A three-part, public seminar exploring the consequences of reapportionment and term limits, which will change the way Californians are represented at the state and congressional levels, will be held in late January and February at the University of California, Davis.
The seminars will examine the proposal for a unicameral (one-house) state legislature, the court-supervised reapportionment of legislative and congressional districts due to go into effect for the June 1992 primary election, and the term limits imposed on state legislators and constitutional officers by the passage of Proposition 140 in 1990.
All the sessions will be held in the Institute of Governmental Affairs reading room, located on the third floor of Shields Library, and are free and open to the public. The IGA is sponsoring the seminars.
The first seminar, titled "Unicameralism: The Ultimate in State Legislative Reform?", will be held at noon Tuesday, Jan. 28. State Sen. Lucy Killea, I-San Diego will describe her proposal for a one-house legislature with a large membership, ensuring relatively small constituencies. Killea and others believe unicameralism can produce a more responsive and productive legislature.
"Reapportionment in the 1990s: Last Hurrah for Incumbents?" will be the topic from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10. The speakers will be Paul McKaskle, professor of law at the University of San Francisco, and Tim Hodson, consultant to the state Senate Committee on Elections and Reapportionment. McKaskle is chief counsel to the masters panel appointed by the California Supreme Court, which recently redrew legislative and congressional districts.
The final seminar, "Term Limits: The End of the Professional Legislature?", will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24. Speakers will be Bruce Cain, professor of political science and associate director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, and Tony Quinn, a member of the Braun-Ketchum public relations firm in Sacramento. Quinn writes about California politics and is a former consultant to the Republican party in the state legislature.
Media Resources
Julia Ann Easley, General news (emphasis: business, K-12 outreach, education, law, government and student affairs), 530-752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu