Two new developments in California to note. The first was discussed in a Sacramento Bee story this morning, in which two state assembly representatives have announced their intention to introduce legislation next year to create an assembly of California citizens to address election reform issues. According to the story, this citizen’s assembly would have two members from each of the eighty state assembly districts, “selected by a task force of academic experts from a pool of volunteers representing the state’s adult population according to age, gender, race and geography.” Details are sketchy, especially regarding what powers this citizen assembly would have — and why anyone might listen to their recommendations or conclusions. But it is an innovative idea, and it will be interesting to see what the legislation looks like when it is introduced, and whether the state legislature will act on the idea.

The second development is a rumor that I heard this week, that there might be a new redistricting ballot measure brought forward soon, very much like the recently defeated Proposition 77. According to the story recounted to me, the measure may differ from Proposition 77 in two ways. One difference is that it won’t force a new redistricting upon us before the next decade. The second difference is that instead of having a panel of retired judges develop the redistricting plan, the idea will be to have a panel of selected citizens develop the plan. How the citizens would be selected is unclear (it was described to me as something like a lottery, from a pool of citizens interested in participating in the project), but it is another innovative idea to bring fresh thinking to election reform debates. If and when I hear more about this potential new redistricting ballot measure, I’ll pass information along …