California CodesCalifornia Constitution - CONSArticle IV — LegislativeSection 1.5
The people find and declare that the Founding Fathers established a system of representative government based upon free, fair, and competitive elections. The increased concentration of political power in the hands of incumbent representatives has made our electoral system less free, less competitive, and less representative.
The ability of legislators to serve unlimited number of terms, to establish their own retirement system, and to pay for staff and support services at state expense contribute heavily to the extremely high number of incumbents who are reelected. These unfair incumbent advantages discourage qualified candidates from seeking public office and create a class of career politicians, instead of the citizen representatives envisioned by the Founding Fathers. These career politicians become representatives of the bureaucracy, rather than of the people whom they are elected to represent.
To restore a free and democratic system of fair elections, and to encourage qualified candidates to seek public office, the people find and declare that the powers of incumbency must be limited. Retirement benefits must be restricted, state-financed incumbent staff and support services limited, and limitations placed upon the number of terms which may be served.
Notes
Establishes findings that unlimited legislative tenure, self-created retirement benefits, and state-funded staff give incumbents unfair advantages, discourage challengers, and foster career politicians. It states that terms, retirement benefits, and support services should be limited to restore fair elections, but contains findings and declarations rather than an operative limitation itself.
Use as reference
Lexinter.net | Cal. Const. art. IV, § 1.5 | https://laws.lexinter.net/constitution/california/article-iv/section-1-5