The budget process in California freezes in paralysis each year. Every spring and summer when the budget comes up, residents of the Golden State listen to Democrats and Republicans in Sacramento throw up their hands, incessantly point fingers and whine about the “other side.”

The only thing accomplished in a timely fashion is constant bickering. While most state senators and Assembly members claim they’re doing a good job of representing their constituents, we think most people privately view them as a herd of incompetents.

California’s state budget is a political football that consistently bounces unevenly and indiscriminately.

Something needs to change, and there’s a growing group of folks who think it might require drastic measures.

Maybe it is time for the first California constitutional convention in 130 years (see related story on page 1). Since the legislature isn’t getting the job done, it would give the people a voice in determining what can and should be done about overcrowded prisons, funding for cities and counties, gerrymandered legislative districts, and priorities for public schools and the environment.

The scope of the constitutional convention would be limited to guidelines set forth in a ballot initiative, so unauthorized amendments to the state constitution would be forbidden. The convention would have to honor the principles set forth in Prop. 13, however, or it deserves to fail at the ballot box.

California is broke, both literally and figuratively, and ideologically obsessed officeholders in Sacramento share a big part of the blame.

From California’s smallest city to its most populated county, elected officials may publicly sympathize with state legislators. Privately, though, we suspect the state’s officeholders are viewed as fatally flawed and deeply mired in party lines.

Their unyielding allegiance to “politics as usual” must end. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval ratings sank to new lows as voters grew tired of the same old rhetoric.

Perhaps just the notion of a constitutional convention will light a fire in Sacramento. We won’t, however, hold our breath.