February 11,2003

Call to Action: Coastal Commission Terms of Office [LWVCNews]

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA

ACTION NEEDED: Contact Governor Davis to urge his signature on AB 1xx (Jackson), a bill to fix the length of terms of legislatively-appointed members of the California Coastal Commission, when it reaches his desk.

Address letters to The Honorable Gray Davis, Governor of California, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone 916-445-2841; Fax 916-445-4633; email governor@governor.ca.gov

WHO NEEDS TO ACT: All local Leagues and ILOs and as many members as possible, acting as individuals.

BACKGROUND: This is our opportunity, as California residents, to show the Governor and the public the strength of our support for the Coastal Commission. The League of Women Voters of California strongly backed the 1972 initiative creating the Coastal Commission, which provides long-term protection of California's 1,100-mile coastline. The commission has 12 voting and 4 nonvoting ex-officio members, with the Governor, the Senate Rules Committee, and the Speaker of the Assembly appointing four voting members each.

A recent court ruling by the Third District Court of Appeal held that the appointment and removal process of the Senate and Assembly appointees is unconstitutional. According to the court, the ability of the legislature to remove any of its appointees at will gives the legislature a degree of control over an executive agency that violates the separation of powers clause of the California Constitution.

Governor Davis called a special session of the legislature to address the problem. Two bills to give legislative appointees fixed four-year terms (rather than terms that are at the pleasure of the legislature) are progressing through the legislature. AB 1XX by Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson needs only a final Assembly floor vote of concurrence in Senate amendments before going to the governor for his signature. (The second bill is SB 1XX by Senators Sheila Kuehl and John Burton.) It is expected that the authors and house leaders will continue to collaborate to send a bill to the Governor's desk. This may happen quickly, so please contact Governor Davis immediately!

For more background, consult the January 2003 LWVC Natural Resources UPDATE or the the Coastal Commission's Web site.

Trudy Schafer