(New information at the end of this posting)

Well, the chatter is on its way to being true.

This morning, a bipartisan group of political heavyweights filed a proposed initiative to modify the state’s term limits law for members of the Legislature, changing the time of service from eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly… to a total of 12 years in one house.

There probably won’t be many surprises in the details of the proposal, as it’s now been floated around the Capitol for months. The initiative, if it qualifies in time, could be on the now expected February 5 presidential primary ballot… thus possibly extending the terms of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata, and many others.

The two political strategists apparently behind the effort are Democrat Gale Kaufman, the top consligieri of Nunez, and Matthew Dowd, a former strategist for both Governor Schwarzenegger and President Bush.

[UPDATE 2:30 PM] In a conference call with reporters, Kaufman and Dowd said there is currently no formal coalition behind this initiative. But Kaufman made it clear that both Speaker Nunez and the influential California Chamber of Commerce have both done some recent research on the issue.

Click here for Kaufman’s comments on building a coalition.

The discussion also made it clear that any lawmaker, current or former, who has not used all of their legislative eligibility would be able to take advantage of some of the changes under this initiative. For example, a former Assembly member who served six years and then left Sacramento… could come back and serve another six years in the Assembly. But that same lawmaker could only serve one term in the Senate; in other words, the proposal encourages same-house service, not “seat jumpers.”

Click here for Dowd’s comments on how the initiative would foster bi-partisanship.

Polls have shown an awful lot of skepticism from voters on any changes to term limits, something Kaufman acknowledged [listen here]. But as she said, this may be the best chance to ask the question.

As for logistics, Kaufman guesses the group will have a little more than three months to get some 1.1 million signatures, an effort whose price tag she says will be as much as $2.5 million.