Untitled Document

Proposition # 164
Title Congressional Term Limits.
Year/Election 1992 General Election
Proposition type initiative statute
Popular vote Yes: 6,578,637 (63.57%); No: 3,769,511 (36.43%)
Passed

Summary

. Excludes from ballot for United States House of Representatives any person who has represented California congressional district(s) as member of the House during six or more of previous eleven years.

. Excludes from ballot for United States Senate any person who has represented California as Senator during twelve or more of previous seventeen years.

. Congressional service prior to 1993 is not counted.

. Full current and previous terms are counted even if person resigned during term.

. Term limits do not restrict "write-in" candidacies.

Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:

. This measure would have no direct fiscal impact on state or local governments.

. However, to the extent that the measure results in more write-in candidates, counties would have additional elections-related costs for counting write-in votes. These costs probably would not be significant on a statewide basis.

Proposition 164

This initiative measure is submitted to the people in accordance with the provisions of Article 11, Section 8 of the Constitution.

This initiative measure adds a section to the Elections Code; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new.

PROPOSED LAW

THE CALIFORNIA TERM LIMITATIONS ACT OF 1992

SECTION ONE. TITLE. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The California Term Limitations Act of 1992."

SECTION TWO. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. The People of the State of California hereby find and declare as follows:

(a) Federal officeholders who remain in office for extended periods of time become preoccupied with their own reelection and for that reason devote more effort to campaigning for their office than making legislative decisions for the benefit of the People of California.

(b) Federal officeholders have become too closely aligned with the special interest groups who provide contributions and support for their reelection campaigns, give them special favors, and lobby the House of Representatives and Senate for special interest legislation, all of which create corruption or the appearance of corruption of the legislative system.

(c) Entrenched incumbency has discouraged qualified citizens from seeking office and has led to a lack of competitiveness and a decline in robust debate on issues of importance to the People of California.

(d) Due to the appearance of corruption and the lack of competition for the legislative seats held by entrenched incumbents, there has been a reduction in voter participation which is counter-productive in a representative democracy.

(e) The citizens of this state have a compelling interest in preventing corruption and the appearance of corruption by limiting the number of terms which any Senator or Representative representing the People of this state may serve.

(f) The citizens of this state have a compelling interest in preserving the integrity of the ballot by promoting competitive elections and limiting the influence of special interests upon entrenched incumbent legislators.

(g) The citizens of this state have a compelling interest in voting for the candidate or candidates of their choice, and in standing for and holding elective office, and in preventing the perpetual monopolization of elective offices by incumbents.

(h) The citizens of this state have a compelling interest in extending the equal protection of the laws by ensuring that more of the People of this state have an equal opportunity to stand for and hold elective office.

SECTION THREE. PURPOSE AND INTENT. The People of the State of California declare their purpose and intent in enacting this legislation to be as follows:

(a) To promote, protect, and defend the compelling interest of the citizens of this state in preventing corruption and the appearance of corruption among the federal legislative representatives of this state by limiting the number of terms in which any Senator or Representative may hold his or her office.

(b) To promote, protect, and defend the compelling interest of the citizens of this state in preserving the integrity of the ballot by ensuring, to the greatest extent permitted by law, competitive elections without the corrupting influences of special interests upon entrenched incumbents.

(c) To promote, protect and defend the right of the citizens of this state, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, to vote for the candidates of their choice, and to stand for and hold elective office, by curtailing the effects of entrenched incumbency and freely permitting write-in candidacies.

(d) To promote, protect, and defend the right of the citizens of this state to equal protection of the laws, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, by giving more of the citizens of this state the opportunity to stand for and hold elective office.

SECTION FOUR. LIMITATION ON BALLOT ACCESS BY FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES. Section 25003 is hereby added to the California Elections Code to read as follows:

25003. (a) FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES; BALLOT ACCESS. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of State, or other election official authorized by law, shall not accept or verify the signatures on any nomination paper for any person, nor shall he or she certify or place on the list of certified candidates, nor print or cause to be printed on any ballot, ballot pamphlet, sample ballot, or ballot label the name of any person, who does either of the following:

(1) Seeks to become a candidate for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, and who, by the end of the then current term of office will have served, or but for resignation would have served, as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing any portion or district of the State of California during six or more of the previous eleven years;

(2) Seeks to become a candidate for a seat in the United States Senate, and who, by the end of the then current term of office will have served, or but for resignation would have served, as a member of the United States Senate representing the State of California during twelve or more of the previous seventeen years.

(b) "WRITE-IN" CANDIDACIES. Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing or prohibiting any qualified voter of this state from casting a ballot for any person by writing the name of that person on the ballot, or from having such a ballot counted or tabulated, nor shall any provision of this section be construed as preventing or prohibiting any person from standing or campaigning for any elective office by means of a "write-in" campaign.

(c) CONSTRUCTION. Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing or prohibiting the name of any person from appearing on the ballot at any direct primary or general election unless that person is specifically prohibited from doing so by the provisions of subdivision (a), and to that end the provisions of subdivision (a) shall be strictly construed.

SECTION FIVE. APPLICATION. This act shall take effect and be applicable to federal legislative candidates whose terms of office begin on or after January 1, 1993. Service prior to January 1, 1993 shall not be counted for the purpose of this act.

SECTION SIX. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this act shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional for any reason, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the other provisions of this act, and to that end the provisions of this act are severable.