It's Ironclad: Prop 93 Term Limit Reform Doesn't Allow Ex-Legislators to Run Again

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It goes (almost) without saying that generally lawyers are pretty good at disagreeing with one another. And that's what an article in the Sacramento Bee is about this morning; the newspaper found two lawyers who weren't involved with the drafting of the term limits reform initiative to raise questions about whether it would apply to legislators who already have been "termed out." See the Sacramento Bee story here and the Contra Costa Times column item that started this here.

However, Prop. 93 is crystal-clear about who can -- and who can't -- run. Two of the top election lawyers in the state -- The “Yes on Proposition 93” campaign attorneys Robin Johansen and James Harrison -- issued the following statement regarding the impact of the initiative on legislators last night.

"This measure is clear -- only current and newly elected Members will be subject to its provisions. It expressly contains a narrow transition provision that allows existing Members to serve a full 12-years in the house they're currently in so long as those years are served consecutively.
 
By creating this single exception -- for current members only -- it precludes any other exceptions. This would include former members currently covered and termed out by Proposition 140."

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