One of the biggest changes to California’s government structure in modern times may be back under discussion again, by both supporters and foes: term limits for members of the Legislature.
Beginning last year and ongoing to the new year have been discussions about modifications to the state’s landmark 1990 initiative that limits service in the Assembly to six years and service in the Senate to eight years. The talk seemed to originate during the negotiations between Governor Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats to head off a special election battle, negotiations that ultimately failed.

The modification, still being sought by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, would modify the term limits law to allow service in one chamber for 12 years. That’s actually two years less than under the current law, but would keep lawmakers from hopping from one side of the Capitol to the other.

Today, a national organization known as U.S. Term Limits released a TV ad criticizing any attempt to change the current California system.

“Incredibly,” the narrator of the ad says, “some self-serving politicians are again trying to destroy our term limits law.”

The organization has also contacted legislators and candidates and asked them to sign a pledge supporting the law as it is. The group’s spokesman, Paul Jacob, says they will publicize the list of who signed the pledge, and who didn’t, next week.

Lawmakers who support changes to the term limits law say it would help create more institutional memory, and would also help diminish the constant campaigning that now exists. But USTL’s Jacobs says the 12-year “one house” alteration would only serve to restore the power of longtime legislative leaders, versus the status quo where, in his words, “every legislator matters.”

Polling still shows Californians support term limits. And no one seems to believe that anything short of a fully supported bipartisan effort… from the governor and others… would pass muster in a new ballot initiative.