Repealing or loosening term limits. Politicians are more beholden than ever to contributors and see no political gain in trying to solve long-term state problems. Elected representatives no longer fully grasp the basics of budgeting and regulatory oversight.

Turning legislative redistricting over to the state Supreme Court or a special commission. Politicians do it now, making safe districts for themselves. Over time, the primary-voting faithful of each party push the seat farther to the left or the right.

Amending Proposition 13, not to increase tax rates but to make it harder for corporations to escape reassessment. Homeowners can't disguise a sale as a 100-year lease, so why should banks and insurance companies be able to?

Amending the state Constitution to make it harder to place voter initiatives on the ballot and to recall officials. The initiative process has been hijacked by special interests, from casino operators to labor unions. Sponsors today don't bother with volunteers; they "buy" qualifying signatures by deploying an army of paid signature gatherers.

Plug the loopholes that encourage corrupt relationships in which politicians shake down contributors and pay them back with favors at the citizenry's expense.

Another chronic contributor to the state's political deadlock is the requirement that two-thirds of legislators must pass the annual state budget.... A ballot initiative sponsored by Democrats and already in circulation would lower the threshold for passing a budget or raising taxes to a 55% vote.... Both parties share blame for the state's deep hole of debt, but the measure's sponsors should agree to delay and incorporate it in a broader package that could be put to voters by 2004.