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California constitutional convention
California Constitution |
Preamble |
Articles |
Californians have held constitutional conventions twice in the past. The first 1849 and the second, in 1878-1879, gave birth to the constitution that still governs California.[1][2]
The hope of those who support a constitutional convention is that it could "take on the manifold structural problems in California's budget process at a single stroke."[3]
The Bay Area Council has been a leading voice in favor of a constitutional convention. Beginning in 2009, the group has sponsored several summits and meetings to develop support for a convention. Opinion expressed at the summit included "Drastic times call for drastic measures" and "We believe it is our duty to declare that our California government is not only broken, it has become destructive to our future."[4]
2010 ballot propositions abandoned
Letters requesting ballot titles for two potential 2010 ballot propositions were filed with the California Attorney General in June 2009. Revised language was submitted in October 2009.[5]
- California Electors Right to Call for Constitutional Convention Act (2010)
- California Call for a Limited Constitutional Convention (2010)
However, in February 2010, it was announced that petition drives to qualify the measures for the November 2, 2010 ballot were being abandoned due to insufficient financial support.[6]
Reasons for a convention
Those who support a convention argue that "California is broken" and that piecemeal changes through legislation or ballot initiatives would be unable to solve a system they contend has become "ungovernable."[7]
Problems they point to include:
- It has the worst bond rating of the 50 states.
- In 2009, income-tax receipts are coming in far below expectations.
- If the May 19 ballot propositions had passed, the state would still have faced a $15.4 billion budget deficit. The amount of deficit expected if they failed, as they did, was $15.4 billion.
Issues in California that supporters of a convention believe require a more systematic or "holistic" approach (such as by a far-reaching revision of the state's constitution) include:
- Any budget must pass both houses of the California State Legislature with a two-thirds majority.
- A minority of Californians vote. Those who do are "older, whiter and richer than the state's younger, browner and poorer population."
- Voters in California tend to self-sort into regions that lean heavily one way or the other on the political spectrum, leading to the election of state senators and the state representatives who are not very moderate.
- California's system of ballot propositions is part of the problem, with California as "the only state that does not allow its legislature to override successful initiatives" through what is known as legislative tampering and with no sunset clauses on propositions.[7]
Prop 13 off the table?
In June 2009, the Bay Area Council began efforts to find an independent committee to carry forward their original vision of a state constitutional convention after discussions in early June with tax activist groups who said they would oppose the idea of a convention unless those advocating for it pledged to not attempt to overturn 1978's Proposition 13.[8]
A 2,000-word draft document circulated by the group contained language that would have barred a constitutional convention from changing the property tax portions of Proposition 13. The draft document said:[9]
- "Delegates to the convention shall be prohibited from considering and proposing revisions to the Constitution that would affect a. Property taxes associated with Proposition 13. b. Any other direct increases in taxes."
A Field Poll survey of 1,005 California voters was conducted between September 18-October 5, 2009. This poll indicated that about 69% of voters would oppose amending Proposition 13 to allow the California State Legislature to increase taxes with a simple majority vote. Only 27% of those polled would like to see that change. 52% of those polled also oppose the idea of amending Prop 13 in order to tax commercial property at a higher rate than residential property.[10][11]
Supporters of a convention
Individuals and groups in California who have been active in supporting a convention include:
- The Bay Area Council[12]
- Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Association.[8]
- Mark Paul, senior scholar with the New America Foundation. Paul says the constitution is "junked up," a condition he attributes to the ballot initiative process. If allowed to amend the constitution, Paul says he remove specific fiscal language from the document that ties the hands of the California State Legislature and would also make changes to the state's initiative process.[8]
- Dan Walters, a senior member of the California political press corps, who says, "It's time to take a chance [on a constitutional convention] for the same reasons that the nation's founders took a chance 233 years ago: The status quo is unworkable and intolerable."[12]
- U.S. Representative Sam Farr, D-Carmel. Farr is a former member of the California State Assembly and he believes that the state's fiscal problems should be blamed on the initiatives enacted in the state in the wake of Proposition 13. He said, "With that passage came a whole new initiative industry, and people in that industry realized that for a few more bucks and few more signatures you could buy a constitutional amendment with an initiative....What those constitutional amendments have done is tie the hands of the Legislature." Farr thinks that California's term limits are part of the problem.[13]
- The William C. Velasquez Institute.[14]
- The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times. They say, "It's time to end the circus and start fresh, with a new constitution by and for the people who use it and live with it."[2]
- Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom who says he would like such a convention to "repeal the two-thirds vote requirement to pass a budget so California won't have to issue IOUs."[15]
Opponents of a convention
Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California-Irvine law school, says that it is a "false hope" to believe that a convention can change what ails California.[16]
He chaired an elected commission in 1997 that came together to propose a new city charter for Los Angeles. This experience is what has led him to be skeptical of what a constitutional convention can accomplish.
Specific concerns raised by Chemerinsky are:
- If a convention produced a package of reforms intended to solve the state's financial problems in an enduring way, it is uncertain that the state's voters would go on to approve those proposed changes to the constitution.
- "There are countless controversial issues that could doom it," Chemerinsky writes, mentioning gay marriage, abortion, affirmative action and immigration issues. He says that a new proposed constitution will either include or not include language about these issues but either way, some people on the side of the issue that does not get treated the way they would prefer will then vote against the package of reforms for that one reason.
- Even if the convention was limited to fiscal reform issues, it is not clear that voters would approve a revision of the constitution that deletes Proposition 13, whereas many advocates of a convention think that removing Prop 13 is a major reason to engage in a wholesale overhaul of the state's governing document.[16]
- Patrick Collins, the director of the Claremont Institute's Golden State Center for State and Local Government, says, "The very diversity we need to give the proceedings legitimacy all but guarantees dissent. The question of how best to reform government will not be decided on the true merits of the case at such a gathering but will be a repetition, and telescoping, of our current partisan bickering."[17]
- Henry S. Noyes, a professor of law at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, says that unintended consequences could well flow from any attempt to convene a convention. For example, he suggests that a convention could exceed the scope of its authority, if it is supposed to only follow a limited agenda: "A constitutional convention occurs, but the delegates go far beyond the convention's 'limitations' and propose far-reaching changes to the constitution. These revisions are placed on the ballot and approved. Because this is a 'political question' (that the California Constitution explicitly leaves the people to decide) and because the people have ratified these revisions by a vote, however, the courts refuse to strike down the proposals even though they exceed the scope of Repair California's 'limited constitutional convention.'"[18]
A Field Poll released in mid-October 2009 indicated that:
- 49% of voters favor changing the state constitution through a deliberative process with proposals submitted to voters as a package, while 40% would prefer separate initiatives placed on the ballot one at a time.[19]
- 63% said that delegates to a constitutional convention should include a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds.[19]
Constitutional Revision Commission, 1996
A Constitutional Revision Commission met in the mid-1990s and made a series of recommendations about a wholesale revision of the state's constitution, but this process resulted in no changes.[3]
External links
- Repair California (dead link), a group advocating for a constitutional convention
- California Constitutional Convention Summit (dead link)
- Recommendations of the 1996 California Constitutional Revision Commission
- The California Constitution Wiki, a wiki project to re-design the state's constitution
- ↑ IndyBay, "Does California Need a Constitutional Convention?," August 1, 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Los Angeles Times, "Ready for the devil we don't know," August 16, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Los Angeles Times, "Fixing California: A constitutional convention -- solution or threat?," June 5, 2009
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "California government has failed us," August 21, 2009
- ↑ Government Reform Coalition Submits Measures to Call California Constitutional Convention, October 28, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Constitutional convention? Not likely," February 21, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Economist," "The ungovernable state," May 14, 2009
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Capitol Weekly, "Council to offload constitutional convention effort," June 25, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Constitutional overhaul would omit Proposition 13 property tax changes," June 22, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ Field Poll Online, "Polling on the Next 10 Questions," October 14, 2009
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Field Poll: Support for Constitution Changes," October 14, 2009
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Modesto Bee, "Dan Walters: California faces moment of decision," July 5, 2009
- ↑ The Californian, "Farr backs revising California constitution," July 7, 2009
- ↑ "Southern California Groups Organize Town Hall to Explore State Constitutional Convention," a June 16, 2009 press release from the William C. Velasquez Institute
- ↑ Mercury News, "Dan Walters: Picture is cloudy on desires for state government reform," October 17, 2009
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mercury News, "Opinion: Why constitutional convention is wrong for California," May 30, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "The arguing is the argument against a constitutional convention," November 9, 2009
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Constitutional revision could have unintended results," December 13, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 San Francisco Business Times, "Voters support changing California's constitution," October 14, 2009
Additional reading
- Cries for reform of California government come from all sides
- A California constitutional convention for all
- Long road to a constitutional convention
- Be wary of constitution re-write
- Alameda officials back constitutional convention
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April 27, 2015
Stay Connected Anywhere
(AP) Police say two Springfield residents who cleared a downtown clothing store of its entire inventory were easy to nab _ they were arrested wearing some of the stolen clothing with price tags still attached.
Police said the duo were charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, and larceny of more than $250 in connection with the Wednesday morning theft.
Sergeant John Delaney said police were alerted by a local resident who saw the suspects repeatedly walk in and out of Mr. S. Lee's Clothing store's rear entrance carrying boxes and bags.
The suspects were arrested after a short foot chase.
Delaney said the stolen merchandise is worth "tens of thousands" of dollars.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Okay so I posted this:http://www.comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/daredevil-movie-worth-seeing-1459354/#0But it didn't work so I did it again, but now whenever I click on either one it says "404 not found" why??
@jj62: Same thing happened to me when I tried to click on it. Someone was able to post, though, because it got bumped to the top.Hope you get it worked out.Oh, and for the record:I haven't watched it but from what I've heard it wasn't all that good, but I really encourage you rent it and see it for yourself. Never know till you try.


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Nearly 5.4 million seniors and people with disabilities have saved more than $4.1 billion on prescription drugs as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today. Seniors in the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the "donut hole" have saved an average of $768. During the first seven months of 2012, the new health care law has helped nearly 18 million people with original Medicare get at least one preventive service at no cost to them.
"The health care law has saved people with Medicare over $4.1 billion on prescription drugs, and given millions of beneficiaries access to cancer screenings, mammograms and other preventive services for free," said Secretary Sebelius. "Medicare is stronger thanks to the health care law, saving people money and offering new benefits at no cost to seniors."
The health care law includes benefits to make Medicare prescription drug coverage more affordable. In 2010, anyone with Medicare who hit the prescription drug donut hole received a $250 rebate. In 2011, people with Medicare who hit the donut hole began receiving a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs and a discount on generic drugs. These discounts and Medicare coverage gradually increase until 2020 when the donut hole is fully closed.
The health care law also makes it easier for people with Medicare to stay healthy. Prior to 2011, people with Medicare had to pay extra for many preventive health services. These costs made it difficult for people to get the health care they needed. For example, before the health care law passed, a person with Medicare could pay as much as $160 for a colorectal cancer screening. Now, many preventive services are offered free of charge to beneficiaries, with no deductible or co-pay, so that cost is no longer a barrier for seniors who want to stay healthy and treat problems early.
In 2012 alone, 18 million people with traditional Medicare have received at least one preventive service at no cost to them. This includes 1.65 million who have taken advantage of the Annual Wellness Visit provided by the Affordable Care Act -- over 500,000 more than had used this service by this point in the year in 2011. In 2011, an estimated 32.5 million people with traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage received one or more preventive benefits free of charge.
For state-by-state information on savings in the donut hole, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/apps/files/donut-hole-data-chart.pdf (PDF - 206 KB)
For state-by-state information on utilization of free preventive services, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/apps/files/preventive-data-chart-first-seven-months-2012.pdf (PDF - 281 KB)
Source: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/08/20120820a.html


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Thread: Fire station makeover extreme'
- Join Date
- Oct 2002
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- 138
Fire station makeover extreme'
Fire station makeover extreme'
By Elisabeth Enloe/The News staff writer Posted: 03/04/06 - 07:16:31 pm CST
Top, flags fly in the sea breeze above the newly renovated fire station at Sabine Pass. Middle, the fire station as it looked earlier in the week. Bottom, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition workers and onlookers cheer at the completion of the work. Mike Tobias/The News
SABINE PASS - Hundreds of people gathered under bright blue skies Saturday to watch the unveiling of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition restoration of Sabine Pass Fire Station.
The event culminated a week's worth of frantic activity by the cast and crew of the popular ABC television show and hundreds of volunteers as they took on the renovation of the Sabine Pass School theater and auditorium and the local fire station, Port Arthur Fire Department Station 4.
The aging fire station was scarcely recognizable from its former sad, dilapidated state after the intensive facelift out front and complete redesign inside.
A lighthouse now tops the small station and the exterior has been painted a cheery shade of red. Tall palm trees flank the entrance, making up a small part of the extensive landscaping on the grounds.
On Saturday morning, just hours away from the big reveal, blue-shirted workers busied themselves with last minute touches, including the construction of some very unusual chairs.
The chairs, made from cut strips of fire hoses tacked on to chair frames, provide startling aesthetic appeal in a gritty marriage where form meets function.
Lumberton twins Abigail and Keifer Reins were lucky enough to watch and help out Stretch Sculpture artist Jeff Stretch Rumaner make some of the chairs.
They're actually really comfortable, Keifer Reins, 9, said. It's been pretty neat helping him, I got to work with him earlier this week too.
I've never seen chairs like that. There's a table too, made out of all (firefighter) axes.
The twins like watching the show along with their firefighter father, William Reins, who is the assistant fire chief of the Lumberton Fire Department, and are eagerly awaiting the airing of the show.
Family homes are usually the focus of the show, but Sabine Pass is the fourth stop in a series of storm restoration projects along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Rita all but destroyed the small community when it made landfall last September, with 120 mph winds and a storm surge of several feet. When the storm was over, there was not a building or home in Sabine Pass left unscathed.
For the storm recovery projects, show producers wanted to work on buildings that have community wide impact as opposed to one or two homes in areas where few homes still stand.
The Sabine Pass Fire Station has been out of operation since the storm, with fire fighters and first responders working out of a trailer at a nearby U.S. Coast Guard Station, Port Arthur Fire Chief Larry Richard said Saturday.
Really I'm speechless, Richard said. Awesome is the word that comes to mind when you just think of all of the people that have come out and helped with his.
The Sabine Pass firefighters were transferred to a fire station in downtown Port Arthur this week so they wouldn't snatch glances at the project, and the Port Arthur staff came to Sabine Pass to work, Richard said.
Saturday was the first time the firefighters were able to see their new building.
This is going to allow us to move back in within the next week, Richard said. If the city would have had to do this it would have taken more than a year.
Working on the storm projects was a moving experience for both the cast and crew of the show and the many volunteers who worked on them.
This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life here in Sabine Pass, Paul DiMeo, one of the show's celebrity carpenters, said while he was out greeting the crowd, posing for photographs with fans and signing autographs.
We've been all around the Gulf Coast, so we've seen a lot of devastation. The giving has got to continue.
DiMeo had the honor of raising the U.S. flag and the Texas state flag on the poles in front of the fire station, which elicited cheers from everyone present.
What Sally Martin, a public relations manager for the Houston based MCA Communications who volunteered on site all week, finds most incredible is the way all of the different construction and design professionals worked together.
Different trades don't have to work side-by-side in construction, Martin said. One group comes in and does their work and then the next group comes in.
This week you had every different trade working together. The camaraderie was immense because it was such a worthwhile opportunity - it just clicked.
More than 125 volunteers, representing more than 100 companies, worked with all donated supplies, services and materials to complete the project within the 100 hour deadline, Martin said.
MCA Communications works in partnership with the Trevino Group Inc., the Houston based construction company that managed the construction project.
The Sabine Pass show is expected to air on Thursday, April 13, as the fourth in a series of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition storm recovery projects.
Contact this reporter at
(409) 721-2425
A tip of the leather to the good folks at ABC and Extreme Home Makeover for taking on projects like this. I know there are many, many other departments who are in the same situation that Sabine Pass was before this build. Congratulations go out to the Members of Sabine Pass FD, and we will all be watching the show when it airs.
A "Good" fire is not measured by how big it is, but by the fact that everyone is going home safe, and that we possibly learned something new about firefighting. Member:IACOJ
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- Jan 2006
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- 2,439
We should have some kind of sticky to remind us all when the show will air. I will forget the date by tommorow.
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