Senator Proposes State Parliament To End Gridlock

The Legislature’s oldest member has a solution for gridlock in state government - a California parliament.

State Sen. Alfred Alquist, 86, is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to replace the state’s two-tier Legislature with a one-house system modeled after a European parliament.

Voters would elect a 120-member state Senate, and its majority would pick one of its members to serve as governor, the same way parliaments in Europe and elsewhere pick prime ministers. The governor would appoint other top state officials.

His proposal needs two-thirds majority in both houses before it even gets on the ballot.