THE TIMES POLL : Legislators on the Take, Most in Survey Believe

SACRAMENTO —  The California Legislature, which reconvenes today, has such a poor public image that most voters think it is commonplace for lawmakers to take bribes, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

Voters believe overwhelmingly that most legislators “are for sale” to fat-cat campaign contributors, the survey showed. In fact, voters largely assume that all of state government--the executive as well as legislative branches--”is pretty much run by a few big interests.”

Gov. George Deukmejian, beginning his final year in office, is generating only lukewarm support from voters, who have a hard time naming anything that either he or the Legislature has accomplished recently.

Ironically, the governor and the Legislature had their most productive year together in 1989, laboring hard to reach complex agreements on highway improvement, garbage disposal and compensation for injured workers.

But continuing scandal, including a lingering FBI investigation into Capitol political corruption, and the current trial of a state senator on charges of extorting bribes and laundering money, has severely tarnished the image of a state Legislature that only a few years ago was considered a model for the nation.

Even the Deukmejian Administration, which has maintained a relatively clean image throughout most of the governor’s two terms, recently has been brushed by the Lincoln Savings & Loan scandal.

The poll found that the electorate would support financing political campaigns with tax dollars and eliminating all private contributions. Voters also like the idea of limiting the length of time that legislators and statewide officials can remain in office.

The Times poll, directed by I. A. Lewis, asked 2,046 California adults--including 1,594 registered voters--a series of questions concerning their opinions of the Legislature and state government. The margin of error for the telephone survey, conducted Dec. 2-6, is three percentage points.

Although just one legislator--state Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier)--currently faces a formal charge of soliciting bribes, a majority of voters (53%) surveyed by The Times thought that “taking bribes is a relatively common practice” among lawmakers in Sacramento. This was especially true of Los Angeles County voters and Democrats statewide.

Only 38% felt that bribe-taking was “rare.” The most trusting were voters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Republicans.

By 2 to 1, voters agreed with the thesis that “most state legislators are for sale to their largest campaign contributors.”

And while many veteran politicos and academicians long for what they consider “the good old days” in Sacramento, two-thirds of the voters saw no difference between the current crop of legislators and their predecessors when it came to honesty.

The ugly image extends beyond the chambers of the Legislature, the survey showed. By 2.5 to 1, voters agreed that “state government is pretty much run by a few big interests” rather than “for the benefit of all the people.” Again, the most negative views came from Los Angeles County and from Democrats.

Almost half the voters figured that state government pretty much ignores the rank-and-file citizenry, paying “not very much or hardly any attention at all to what the people think when it decides what to do.”

And it was a wash, from the voters’ view, between which branch of government is the most honest. Democrats thought the Democratic-controlled Legislature the most honest. Conversely, Republicans gave the GOP governor higher marks for honesty.

At any rate, voters estimated on the average that nearly a third of members of both the Legislature and executive branch “got there by using unethical or illegal methods.”

Fewer than half the voters surveyed--45%--approved of “the way George Deukmejian is handling his job as governor.” The rest were split about evenly between those who disapproved of his performance and people who felt they still did not know enough about the governor--despite his seven years in office--to have formed an opinion.

This job performance rating for Deukmejian was roughly similar to one found two months earlier by a Times poll.

In the latest survey, six in 10 Republican voters approved of Deukmejian, but only one-third of Democrats and independents did. The governor rated high among political conservatives, frequent church-goers, people with higher incomes, those over age 65 and rural voters. He ranked especially low among union members and liberals.

Many voters were at a loss to cite state problems that either the governor or the Legislature had dealt with successfully. Four in 10 could not name a Deukmejian success and half could not cite a legislative accomplishment.

Among voters who offered opinions, Deukmejian’s achievements were considered to be mostly in the fields of taxes, education and crime. No accomplishment really stood out for the Legislature. And both branches of government got low marks for “ethics,” although the Legislature last year did spend several months developing a wide-ranging ballot proposal aimed at cleaning up its image and curbing its most flagrant abuses.

Few voters--fewer than 1 in 10--credited Deukmejian with “a great deal . . . of leadership and vision as California prepares for the 21st Century.” But a solid majority said he had provided at least “some” leadership and vision. The Legislature, on the other hand, was not given credit for even “some” leadership and vision by most of those surveyed.

As the Legislature convenes the second half of a two-year session, there is no question what voters regard as “the most important problem facing California today.” It is crime and drugs, selected by 70% of those asked. No other issue came close on the voters’ priority list. Blacks were particularly worried about this scourge.

Allowed up to two answers each, people also cited education (26%), the environment (20%), automobile insurance (16%) and health care (13%) as important problems.

Fewer than one in 10 voters named transportation or government ethics, two issues the Legislature focused heavily on last year.

As for the Legislature’s “greatest problem,” voters tended to think it was that “members are too tied to special interests through campaign contributions.”

Three-fourths of those surveyed--Democrats and Republicans alike--advocated banning every private campaign contribution and providing tax dollars to pay for legislative races. Two-thirds also said they would “be willing to have a dollar or two added” to their state income tax to finance all political campaigns in California and eliminate private donations.

Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, calling state government a “swamp,” has proposed a political reform ballot initiative that would provide partial public financing of campaigns for the Legislature and statewide office.

His sweeping measure also would impose California’s first-ever limits on the number of consecutive years elected state officials could remain in office. For the state Senate or Assembly, the limit would be 12 years. For statewide office, such as governor, the limit would be eight years, or two terms.

Legislative leaders have reacted angrily to Van de Kamp’s proposal for term limits, accusing him of pandering to the voters. Indeed, the Times poll showed that voters do agree with the attorney general. Seven in 10 favored “a limit on how long state officials can stay in office.” And six in 10 would not allow a politician to hold the same job for more than eight years.

Voters in this survey--especially Republicans--also tended to think that the once-a-decade reapportionment of legislative and congressional districts would be more fair if the task were taken away from the Democratic-controlled Legislature and given to a bipartisan commission. There are various ballot proposals afoot to restrict or completely eliminate the Legislature’s role in reapportionment.

California’s initiative system remains popular with voters, despite having produced a staggering number of ballot propositions in recent years. By 5 to 3, those surveyed said that ballot measures “act as a brake on government” rather than “taking over government.”

Voters tended to believe that the growth in ballot measures has occurred because “the people of California use propositions to force needed reforms.” Fewer voters subscribed to the thesis that “powerful interests with a lot of money use propositions to get around state government.”

Two-thirds of the voters agreed that ballot measures are “complicated.” But these voters also said that they are nearly as informed about the ballot measures as they are the candidates.