same political party.
(2) Two members shall be appointed in consultation with the Assembly Minority Caucus.
(3) One member shall be appointed in consultation with an association representing county elected
officials.
(4) One member shall be appointed in consultation with an association representing city elected officials.
(b) Ten members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, in accordance with the following:
(1) No more than six members shall be registered with the same political party.
(2) Two members shall be appointed in consultation with the Senate Minority Caucus.
(3) One member shall be appointed in consultation with an association representing county elected officials.
(4) One member shall be appointed in consultation with an association representing city elected officials.
(c) A designee of the Chief Justice of California.
(d) A designee of the Controller.
(e) A designee of the Treasurer.
(f) A designee of the Attorney General.
(g) A designee of the Secretary of State.
(h) A designee of the President of the University of California.
(i) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly may each appoint no more than two Members of the Legislature to the commission; and be it further
Resolved, That all appointments to the commission meet all of the following conditions:
(a) No lobbyist, as defined in Section 82039 of the Government Code, may serve as a member of the commission.
(b) The membership of the commission shall broadly reflect the ethnic, racial, cultural, geographic, and gender diversity of the state.
(c) The membership of the commission shall also be broadly representative of the various political, economic, and social groupings within the state, with particular care given to include groups that have traditionally been underrepresented or that have been the subject of public controversy; and be it further
Resolved, That the initial appointments to the commission shall be made not later than October 1, 2009; and be it further
Resolved, That each member of the commission shall serve without compensation, but each member other than an elected officer shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) for each day while on official business of the commission. In addition, each member shall also be entitled to receive necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of his or her duties; and be it further
Resolved, That the commission shall select one of its members as the chair of the commission; and be it further
Resolved, That the commission shall appoint four staff attorneys, an administrative assistant, and a communications aide and fix his or her compensation in accordance with law; that the commission may employ and fix the compensation, in accordance with law, of any professional, clerical, and other assistants that may be necessary; and that the Legislative Counsel, Legislative Analyst, State Auditor, and the Department of Finance should assist the commission in the performance of its duties; and be it further
Resolved, That the commission shall assist the Legislature by doing all of the following:
(a) Examining the process by which a budget is formulated and enacted by state government, the manner in which the budget serves the future needs of the state, the appropriate balance of resources and spending by the state, and the fiscal relations of the state, federal, and local governments, and any constraints and impediments that interfere with an orderly and comprehensive consideration of all fiscal matters that impact upon the development of a budget for the state.
(b) Examining the structure of state governance and proposed modifications that may increase accountability and improve the process of formulation, consideration, and approval of policy
determinations and a budget for the state.
(c) Examining the feasibility of integrating community resources into service delivery mechanisms in order to reduce duplication and increase efficiency, and the feasibility of community coalitions making recommendations to local entities regarding a community’s vision and goals.
(d) Examine the existing methods of constitutional revision and amendment, and propose modifications that may help to transition the Constitution into a more limited document, containing only the basic and fundamental law of the state, rather than being comprised mainly of detailed, statutory, and regulatory material that is more appropriately adopted as statute; and be it further
Resolved, That the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature on or before April 30, 2010, that sets forth its findings with respect to this measure and shall also submit interim reports before that date whenever it makes a finding and recommendation on a specific topic; and be it further
Resolved, That, in carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the commission shall have all of the following powers:
(a) To meet at times and places as it may deem proper, and for purposes of these meetings, the commission shall be considered as a state body subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(b) To issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, papers, accounts, reports, and documents.
(c) To administer oaths.
(d) To contract, as it deems necessary, for
the rendition of services, facilities, studies, and reports to the commission as will best assist it to carry out its duties and responsibilities.
(e) To cooperate with and to secure the cooperation of county, city, city and county, and other local law enforcement agencies in investigating any matter within the scope of its duties and responsibilities, and to direct the sheriff of any county or any marshal to serve subpoenas, orders, and other process.
(f) To secure directly from every department, agency, or instrumentality full cooperation, access to its records, and access to any information, suggestions, estimates, data, and statistics that it may have available.
(g) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to enable it to fully and adequately perform its duties and to exercise the powers expressly
granted to it; and be it further
Resolved, That it is the intention of the Legislature that the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) be made available from the Assembly Operating Fund, and the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) be made available from the Senate Operating Fund to the California Constitution Revision Commission established by this measure to carry out its duties and responsibilities as specified in this measure; and be it further
Resolved, The formation of the California Constitution Revision Commission shall begin immediately upon passage of this measure by the Assembly and the Senate; and be it further
Resolved, That the commission shall cease to operate on July 1, 2012; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.