CAPITAL JOURNAL : One-House Setup Pushed as Cure for Political Gridlock

Sen. Lucy Killea believes she has seen the future and it is in Nebraska.

The San Diego Democrat paid a recent visit to the Cornhusker state’s unicameral Legislature, composed of one house instead of the traditional two.

And now Killea, convinced the one-stop lawmaking process makes for better government, is beating the drum for California to do likewise by replacing its Assembly and Senate with a single, 120-member Legislature.

It would be a drastic step, for sure, says Killea. But these are desperate times for California lawmakers, who have been tarred by political corruption scandals and find their power diminished by ballot initiatives and a recurring paralysis caused by warring special interests.

“Our Legislature is probably at its lowest repute in a long time,” Killea said. “And there’s a certain amount of (political) gridlock. We can’t deal with the issues of the state.”

The idea of converting California’s Legislature to a unicameral system is not new, having been proposed at least 27 times since 1913. All but one of the attempts suffocated quickly in the Legislature. The other was a 1970s initiative measure that never came to a vote despite backing by such political heavyweights as the late Treasurer Jesse Unruh and former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown. It failed to garner enough signatures to earn a place on the ballot.

Proponents blame legislative “inertia” for their losses, along with the fact that past plans would have reduced the number of lawmakers in Sacramento--raising the thorny question of who would leave and who would stay.

Those who oppose the one-house system say the approach would amount to “one-stop shopping” for special interests since there would be one less house to act as a check against bad bills.

Yet Killea and her supporters contend the time is right for making the switch in California, especially in the wake of Proposition 140, which slapped limits on lawmakers’ terms and cut their budgets by 40%.

“There is emerging a genuine desire for meaningful legislative reform among disparate groups, all of whom acknowledge that the governmental policy process is not working,” said Sen. Barry Keene (D-Benicia), who was the last to introduce a unicameral bill in 1981.

A big problem, Killea says, has been an institutional rivalry between the two houses based mostly on ego and “artificial differences” that play into the hands of special interests.

“It’s kind of a game to kill bills of the other house,” said Killea, who also has been an Assembly member. “The lobbyists can take advantage of that. They wait until an Assembly bill comes over to the Senate, and then talk to four or five senators and convince them it’s not a good bill.”

In addition to its other benefits, Killea said her plan would yield some needed campaign reform. In her 120-member unicameral Legislature, she said, grass-roots candidates would have a chance to win a seat representing no more than 250,000 people. Currently, Senate seats encompass nearly 750,000 constituents, requiring lots of money for television and direct mail political campaigns.

After observing Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature for three days in February, Killea began pushing legislation in California to put the concept before a proposed constitutional revision commission. It would be the first step in a years-long process. Among supporters of the measure are Keene, Senate Republican Leader Ken Maddy (R-Fresno) and several academics.

Killea admits that she faces an uphill battle in the Legislature, which would have to agree to revamp itself.

A spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) said it is “doubtful” Killea’s proposal would ever come close to realizing the Nebraska dream.