Californians should worry whenever state officials start urging reforms of the initiative process. Trying to weed out abuses can also uproot voters' right to direct democracy.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson last week announced a bipartisan package of initiative reforms he is sponsoring. Some of the proposals, such as letting the Legislature negotiate with initiative sponsors over a measure's content, deserve more examination. But Californians can quickly dismiss at least one idea.

Part of McPherson's package is SB 1715, by Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, which would extend the time to gather petition signatures from 150 days to 365 days. Proponents say that allowing more time to collect signatures would ease the need for campaigns to use professional signature gatherers to meet the qualifying deadline.

In practice, though, this change would merely increase the number of initiatives that would qualify for a vote, further crowding state ballots. Already, long lists of ballot measures - recent highs include 16 in November 2004 and 21 in March 2000 - help camouflage special-interest agendas or burden voters with complex policy decisions.

SB 1047, by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, offers a better approach. The measure would forbid per-signature payments to those circulating petitions or registering voters. Barring the per-signature bounty would make such drives a less-mercenary undertaking and help nudge the process back to its grass roots.

After all, when the governor, Legislature and California voters approved the initiative process in 1911, the idea was to give voters a way to bypass the Legislature when policymakers refused to act. Voters have enjoyed that freedom - but so have special interests, which exploit the process to push proposals that would never withstand legislative scrutiny.

Meantime, if government by initiative creates haphazard public policy, blame that on the Legislature's failure to address many of the state's most pressing issues.

California officials should tread lightly when tinkering with citizens' power to place issues on the ballot. And voters, for their part, should be wary of ceding what little political sway they have left in Sacramento.