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Term limits became a reality in California more than two decades ago.
Now another idea aimed at reining in big government is gaining traction – a part time legislature.
It is seen as something that would cut down on cost and allow state senators and assembly members to spend more time in their districts.
Jean Fuller, who represents the 18th senatorial district, the largest geographically in the state, said she not only believes that a part -time legislature is a good idea, she wants to take it a step further by limiting the number of bills that legislators are allowed to introduce each term.
Fuller is back in her district after a long legislative session and visited Taft on Wednesday where she talked about a part-time legislature and other topics in several stops around the community.
She started with a Chamber of Commerce meeting where the topic first came up.
It's a good idea, she said, but by itself wouldn't cut into the biggest problem in the legislature.
“I'm not sure a part-time legislature is the best answer but I'm totally for it,” she said.
The best answer, she said, is a part-time legislature and a drastic limit on the number of bills each assemblymember and senator is allowed to introduce over a two year period.
The 40 senators and 80 assemblymembers each are allowed to introduce 40 bills each – 4,800 bills every two years.
“Do we really need that many new bills and laws every year? Absolutely not” she said.
She would like to see that number sharply reduced to as few as five bills per session.
Later, she spoke a little more on the topic before returning to Bakersfield.
Spending more time in their home districts instead of Sacramento just makes more sense, she said. Legislators would be in the capitol for important debates and discussions like the state budget.
“I don't see why I can't vote from my desk in my district office,” Fuller said. “It's cost efficient and I can see my constituents a lot more.”
But for the time being Fuller spends most of the time in Sacramento, where she represents a largely conservate district and is often at odds with legislation from more liberal population centers.
She calls it the “liberal agenda.”
“I take a stand against it. I voted against it 99 times out of 100 and lost every time.”
She mention a law recently passed that require state schools to add the contributions of gay, lesbian ad transgender people to the curriculum and another bill that would ban killing sharks only for their fins as examples of both the liberal agenda and the overwhelming number of laws that the legislature deals with.
“Here we are in the middle of the budget and hordes of people are coming in over the shark fin bill,” she said.
Even though a budget has been passed, problems with it are far from over, she warned.
The budget is precariously balanced with “gimmicks and phantom cash.”
Fuller warned that if revenue assumptions aren't met, more cuts will be automatically triggered.
Since schools, health and welfare and the prison system are the three biggest expenditures for the state, they will bear the brunt of any more cuts.
“There are going to be problems down the road,” Fuller said.
School will be allowed to cut a week off at the end of the school year, but only if it is negotiated with the unions.
Many districts will have to dip into reserves, and that is another problem in itself.
“It's nearly impossible to replenish the reserves,” she said.
The latest attempt to impose a tax on oil production to fund some of the programs has been beaten back but it remains a threat.
High gas prices have made people aware that higher oil prices will affect them directly, but she is concerned that if prices drop, public support for the oil tax could grow.
Fuller ended her trip to Taft with a 45-minute with a visit to the West Side Community Resource Center.
She met with Director sandy Koenig and representatives from other groups, including Bill Wickwire of Needs, David Daniels and Trent Meadors of the West Side Christian Ministers Association and Karen Dewitt of Alpha House.
She also talked with some of the people the community resource center serves, ranging from 92-year-old Wendell Summers to Sami Savea, a young mother with her four children.
Koenig said she wanted to give fuller a look at what money from Prop. 10, the state tobacco tax, provides for communities. The community resource center receives its funding through First 5 Kern.
“Without it people wouldn't have access to the services they need,” Koenig said. “Prop. 10 money is our infrastructure that allows us to see families for help on many levels.”
Fuller liked what she saw.
She liked the way the collaborative brings together a variety of social services that help get people out of (or keep them) from the welfare and foster care system, saving tax dollars.
She said she was particularly impressed with the way the collaborative in Taft works with a minimum of bureaucracy.
Term limits became a reality in California more than two decades ago.
Now another idea aimed at reining in big government is gaining traction – a part time legislature.
It is seen as something that would cut down on cost and allow state senators and assembly members to spend more time in their districts.
Jean Fuller, who represents the 18th senatorial district, the largest geographically in the state, said she not only believes that a part -time legislature is a good idea, she wants to take it a step further by limiting the number of bills that legislators are allowed to introduce each term.
Fuller is back in her district after a long legislative session and visited Taft on Wednesday where she talked about a part-time legislature and other topics in several stops around the community.
She started with a Chamber of Commerce meeting where the topic first came up.
It's a good idea, she said, but by itself wouldn't cut into the biggest problem in the legislature.
“I'm not sure a part-time legislature is the best answer but I'm totally for it,” she said.
The best answer, she said, is a part-time legislature and a drastic limit on the number of bills each assemblymember and senator is allowed to introduce over a two year period.
The 40 senators and 80 assemblymembers each are allowed to introduce 40 bills each – 4,800 bills every two years.
“Do we really need that many new bills and laws every year? Absolutely not” she said.
She would like to see that number sharply reduced to as few as five bills per session.
Later, she spoke a little more on the topic before returning to Bakersfield.
Spending more time in their home districts instead of Sacramento just makes more sense, she said. Legislators would be in the capitol for important debates and discussions like the state budget.
“I don't see why I can't vote from my desk in my district office,” Fuller said. “It's cost efficient and I can see my constituents a lot more.”
But for the time being Fuller spends most of the time in Sacramento, where she represents a largely conservate district and is often at odds with legislation from more liberal population centers.
She calls it the “liberal agenda.”
“I take a stand against it. I voted against it 99 times out of 100 and lost every time.”
She mention a law recently passed that require state schools to add the contributions of gay, lesbian ad transgender people to the curriculum and another bill that would ban killing sharks only for their fins as examples of both the liberal agenda and the overwhelming number of laws that the legislature deals with.
“Here we are in the middle of the budget and hordes of people are coming in over the shark fin bill,” she said.
Even though a budget has been passed, problems with it are far from over, she warned.
The budget is precariously balanced with “gimmicks and phantom cash.”
Fuller warned that if revenue assumptions aren't met, more cuts will be automatically triggered.
Since schools, health and welfare and the prison system are the three biggest expenditures for the state, they will bear the brunt of any more cuts.
“There are going to be problems down the road,” Fuller said.
School will be allowed to cut a week off at the end of the school year, but only if it is negotiated with the unions.
Many districts will have to dip into reserves, and that is another problem in itself.
“It's nearly impossible to replenish the reserves,” she said.
The latest attempt to impose a tax on oil production to fund some of the programs has been beaten back but it remains a threat.
High gas prices have made people aware that higher oil prices will affect them directly, but she is concerned that if prices drop, public support for the oil tax could grow.
Fuller ended her trip to Taft with a 45-minute with a visit to the West Side Community Resource Center.
She met with Director sandy Koenig and representatives from other groups, including Bill Wickwire of Needs, David Daniels and Trent Meadors of the West Side Christian Ministers Association and Karen Dewitt of Alpha House.
She also talked with some of the people the community resource center serves, ranging from 92-year-old Wendell Summers to Sami Savea, a young mother with her four children.
Koenig said she wanted to give fuller a look at what money from Prop. 10, the state tobacco tax, provides for communities. The community resource center receives its funding through First 5 Kern.
“Without it people wouldn't have access to the services they need,” Koenig said. “Prop. 10 money is our infrastructure that allows us to see families for help on many levels.”
Fuller liked what she saw.
She liked the way the collaborative brings together a variety of social services that help get people out of (or keep them) from the welfare and foster care system, saving tax dollars.
She said she was particularly impressed with the way the collaborative in Taft works with a minimum of bureaucracy.
