It looks like California legislators or aides who blow the whistle on Capitol corruption won't be able to rely on legislation to save them from retaliation.
A bill to protect Capitol officeholders and employees who file a complaint of improper activity came before the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday, where it died.
Assembly Bill 1378 failed to get a motion or a second in the committee. Last week, the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed it 10-0.
Legal protection for blowing the whistle on government corruption or wrongdoing now applies to most employees – including executive branch employees, California State University workers and legislative appointees to boards and commissions.
AB 1378 would have expanded the list to include current and former legislators and their employees. The measure was proposed by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, who has announced he won't run for state or federal office this year.
State Auditor Elaine Howle, responsible for investigating such complaints, estimated that the measure would increase costs by about $400,000 a year. She opposed the bill.
Because AB 1378 didn't reach the Assembly floor, it left no trail of votes that incumbents might have to defend in this year's coming elections.
>BILL WATCH
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved legislation to create a single-payer health care system in California on a 6-2 vote, setting the stage for a vote of the full Senate. A fiscal analysis of Senate Bill 810, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco has estimated that running a health care system open to all 37 million Californians could cost up to $250 billion a year.
>WORTH REPEATING
"He is a much more practical governor now than maybe 30 years ago. But he is still a dreamer."
SEN. TED LIEU, D-Torrance, telling the New York Times that California's high-speed rail project is "very evocative" and something he believes Gov. Jerry Brown "would like to be part of his legacy"
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