Dick Spotswood: Marin term limits one of several ideas that could be laws

“There ought to be a law.” With due respect to the creators of the old-time newspaper cartoon strip, that expression reflects an instinct for many Americans. Marin-Sonoma Assemblymember Damon Connolly has an annual “There Ought to be a Law” contest encouraging our citizenry to propose new state legislation to improve Californians’ lives. Here are my suggestions for new laws.

• Term limits for all local offices: No Marin local government has limits on the number of terms that its elected officials can hold. Mill Valley and Belvedere have informal but universally observed term-limit traditions. Two four-year terms are usually the maximum. If there is widespread community support, a third term is an option, but that’s the absolute limit.

Otherwise, an office holder can literally spend decades in the same office pursuing the “we’ve always done it this way” syndrome. Nine out of 10 of the largest U.S. cities, including San Francisco, now have term limits for mayor. Years ago, when considering the suggestion of longevity caps for members of the Board of Supervisors, Marin County’s Civil Grand Jury opined that the limit should be three terms.

I’d suggest a statewide limit of three four-year terms for county supervisors, mayors, city and town council members, and special purpose district boards of directors including school trustees.

• Attending public meetings in-person is time consuming. Few avail themselves of the opportunity unless the topic immediately impacts their quality of life. To achieve transparency, every local elected government should be required by state law to livestream all board and committee meetings and record them, enabling viewing at the public’s convenience.

A new statute should require all governments at the state and local level to schedule their meetings no earlier than 5:30 p.m. Since most taxpayers are at work or otherwise engaged during workday hours, meetings should be scheduled in the evening.

• New taxes should require a two-thirds supermajority to pass. The same goes for measures increasing existing taxes. Any distinction between a “tax” and a “fee” in existing statutes should be eliminated. They each have the same effect and should be treated identically. Corte Madera recently enacted a “fee” for fire mitigation purposes in construction. Since it’s labeled a “fee,” no public vote is required. That needs to change.

• Most voters oppose open borders. A federal law should be enacted requiring employers in every state to use E-Verify. It’s a fast and free Department of Homeland Security online program that confirms an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States.

Employers who fail to use E-Verify should be charged with a crime. People immigrate to the U.S. to flee a homeland racked with poverty. Most come looking for work. If they do so without proper documents, they will be unable to work if employers use E-Verify.

If given no chance of obtaining employment in the U.S., the issue of illegal immigration is resolved. It’s accomplished without America’s “secret police” (aka Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents) raiding Home Depots, church festivals, grade schools and hospitals seeking to deport the “poor huddled masses.”

Many employers don’t use E-Verify because they know the result if they do: Their prospective employees are here illegally. They then can’t hire them.

Their business will fail since there are few legal citizens willing to do the poorly paid work in the agriculture, hospitality, elder care and construction sectors. I suspect that most of those employers are Republicans who support President Donald Trump, which is why the administration doesn’t already mandate E-Verify.

The resulting shortage of workers will have negative economic consequences for businesses, and for the prices consumers will pay for everything from fruits and vegetables to caring for grandma.

Is the trade-off worth it? That’s what elections determine. Currently, enforcement is aimed at “huddled masses seeking to be free.” Might the politics change if large employers joined immigrants in being targets for  immigration law enforcement?

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.