Initiative seeks part-time Legislature

Does it occur to anyone that reducing Legislative pay would make them MORE beholden to special interests, MORE likely to seek campaign "contributions," MORE likely to accept "legal" bribes in the form of honoraria and inflated speaking fees? I'm no fan of the State Legislature, but punishing them by cuttting their pay is no way to repair the work they do.

Term limits were invented to get rid of Willie Brown as Speaker of the Assembly. Aside from that, they've done nothing good for the state. Legislators are NOT accountable because (a) gerrymandered districts insure the election of the party, not the individual and (b) term limits mean that after two terms, they are out of there regardless how good a job they do, so they are beholden to the Party Line to ensure the possibility of seeking a new office after they term limit out. Plus the Ballot initiative process; if a screwed up idea is decently financed, no matter how lame brained the concept or what the long term effects will be, it can almost be assured passage by a well financed and deceptive ad campaign.

I find Sam from Frederick, MD's comment cogent. I second it. As for Willie Brown, he ended his political career as mayor of San Francisco. "Good Grief". Now he is a part-time commentator on the weekends in SF. "Good Grief".

I learned in Political Science 1A that government doesn't control the country. The economy does. "Big money" pays for lobbyist to push things through. At one time, the 13 original "Big Money" families ran the country. We all saw what Oil money did during the Bush administration. Gas went up to 4 bucks a gallon.

Now as far as California is concerned, we ignor the obvious problem due to political correctness and try to focus on alternative measures to help our economy. The real issues are overpopulation and illegal immigration, which in turn trickles down to a degradation of our infrastructure. We all saw what happened in Watts when a particular group decided to show what they could do to get their way. We are being held hostage by special interests and racial and ethnic groups that can pull a "Watts" on us if we were to stop illegal immigration and control our poulation. I would want to know who is in favor of overpopulation. Hasn't anybody ever learned from history what happens. How do you keep all these excessive masses controlled? Once they get tired of the many gadgets that are produced to entertain them, then what?

I say do something that will have a significant effect rather than try and cut the pay and time that elected officials are receiving. I won't sign a petition - that's for sure. It will not do any good. It's like trying to bail out the sinking boat with a thimble.

I think this may be a good thing. Most of the laws these clowns pass are redundant. Most of the laws passed are for specific group appeasement. And so they can claim they are doing something for YOU. The focus must be on the budget, new laws that are really needed, and no lobbyist allowed.

The more they "work" the more of our hard earmed dollars are squandered, part time yes, barracks to free up their housing conserns. That way, all are equal but some are more equal than others will never ever apply. Staff shal be rotated so that people like Chesbro will never have staff infection, of European socialists.

Something sure needs to be done to get the people in office to change their ways. California has wasted more money than most countries.

where's the petition? I'll sign !

Just think!

If they serve only 50% of the time the state will only be screwed up half as bad!8996

I find it very telling that Shoemaker refers to lobbyists as the third house of California legislature. Having the highest paid legislature has done nothing for government to employ competent help.

We should limit ALL U.S. politicians to two terms:
One in office and one in prison.
The government is like a baby's alimentary canal.
A happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other...!

In-Situ Fenton-Like Oxidation of Volatile Organics: Laboratory, Pilot, and Full-Scale Demonstrations

Richard S. Greenberg, Thomas Andrews, Prasad K. C. Kakarla§, Richard J. Watts¶
Richard S. Greenberg, Ph.D., is a consultant for In-Situ Oxidative Technologies, Inc. He is a chemist with 14 years of experience in the environmental and chemical industries, holds multiple patents, and serves on numerous government/ business advisory committees that help shape environmental policy.
Thomas Andrews, P.E., is the Vice President of In-Situ Oxidative Technologies, Inc. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of New Jersey and New York and is experienced in the design and implementation of soil and groundwater remediation systems, stormwater management, hydraulics, wastewater treatment, and public water supply.
§Prasad K.C. Kakarla, M.S., is a research chemist at In-Situ Oxidative Technologies, Inc. He is an environmental engineer with research interests in the in-situ application of chemical oxidation for soil and groundwater remediation.
¶Richard J. Watts, P.E., Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University. His research interests include physicochemical treatment processes, particularly chemical oxidation applied to the treatment of soils and groundwater, concentrated hazardous wastes, and industrial wastes.

Abstract
Laboratory, pilot, and full-scale experiments were used to evaluate and optimize the ISOTECSM remedial process at a warehousing facility in Union, New Jersey. Based on modified Fenton's oxidative chemistry, the ISOTECSM process uses a proprietary catalytic agent that delays formation of reactive hydroxyl radicals. This allows adequate dispersion of the hydroxyl radicals, which is an oxidizing agent, throughout a contaminant plume. Ground-water at the site was contaminated with high levels of gasoline and waste oil constituents, principally BTEX and MTBE. Bench scale microcosm studies were used to evaluate the appropriate site-specific stoichiometric relationships between catalyst, stabilizers, and oxidizers; the effect of contaminant type and concentration; and the pH optima. Based on results of the laboratory studies, a pilot-scale study was performed at the site. One injection point for catalyst, stabilizers, and oxidant was installed in the contaminated zone at the site, with one hydraulically connected downgradient well used for monitoring. A single treatment of the reagents in the optimal stoichiometry determined from the laboratory study was injected in-situ over a period of three days. A 98.5 percent reduction in volatile organics was observed in the area treated, with the radial extent of treatment estimated to be approximately 20 feet, based on the presence of hydroxyl radicals detected in hydraulically connected areas and at the surface. The full-scale process employed six injection points and three treatment cycles over a three-month period. Subsequent to treatment, contaminant levels were either nondetectable or were reduced to below applicable New Jersey groundwater standards, with regulatory closure on the site achieved in less than one year.

Only 13 percent approve of the state legislature, but we overwhelmingly reelect the same clowns again and again. So the problem isn't hacks like Chesbro, it's the rest of the hacks who do whatever the party leadership tells them to do. The party leadership does whatever state employee unions,teachers unions and other special interests groups tell them to do. This is totally dysfunctional but is so ingrained there is not much anyone can do until there is a total collapse. It's coming and we all should be worried.

Solution is eliminate 2/3 majority for anything at all. Make lobbying illegal. Eliminate term limits. And eliminating the way districts are now drawn up to make them nonpolitical. Budget will pass real fast and on time.

I agree with the first poster that it simply won't have the desired effect, but there's something I think that is written in this article that I disagree with: the concept that a "punitive" action does nothing to solve a problem.

Isn't that exactly why "punitive" exists? You f*ck up, you get punished, so… don't f*ck up, don't get punished?

What I'm saying is, even though I think it's a bad idea, I see where it's coming from: the authors feel that the legislature hasn't done anything worthwhile, and therefore we should punish them by removing 50% of their pay & the future of their chosen career path.

Like, what are the quoted people saying? that we should give them a pay RAISE?

Hell the more I type this the closer I am to liking the idea. We live in a telecom sort of world. Let them get form a chat group and have their discussions that way, from the comfort of their districts ;-)

humbug wrote:

Solution is eliminate 2/3 majority for anything at all. Make lobbying illegal. Eliminate term limits. And eliminating the way districts are now drawn up to make them nonpolitical. Budget will pass real fast and on time.

While I agree with you whole-heardtedly that lobbying being illegal would make a 100% improvement (as far as I'mc concerned it's the root issue: politics fought over money instead of over the constituents), the hard part is, how do you check & verify this? That's the problem with trying to legislate lobbyists into oblivion; how do you do it? what would a law look like that usurped the power of money & made extinct all lobbyists?

I'm not sure it exists, unfortunately. It's too grey an area, and legal bindings too black & white a game.

Yet another initiative will be shure to fix California?, no more open borders...

Vallejo seeks to expand utility tax to cell phones
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 2, 2009

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...

Gotta love the Spendocrats! Time to sign up for the revolution!

Couple this idea with a breakup of KA into 3 states and you can have a governable and responsive state government.

This is one of those initiatives that sound good on the surface, until you think about it.

A part-time legislature for the biggest state in the union would only mess things up more. The special interests & the governor would rule California totally.

The only prayer we have in fixing Sacramento is to have the courts redraw the legislative boundries & to stop the gerrymandering.

That, and smarter voters, is our only hope.

Really dumb idea! Since the morons of this once great state implemented term limits, our politicians don’t have time to come up to speed on most issues so they have to rely on lobbyists and special interests for direction.

A part time legislature would ensure that lobbyists (money) run this state lock stock & barrel.

I know, why don’t we get rid of government and put together a body made up of corporate executives to tell us all what is good for us.

Oh yeah, they just did that and we’re now in a recession because of it. Can you say “derivatives”?