Skip to main content

In Honor of July 4th, Let's Go Unicameral?

Support Provided By
california-unicameral

Happy Independence Day to you! For many of us the holiday means fireworks, grilling and those miniature plastic flags that seem to pop up everywhere. It also offers a moment to reflect on the structure (or lack thereof) of our government.

For all of the problems we have, will, and are facing, our founders did a remarkable job of structuring a government replete with checks and balances. The drafters of the California constitution certainly thought so, as they, like the founders of the U.S., included not one, but two legislative houses.

But the question of the day is, do we need a two-house legislature? Or put another way, should we go unicameral? Nebraska has done it.

I do not endeavor to lay out an exhaustive list of the benefits and detriments of such a drastic shift to California's government--I will merely hit but a few of the highlights.

Weighing in on the "pro" side, moving to one legislative house could mean a more efficient, transparent, and even democratic system of government. Put another way, having just one legislative house could reduce waste and redundancy in our legislative process.

As we have seen with the latest round of budget negotiations (and probably decades of negotiations before that), a two-house government allows members of each legislative house to play a few rounds of a little something called the "blame game." Like a never-ending game of ping pong, the public watches as members of each house try to pass the blame of less than ideal legislation back on the other house.

On the other hand, a two-house legislature can foster more deliberation, and can check rash inclinations. The primary purpose of a system of two legislative houses is to put a check on the majority.

However, it is worth questioning whether our current model truly serves that deliberative function. For instance other than the fact that it is twice the size of the upper house, what is the real difference between the state assembly and the state senate? Members of each house are elected according to the principle of one-person- one-vote. A cynic would say that thanks to term limits the assembly is a body of legislators waiting to become state senators, while the senate is a legislative body waiting to become members of congress.

One thing to think about, if we do want to move to a unicameral legislature, such a transformation of our system of government does not mean that we should reduce the number of our representatives. As it stands, California has the largest constituent-to-representative ratio in the country. Each of our 40 state senators represent close to one million people, and therefore our 80 assembly members represent half that many people.

Hence dare I say it would likely be a good idea to employ a few more of those unpopular folks we call legislators? That way each of them would represent fewer of us, and could be more responsive to our needs.

The photo used on this post is by Flickr user Cayusa. It was used under a Creative Commons License.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.