BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                        
                   SENATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS COMMITTEE
                          Senator Cathie Wright, Chair


          BILL NO: SCA 20                  HEARING: 5/24/00
          AUTHOR: Senator Don Perata       FISCAL: Yes
          VERSION: Amended 5/18/00         CHIEF COUNSEL: Scott  
          Johnson
          REFERRED: Senate E & R
                                  Vote:  3-2 (5/17/00)


                           LEGISLATURE:  TERM LIMITS

           SUMMARY  

          This measure revises the number of terms a senator or a  
          member of the Assembly may serve.  SCA 20 would permit a  
          senator to serve three terms and an assembly member to  
          serve six terms.


           BACKGROUND  

          Article IV Section 4 of the California Constitution  
          provides that senators shall serve no more than two terms  
          of four years each.  Members of the Assembly shall serve no  
          more than three two-year terms.  Those provisions for  
          legislative terms of office were imposed by the passage of  
          Proposition 140 of the 1990 general election.   
          Subsequently, the California Supreme Court clarified that  
          term limits pursuant to proposition 140 are lifetime limits  
          (  Legislature v. Eu  , 1991).  Furthermore, the Federal Courts  
          have upheld the constitutional validity of term limits for  
          state office holders (  Bates v. Jones,  131 F.3d 843).


           ANALYSIS  

          SCA 20 will amend the Constitution to provide that a state  
          senator may serve no more than three terms and a member of  
          the Assembly may serve no more than six terms.  A partial  
          term of less than one-half of a full term does not count  
          toward the term limit.  

          The revised terms of office will apply after December 4,  
          2000, and terms served to that date by most legislators  
          would not count against the revised limits.  SCA 20  







          provides an exception in that an incumbent senator whose  
          office is not on the ballot for the November 7, 2000  
          general election and whose term expires in 2002, shall have  
          his or her current term counted as the first of three terms  
          permitted under the proposed term limit revision.


          Note:  This measure pertains only to members of the  
          Legislature.  It does not affect the two-term limit imposed  
          upon statewide office holders or members of the Board of  
          Equalization pursuant to Proposition 140.


           COMMENTS 

          The Constitution Revision Commission recommended a similar  
          approach to term limits:  In its 1996 final report, the  
          California Constitution Revision Commission recommended  
          that members of both houses of the legislature serve three  
          terms of four years each.  The Commission found that  
          allowing longer term limits would increase the stability  
          and effectiveness of the Legislature, while continuing to  
          assure voters that members could not make careers of  
          legislative service.  The Commission was concerned that the  
          current term limits do not allow enough time for  
          legislators to develop the expertise necessary to perform  
          their responsibilities effectively.
           
          PRIOR LEGISLATION
           
          SCA 20 is similar to SCA 35 (Maddy) of 1998, which was  
          approved by the Senate but was defeated in the Assembly  
          policy committee and ACA 21 (Papan) of 1998, which failed  
          passage on the Assembly floor.  

          This session ACA 2 (Papan) is currently pending on the  
          Assembly floor.  
          

          SUPPORT  

          California Common Cause
          California Independent Public employees Legislative Council
          California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
          California Medical Association
          California Nurses Association
          California professional Firefighters








          California School Employees Association
          California Retailers Association
          Congress of California Seniors
          League of Women Voters of California
          Macy's West
          Planning and Conservation League
          Sierra Club California
          R. William Hauck, Chairman (1994-1996)
             California Constitution Revision Commission
          Tony Miller, Attorney at Law
           
          OPPOSITION
           None  
          received