Let's Make It Tit for Tat in Sacramento

Politicians just can't sit still. They have a genetic urge to create, and pass, laws, whether they are needed or not. Many fall into that irrelevant latter category. Even Gov. Jerry Brown agrees with that. This year, there are 745 new laws on the books in the Golden State. Brown admits that a slew of them are useless and address no pressing need whatsoever. But he signed them anyway in a sort of feel-good effort to placate the pols. It has gotten to the point where several legislators, Peninsulans Joe Simitian and Jerry Hill among them, encourage their constituents to come up with proposed new laws every year. Again, a happy exercise to help the voters stay involved. That's fine. However, given the obvious fact that we have far too many laws already, it ought to be part of the process to get rid of a law if you decide to create a new one. A tit for a tat, as it were. Then the governor wouldn't have to go through his annual signing charade.