One of the concerns about a potential constitutional convention in California to address such issues as budgetary and political reform is that it could get out of hand -- and that delegates would decide to stray off into other areas involving individual rights and liberties.

How do Californians feel about that? It depends on which direction a runaway convention would run, according to a new Field Poll on the issue.

When pollsters asked California voters whether they thought the convention "should be limited to matters relating to the way government operates rather than including social issues such as same-sex marriage," a solid 59 percent said the convention should be limitied.

But when they asked whether the convention should stray into issues involving illegal immigation, a plurality of voters said that would be a good idea (48 percent to 42 percent).

It's something to keep in mind as Californians consider the merits of a convention. The last time the state held such a convention, in 1879, the new constitution included several anti-Chinese immigrant provisions, such as barring those of Chinese ancestry from owning property.

At a daylong conference on reform issues in Sacramento yesterday, Prof. Amy Bridges of UC San Diego, who has extensively studied the constitutional conventions of Western states, said that social and religious issues have always found a way into the discussions. "You probably can't get away from it," she said. "It will come up."