Archives - July '07

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
In a memo to the Senate sent on Friday, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines reveal that the centerpiece of the tax-cut plan passed in the wee hours of the morning was miswritten and the legislation, Senate Bill 98, "inadvertently" applied a sunset clause to "existing research and development provisions of California law."

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
Jim Rounsavell thinks Democrat John Edwards would make for a fine president. And so the Sacramento-area resident did what he does for the candidates he supports: He wrote a musical campaign ballad.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) announced on Monday that the state's investments earned an estimated 19.1 percent return for the fiscal year ending June 30 - more than double the assumed rate of return.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
State Controller John Chiang announced on Tuesday that the ongoing budget stalemate prevented his office from paying an estimated $1.1 billion to "to community colleges, special education programs, nursing homes, cancer detection programs and small businesses that provide services to the State."

By Judy Lin -- Capitol Alert
Education advocates are putting pressure on Sen. Jeff Denham to vote for the state budget.

The Education Coalition - a group made up of various K-14 interest groups, including the powerful California Teachers Association - is campaigning in the Republican's district near Modesto on Tuesday. Advocates are urging local officials to lean on Denham so schools will be fully funded to the tune of $55 billion.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
Outside of the state Republican convention in 2006 when signs declared them as running mates, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Tom McClintock haven't agreed on much in the last couple of years. As Schwarzenegger has been a worldwide global warming icon, McClintock continues to fume about the topic.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
After the Schwarzenegger administration rebuffed an invitation by Assembly Democrats to have top aides Susan Kennedy and Dan Dunmoyer testify before an oversight hearing today on the happenings at the state's air board, the Governor's Office announced Friday morning that Dan Skopec, a former Cal EPA undersecretary who recently left the administration, and Eileen Tutt, Cal EPA deputy secretary for external affairs, will testify.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
Former state Sen. Byron Sher, an environmental leader who termed out in 2004, has written a letter to his former Senate colleagues (or at least the few that are still there) urging Senate Democrats not to give in to GOP budget demands to overhaul the state's environmental quality law, which was signed into law in 1970 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan.

By Dan Smith - Capitol Alert
Business backers of a measure to change legislative term limits sent a memo to supporters Wednesday saying enough signatures to place the matter before voters Feb. 5 had been collected, but delivery to election officials would be delayed while lawmakers who would benefit struggled to hash out an already-overdue state budget.

Capitol Alert Staff
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said Wednesday that the Senate will not take up Republicans' proposed budget cuts unless all 15 GOP senators in the minority caucus vote for the budget bill. Here's the letter he sent to GOP Leader Dick Ackerman Wednesday afternoon.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
The Center for Public Integrity has released a survey ranking and comparing the level of disclosure for the personal financial information for governors of all 50 states. California ranked 12th, and was given a grade of "C."

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
That's the official response from Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's spokesman answering the e-mail and letter-to-the-editor from former state Treasurer Phil Angelides criticizing the Assembly budget.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
Legislation to allow gay marriage in California moved one step closer to reappearing on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk on Wednesday.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
California's political watchdog agency has a permanent chief of enforcement. Amanda Saxton was named as chief enforcer for the state's Fair Political Practices Commission on Monday.

By Shane Goldmacher Capitol Alert
Move over Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, someone else in the Capitol has a California public school named after them.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
Californians hoping to send Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger an e-mail through his Web site, http://govmail.ca.gov, were in for a rude awakening today, as the site was hacked by a group calling itself "Satanic Souls."

By Judy Lin -- Capitol Alert
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked at a press conference today about the loss of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, an arm of the Department of Consumer Affairs that regulated 1,500 for-profit schools. The bureau shut down Saturday, leaving no state oversight of an industry serving an estimated 400,000 students.

By Judy Lin - Capitol Alert
While everyone is waiting for Senate Republicans to release their list of proposed savings, the absence of a budget is playing funny tricks on state welfare and health care supplements.

Capitol Alert Staff
Four weeks into an overdue budget, and when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Tahoe on Wednesday, here's what he had to say about it:

By Judy Lin -- Capitol Alert
It seems Assemblywoman Noreen Evans is doing her part to finish the budget. The Democrat who represents Napa Valley donated two bottles of wine to the Assembly speaker's office today after reading in The Bee that the mood lightened after leaders shared a bottle of 2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia and a 2003 red wine from Quintessa Estate.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
"Late budgets are one of the things that get a lot of coverage," said Kevin Spillane, a GOP consultant based in Sacramento. "It's simple for voters to understand and one of the few ways they can see if officials are doing their jobs."

This is from the San Francisco Chronicle. The budget is 10 days late. The story appeared on page C-2.

By Judy Lin -- Capitol Alert
It looks like the budget stalemate will continue one more day.

Senators have been instructed to stay within 1 hour of the Capitol, ready to meet at the call of President Pro Tem Don Perata, but there are no signs of a floor session Thursday.

Perata and Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman are expected to continue negotiations behind the scenes.

By Judy Lin - Capitol Alert
About 4:30 p.m., Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata locked down his house after Republicans rejected a $103 billion state spending plan on an initial vote.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
The presidential campaign comes to California in several ways today. First, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign will open a Northern California office in San Francisco's SOMA district.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
The Los Angeles Daily News has published - and confirmed - the details of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's affair with a local Spanish-language newswoman.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
The California Endowment, a nonpartisan statewide health foundation, announced Tuesday that the foundation is making a $6 million television ad buy, urging California's leaders to reform the state's health care system.

By Shane Goldmacher -- Capitol Alert
Democrats on the powerful Senate Rules Committee, which is charged with confirming gubernatorial appointments, have sent a letter to members of the California Public Utilities Commission calling on the PUC to require telecommunication companies to provide contract terms and conditions "in whatever language those services are marketed."

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made yet another appearance on national TV this morning, in a taping of the Early Show on CBS with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

Capitol Alert Staff
The Senate convened for a few minutes Wednesday morning to take up Republican budget reduction proposals, then recessed for 24 hours so that the GOP measures can be analyzed.

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
Oprah Winfrey, the venerable daytime TV host, will play host to a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the first presidential candidate she has publicly endorsed. The Oprah-Obama affair will take place at Oprah's home on Sept. 8. Los Angeles Times.

By Aurelio Rojas -- Capitol Alert
With the state budget tardy and no end in sight, some California legislators are getting restless.

On Monday, Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, asked Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, from the floor of the Senate for a budget update.

"Not being on the budget committee, not hearing anything on the floor and not being on the conference committee, I have absolutely no idea what is going on," Aanestad said.