It has come to my attention from talking to many
of my supporters that they have had it with our
California government. Enough is enough about
what our elected officials are doing while in
office. One of the biggest concerns was that not
enough time was being spent reading the bills
that are being presented before the legislature.
The cause and effect of problems arising in state
government is from slackers who are not doing
their job while in office. Many of those elected
have their aides read and interpret what is in
the packages they receive from their analysts,
or better known as lobbyists, to get the elected
official to do what they want. This problem has
been getting worse every year when big money is
thrown at the feet of the elected officials.
The special interest lobbyists have made a joke
out of all politics. We need to address the issue
by changing the rules of the game. Recently, a
group of interested people had e-mailed me on
the issue of our elected officials reading the
material presented to them for their vote. One
measure being suggested is that all elected officials
must read all bull and they MUST GIGN THAT THEY
HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CONTENTS OF THE BILL
before voting in favor or against that bill.
The issues are simple to understand. If you don't
understand what you read then don't vote on the
bill until you do understand it. Many of the bills
have a lot of information to be read such as the
last bill on the bail out. The bill contained
800 pages of information that needed to be absorbed
in a matter of a few days. Many of the decisions
that came out of the bill, merely put us deeper
in debt because most had no time to read the text
of the bill.
What we would like to see is that every lawmaker
would need to sign this pledge. In doing so it
would help protect those who are paying the bills.
Not all but certainly the majority of our legislators
are not doing their jobs. We need to give them
some guidelines on what we expect. Prior to voting
on any bill, each member of the legislature shall
execute in writing the following statement:
"I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that
I have not committed any act in violation of Penal
Code Section 86 in connection with (insert bill
number and title).
I further certify under penalty of perjury that
to the best of my knowledge, my vote on (insert
bill number and title) has not been influenced
by any act taken by any person in violation of
Penal Code section 85 and/or section 15 or Article
IV of the California Constitution."
A vote shall not be counted unless it is determined
that the member casting such a vote has executed
in writing those statements. The certification
requirement shall not apply to committee votes.
In summing up the measure that we speak of,
the people of California have entrusted those
elected to office a tremendous responsibility,
a power granted to a select few. With this honor
and privilege, the people have a certain request
to make of you, the elected official. Just do
what is right for all of the people of California
that voted you into office.
