Citizens for CA Reform promptly put a downloadable version of its initiative petition on its website (www.reformcal.com) so voters "won't need to find signature gatherers in front of the local grocery store to engage in the process," the group says in a release, starting an effort to collect roughly 700,000 valid registered voter signatures (with more needed to ensure qualifying for the statewide ballot).

On their July 17 show, KFI radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou -- whose afternoon talk show on the 50,000 watt outlet can be heard from Central CA to the Mexican border (as well as via the internet) -- supported the measure, ridiculed opponents and lauded Citizens for CA Reform President/CEO Holt.

Screen save: www.kfi640.com

"Can we punish all the bastards, all of them, Democrats and Republicans?...This would be the ultimate payback...This is our chance. This could be the great roar. I would love this, I would love this more than anything else," said Mr. Kobylt.

The pair played a sound clip of Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon (D., Los Angeles) who opposed the measure on grounds that "These individuals who are promoting a part time legislature frankly don't understand the complexities...California is the eighth largest economy in the entire world. To reduce us to a part-time legislature would put us back like in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama."

The hosts replied, "No, Texas and New York...43 states..." and Mr. Kobylt added, "Boy, what a schmuck. Complexities? You can't do simple math. You consistently spend tens of billions of dollars more than you take in...That's the guy I want to punish! That's the guy I want to reduce to 95 working days!...All they do is destroy the economy. They've destroyed the business environment, worst business environment of all fifty states...They've just sucked money out to give it to the unions..."

Looking at the ReformCal.com website, Mr. Kobylt said. "It has a very clean, professional presentation" and he added, "And I like the sound of Gabriella Holt [photo right] who's the President and CEO...These are smart people, you can tell by the way she speaks..."

[Photo source: Citizens for CA Reform website]

In a release after the KFI segment, Citizens for CA Reform said "Traffic to the website in order to download the petition was tremendous on Friday [July 17 when the KFI segment aired] and over the weekend." To hear the July 17 KFI segment, click here and use the audio player scroll bar to hear the period between 25:32 and 32:40.

Ms. Holt, an RN and former PV schoolboardmember who ran as a Repub against LB Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal (a Dem) in the Dem-drawn 54th Assembly district in 2008, also recently guested on LB's Straight Talk TV show (click here) and addressed the June 2009 meeting of the LB Taxpayers Association.

Citizens for CA Reform cites research by the National Conference of State Legislatures indicating that only a few states have "full-time" Legislatures (no limits on duration of legislative sessions, convening each year as does CA)...and says the Legislatures of most states (including major states like Florida, New York and Texas) meet only for short periods of time.

The group states in its measure's text that "[CA] Legislators do not work "full-time" yet they receive full-time pay and benefits, more than double the amount of all other states. Yet, with all of these incentives, they continually fail to accomplish their most important job, passing a balanced state budget on-time."

The "Citizen Legislature Act" proposes a legislative session that will convene in regular session on the first Monday in January of each year for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days. The Legislature will then reconvene in regular session on the first Monday in May not to exceed 60 calendar days.

"Under this proposed system, legislators will spend nine months out of the year in the real world, understanding what the people of the state need from their representatives," said Ms. Holt in the group's release. "We need to get the power out of Sacramento and back to the local communities and the people of the state."