Legislature Takes Office in Somber Mood : Politics: The specter of Proposition 140, which limits their terms in office, sets the mood for lawmakers in the state Capitol.

The first California lawmakers to serve under a new law limiting their terms took office Monday amid sober reflection about the Legislature’s inability to solve many of the state’s most pressing problems.

Then, after pledging to change things for the better, the members reelected as their leaders Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti, who have been at the helm of the Legislature since Jimmy Carter was President.

Assembly members got an upbeat pep talk from lame-duck Gov. George Deukmejian and heard Brown, a San Francisco Democrat, tell them that they have been doing a “magnificent” job despite media reviews and public opinion to the contrary.

But among the rank and file, the mood was more downcast.

The reality of Proposition 140’s term limits, capping service at six years in the Assembly and eight in the Senate, was sinking in. One of the ballot initiative’s other provisions, the elimination of the Legislature’s pension program, hit home recently when lawmakers got official notice that the program had ceased. Still to come is a cut of up to 50% in the Legislature’s operating budget.

“There is a realization that there’s a dark cloud hanging over the California Legislature,” said Assemblyman Sam Farr, a Monterey Democrat, whose father also served in the Legislature. “That perception has to be dealt with.”

Monday marked the official beginning of the 1991-1992 Legislative session. In the Assembly, 12 new members--the most since 1982--were sworn in along with 68 returnees. In the Senate, a single new member and 19 who were reelected Nov. 6 took the oath of office to join the 19 members who did not face the voters this year.

Addressing the Assembly from the desk he once occupied in the rear of the chamber, Deukmejian noted that more than 2,000 people move to California every day. He said they do so because he and the Legislature have kept the state “great.”

“This Legislature should feel very, very proud of the accomplishments that you’ve made,” said Deukmejian, who has often criticized the Democratic-controlled institution for failures in solving problems. Brown, after he was elected to his sixth term as Speaker on a party-line vote, suggested that the Assembly might be able to improve its image by following through on an experiment to televise its sessions on cable systems statewide.

“The public has no clue as to what we are doing,” Brown said. “We intend to correct that. We need to let the public know how we are conducting the public’s business.”

Brown said the media have focused too heavily on political corruption and the budget crisis while downplaying such successes as a bill to help the state respond to oil spills and his own legislation to require every motorist to wear a seatbelt. In a personal aside, Brown said his daughter Susan’s car was struck by a speeding automobile on a Los Angeles street over the weekend, leaving her with a broken sternum. He said her injuries would have been much worse had she not been wearing a seatbelt.

In the coming months, Brown said, the Legislature should address a crisis in health insurance, the drug abuse problem, and growth management.

San Diego’s two newest legislators had different reactions to the ceremonial bustle of Monday’s swearing-in.

“Actually, I’m comfortable,” said Gotch (D-San Diego), a veteran of the San Diego City Council who sat seriously through the business on the Assembly floor. “While it’s a different city, a different surrounding, a different legislative body, I don’t feel overwhelmed at all because I’ve had the benefit of serving in a legislative arena before.

“I’m eager to get to work and begin authoring and co-authoring bills,” said Gotch, adding that he has already offered to sign up as co-sponsor of a universal health insurance measure. Other areas of interest: measures dealing with the environment, education and ethics.

Then there are the more mundane details. Gotch said he will start today to interview people applying to be his office secretary.

While Gotch took it all in stride, rookie Assemblywoman Dede Alpert (D-Del Mar) said she was a little “nervous.”

“Some of the things are overwhelming,” she said. “The challenge is just incredible. I think I’m going to bring hard work to it (the Legislature) and a real effort, and I’m proud to be able to be doing this.

“I’m proud to represent my district,” she said, alluding to her dark-horse victory over controversial incumbent Republican Sunny Mojonnier. “I’m going to work really hard at doing it and eventually hope people will even know who Dee Dee Alpert is.”

Alpert stressed that her first job in Sacramento will be “learning . . . and listening,” and her first shot at legislative business delivered an unexpected lesson.

In the voice vote to reelect Speaker Brown for the two-year session, the alphabetized roll call dictated that Alpert cast one of the first votes. She mistakenly spoke into a dead microphone, and it appeared to many in the Assembly chambers that the newcomer was actually abstaining--a move that could be considered a slight to the powerful speaker.

But on the second time through the roll call, Alpert caught on and yelled out Brown’s name to add her vote to the record.

“It wasn’t intentional,” Alpert said about her first-call silence.

Times staff writer Carl Ingram contributed to this story.