Higher Quality Government

13 October 2013

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown:

In 1949 Winston Churchill expressed a truism that has withstood the test of time: “If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law.” So it is with disappointment I read that you recently signed a number of bills including Assembly Bill 48.

As a representative of the People, we expect you to act in our behalf as a common-sense safety valve when the legislature goes astray, and veto such bills. You are the gateway and must require that the legislature produce only sensible, intelligible, and necessary legislation that preserves the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

With your experience as a former California Attorney General I expected you to quickly grasp the fundamental flaws in bills such as AB48, including the absence of a “grandfather clause”—literally creating a new class of criminal out of law-abiding citizens, ex post facto—and the absence of a specific exemption for law enforcement or entities that service law enforcement (e.g. FedEx and UPS).

I have specifically addressed AB48 in this letter, but I do so only to illustrate. There are many other bills that are badly flawed. By signing these bills, you have added dozens of new rules, regulations, and laws that are ill conceived—even unintelligible—and ultimately unconstitutional. These bills will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars to litigate (we will have to prosecute with private funds and defend with tax dollars) and we will ultimately see them struck down, a huge waste of time, resources, and money, irrespective of where anyone stands on the issues behind the bills.

When considering legislation, I ask that you consider this 3-step process:

1. Adopt the philosophy espoused by the Supreme Court of the United States and require that legislation be “written to be understood by the voters” (Heller, 554).
2. Require that the legislation account for mens rea, perhaps better stated as criminal intent. Many bills could meet this requirement by simply adding eight words: “when used in the commission of a crime.” Certainly this requires more work than what the legislature has produced of late, but given the legal background of its members, this is completely feasible and reasonable.
3. Demand a legislative analysis that estimates the number of affected individuals and that illustrates the overlap of the proposed with existing legislation—heed the warning of Prime Minister Churchill. Any legislation that imposes more rules and regulations on the People should be held to the highest standard; if it is truly worth passing, it is worth being done well and done correctly, and bills that are struck down do not meet that standard.

Governor Brown, the People and the State deserve and demand higher-quality legislation from those who represent us. We look to you to send that message loudly and clearly to the legislature. Please veto all legislation that does not meet the criteria outlined above.