2011 California Constitutional Convention

The 2011 California Constitutional Convention is a proposed constitutional convention to revise or amend California's Constitution. If California voters approve two ballot initiatives proposed for California's 2010 statewide, gubernatorial election, to be held on November 2, 2010, the constitutional convention (California's third since its original convention was held in 1849) would begin no later than June 3, 2011. The proposed ballot initiatives, Propositions 1 and 2, will authorize the calling of citizen-delegates to a constitutional convention under the auspices of a Constitutional Convention Commission, to be appointed by the current members of California's Fair Political Practices Commission. Once the delegates have completed their work, any revisions or amendments to the constitution agreed upon by them will be submitted to the state's voters for approval in a special, statewide election.

History

California's third constitutional convention was originally proposed in a newspaper editorial article in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 21, 2008, by Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the politically powerful Bay Area Council, an association of the largest business enterprises in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Wunderman was visiting the California legislature at a time when the state government was in the midst of a record 80-day-long budget stalemate, due to a projected $26 billion budget deficit. Among the consequences of the budget deficit, the state enacted unprecedented fee increases at its colleges and universities and sustained prison riots due to overcrowding. In an email sent to the author of this article (the contents of which have been authorized for publication by Mr. Wunderman), Mr. Wunderman stated: "[t]hen Assembly member Mark DeSaulnier stated he had received an offhand comment from the Senate pro Tem Don Perata in the elevator [regarding the need to call a constitutional convention]. It was more an expression of frustration attributed to Perata than an actual suggestion, I believe. But we heard it."

The organized effort to call a constitutional convention in California began with a series of "summits," the first of which was held in Sacramento on February 24, 2009, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel. The principal proponents of the Sacramento summit were the Bay Area Council, the California League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the William C. Velasquez Institute, the Center for Governmental Studies, the Greenlining Institute, the Courage Campaign, the Planning and Conservation League, and the Silicon Valley Network. Large attendance by a broad base of highly placed political actors and general enthusiasm for the proposal led the proponents of the Sacramento Summit on May 20, 2009, to launch the CaliforniaRepair.org website as the vehicle by which they would organize their movement for a California constitutional convention.

The second constitutional convention summit was held in Fresno on June 26, 2009, at the Cornerstone Conference Center. The third summit was held at Santa Monica College, in Santa Monica, on July 17, 2009, and the fourth at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, on July 18, 2009. These were followed by a series of "town hall" meetings throughout California. The proponents of the ballot initiatives used the input and feedback they received from people attending the summits and townhall meetings to draft the text of the proposed ballot initiatives, which was submitted for review on October 28, 2009, to the California State Attorney General for approval, as required by state law. On December 22, 2009, a summary of the ballot initiatives was approved by the California Attorney General for circulation for the purpose of obtaining the necessary voter signatures required for inclusion on the state election ballot.

On January 16 and 17, 2010, proponents of the ballot initiatives began circulating petitions for the purpose of obtaining the 694,354 signatures needed on each initiative for their placement on the ballot for California's 2010 gubernatorial election, to be held Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

Propositions

There are two ballot propositions that will, if approved by a majority of the state's voters, approve the convening of California's third, historic, constitutional convention.

Proposition 1

Proposition 1 is the ballot initiative that authorizes the voters to approve or disapprove the second ballot initiative, Proposition 2.

Proposition 2

Proposition 2 is the ballot initiative that, in Section 4 of the proposition, adds Government Code 81017 to call the Constitutional Convention, and enumerates and delimits the Convention's legal authority. If enacted along with Proposition 1, Section 5 of Proposition 2 will add Government Code section 83113.5 to create a Constitutional Convention Commission composed of the five members of California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), or their designees. According to the language of the proposition, the members of the Convention Commission may not be removed from their positions except for cause, even if the appointing member leaves his seat on the FPPC (although only the currently sitting member can appoint a replacement should the Convention Commission member leave his post). Funding for the Convention Commission is to come from the one-million-dollar per year budget guarantee that created the FPPC by initiative statute. Convention Commission members would receive the same salaries as their FPPC counterparts. The Convention Commission will adjourn sine die, and their legal authority will expire, on December 31 of 2014 or on December 31 of the year in which the special election to approve or disapprove the new constitution occurs, whichever should occur sooner.

Selection of Convention Delegates

If enabled by voter approval of Proposition 2 at the 2010 statewide gubernatorial election, Section 8 of the proposition provides that the Constitutional Convention will be composed of a total of approximately 468 delegates (and then probably 5 or 6 more due to expected population increase), with 240 delegates chosen three each from California's 80 Assembly Districts, four delegates representing all of The INDIAN Tribes of California, and one delegate for every 175,000 persons in each County (rounded down), with at least one delegate for each County (approx. 224). The procedure for selecting delegates in each jurisdiction is fairly complex.

In general, the Assembly District delegates will be elected from a pool of volunteer electors of up to 50 persons, chosen randomly from each selective jurisdiction. The County delegates are chosen by a five person County Delegate Selection Committee (CDSC) composed of two County Supervisors, two city mayors or vice-mayors of cities in each County, and one person chosen by the school districts in each County. Where a County has cities with populations greater than one million persons, the city councils of those cities are enabled to choose a proportional number of delegates according to a complex mathematical calculation, instead of the same number of delegates selected by the CDSC.

Delegates must be U.S. Citizens, must not be convicted felons, and must be at least 18 years of age and legal residents of the State of California and, for county delegates, the county or city from which they were selected at the time of their selection and throughout the course of their work as delegates. County delegates who have served in a position as staff to or as an elected official in a political or "public office" (whether elected or appointed), as staff in a political campaign supporting or opposing a candidate for election, as a registered lobbyist or paid staff member of a registered lobbyist, or as a paid staff member in any "State Agency" since 2005 are disqualified from serving as convention delegates. County delegates may not "hold any other public office" during the tenure of their work as delegates, including work for any partisan political organization or for any registered lobbyist. The very broad language in regard to the disqualification of persons to hold the position of County delegate effectively rules out any participation by any state government employee as a delegate to the Convention. The FPPC will be the "sole arbiters" of the qualifications of delegates to the Convention, pursuant to the terms of the propositions.

According to the most recent report (2009) of the Demographic Research Unit of the California Department Of Finance (the government agency tasked by Proposition 2 for determining County population), the number of delegates by County would be as follows:

  • Alameda - 8
  • Alpine - 1
  • Amador - 1
  • Butte - 1
  • Calaveras - 1
  • Colusa - 1
  • Contra Costa - 6
  • Del Norte - 1
  • El Dorado - 1
  • Fresno - 5
  • Glenn - 1
  • Humboldt - 1
  • Imperial - 1
  • Inyo - 1
  • Kern - 4
  • Kings - 1
  • Lake - 1
  • Lassen - 1
  • Los Angeles - 59
  • Madera - 1
  • Marin - 1
  • Mariposa - 1
  • Mendocino - 1
  • Merced - 1
  • Modoc - 1
  • Mono - 1
  • Monterey - 2
  • Napa - 1
  • Nevada - 1
  • Orange - 18
  • Placer - 1
  • Plumas - 1
  • Riverside - 12
  • Sacramento - 8
  • San Benito - 1
  • San Bernardino - 11
  • San Diego - 18
  • San Francisco - 4
  • San Joaquin - 3
  • San Luis Obispo - 1
  • San Mateo - 4
  • Santa Barbara - 2
  • Santa Clara - 10
  • Santa Cruz - 1
  • Shasta - 1
  • Sierra - 1
  • Siskiyou - 1
  • Solano - 2
  • Sonoma - 2
  • Stanislaus - 3
  • Sutter - 1
  • Tehama - 1
  • Trinity - 1
  • Tulare - 2
  • Tuolumne - 1
  • Ventura - 4
  • Yolo - 1
  • Yuba - 1

Lawful Scope of the Convention

The Convention is limited to "revising" or, by a "series of amendments," amending the state constitution, including any necessary statutory amendments, in only four areas:

  • Government Effectiveness
  • Elections and Reduction of Special Interest Influence
  • Spending and Budgeting
  • Governance

Notably, changes to the judicial branch of state government are not expressly included in the provisions for Governance, and (with the exception of "minor alterations") the Convention may not propose any change or addition that "(1) directly imposes or reduces any taxes or fees; (2) sets the frequency at which real property is assessed or re-assessed; or (3) defines 'change in ownership' as it relates to any tax or fee." In addition, the Convention is proscribed from considering any addition or changes that would relate to any of the following subjects: marriage or abortion rights, gambling or casinos of any type, affirmative action, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, immigration rights, or the death penalty. Paragraph (c) of proposed Government Code section 83130 permits the enforcement of the aforementioned limitations by "extraordinary writ" in the courts, which apparently indicates that the proceedings of the Convention could be directly affected by court action taken during the course of the Convention or between the close of the convention and ratification of changes to the constitution proposed by the convention.

Conduct of the Convention

The Convention Committee will determine the time and place of convening the Convention, but not later than June 3, 2011. The Convention will proceed, despite any disputes that may exist regarding delegation selection, so long as a majority of the total possible number of delegates is present as a quorum. The proceedings will be opened by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California, or his or her designee, who will call the roll and administer the oath of office to the delegates.

A majority of the Convention membership (not just those present) is necessary for any decisions. The Convention may create its own rules of procedure, with Robert's Rules of Order acting as the default procedure in regard to any proceedings not otherwise covered by the Convention's own rules. The Convention may designate its own officers and may rely on the staffs of the Convention Commission and Clerk, Legislative Analyst, and Attorney General's office for assistance. Delegates are compensated at the rate of the lowest paid members of the state legislature and are reimbursed for "reasonable expenses actually incurred." Delegates are exempted from the present constitutional personnel rules governing state employees.

Unless an extension of time is authorized by a two-thirds vote of the Convention, the Convention must complete its work and adjourn by March 1, 2012, with an absolute limit to its jurisdictional mandate of July 1, 2012. A committee of delegates selected to act as ballot proponents of any constitutional revisions or amendments is chosen by the Convention prior to adjournment.

Funding for the Convention

The Convention will be funded by a tax of $1.75 per state resident, with any necessary increase up to the maximum amount of $95,000,000 provided by the Department of Finance to ensure adequate funding. Any unused funds will be returned to the State General Fund at the time of election of any proposed constitutional revisions or amendments.

Current Status

The text and summaries of the ballot initiatives have been approved by the California Secretary of State, and proponents of the initiatives are presently in the process of gathering the required signatures to place these initiatives on the ballot for the November 2, 2010 gubernatorial elections.