Nunez to Unveil Sweeping Redistricting/Term Limits/Fundraising Ban Proposal Today

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez will outline a compromise package today that includes redistricting reform, a budget-time fundraising ban, and a revised attempt at tweaking term limits.

The redistricting component features an independent 17-member "hybrid" commission. No legislators will serve on the panel, with the majority picked randomly from a screened pool with no legislative influence and eight others picked by legislative leaders. Unlike the Voters First initiative that may appear on the November ballot, this proposal requires diversity in every step of the process and puts the Voting Rights Act first and foremost among the criteria in selecting districts. There's also a host of transparency and public input provisions.

The term limits provision is similar to Prop 93, but excludes the provisions that protected many incumbents that drew criticism. It reduces the maximum amount of time a person can serve in the Legislature from 14 years to 12 years, allowing  a legislator to serve all their time in one house.

There's also a fundraising blackout period prohibiting campaign contributions to legislators and the Governor from May 15th until the budget is enacted.

The proposal will be included in two pieces of legislation: ACA 1, which includes the bulk of the proposal, and AB 3069, which contains a statutory provision relating to the new redistricting commission.

Assembly GOP Leader Mike Villines is expected to be supportive of the plan, with Assembly action slated for sometime in the next few weeks.