Capitol Alert

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tapped four new members and reappointed a sitting member to the 11-person State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors today.

Francis Quinlan was reappointed to his current position and another appointee will replace current board member Vincent Mudd, whose term expired earlier this year.The three additional appointments -- Don Garcia, James Richardson and William Zachry -- fill vacant seats that were created by a 2008 bill.

Filling the positions so that the membership includes all nine administration appointees could improve the governor's shot at securing its approval of a partial sale of the quasi-public State Compensation Insurance Fund.

Lawmakers and the governor counted on a $1 billion sale of a piece of the fund as part of the July plan for closing the $24 billion budget gap. But the board's approval of a July resolution opposing the sale and several other roadblocks,have raised questions about whether the sale -- and the $1 billion it was projected to reap -- will come to fruition.

The vote against the sale, which was conducted during a closed session, has been a sticking point between the board and the governor's office. Board members have contended that their stamp of approval is needed to sell part of the fund, while the governor's finance officials say the board doesn't have veto power of the sale.

"The administration continues to believe that it can achieve a higher value for the state by selling a portion of the fund," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Mike Naple. "Specifically with regards to the actions of the board, the governor is confident that they will pursue policies that ensure a stable workers' compensation system for California."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom clashed with CBS 5 reporter Hank Plante this week when he was asked about him avoiding the press and missing some public events since he dropped his gubernatorial bid last month.

An irritated Newsom responded that he'd been working hard, while Plante repeatedly confronted him with media criticism of him.

The mayor responded, "I don't read the press. It is comical some of the things that have been written. It's beyond laughable. Damaging? No. I think only to the credibility of some of the news organizations that have written it. And to the extent that I care? I don't."

See the video here.

An anti-tax recall movement against Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, has failed to gather enough valid signatures to go to the ballot, the California Secretary of State's office announced Friday.

The recall effort was launched after Adams provided one of three GOP votes needed in the Assembly to pass a temporary income tax increase last February.

Using the legally required random sampling method to test signatures, Los Angeles County found that out of 500 randomly sampled signatures only 327 were valid. In San Bernardino County, out of 1,339 signatures sampled only 661 were valid.

Out of 58,384 signatures that recall organizers gathered in both counties, elections officials projected that 24,579 would be valid. That fell short of the 35,825 needed to qualify for the ballot.

As California's legislators stare down a forced 18 percent pay cut next month, many of them can say they have already volunteered to fall on the sword before.

As of Nov. 1, though, one legislator who volunteered for a 5 percent cut last July rescinded her decision. Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, asked for her original salary to be restored as of this month, according to Deborah Hoffman, Pavley's spokeswoman.

Hoffman said Friday she didn't know why Pavley had a change of heart, and said she couldn't get in touch with Pavley to ask her to explain.

Last summer, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg asked fellow senators to take one for the state budget by agreeing to a 5 percent cut from the $116,208-a-year salary most earn.

If all 40 senators had taken the cut, it would have saved $235,000 out of the Senate's $100 million annual operating costs.

All but two agreed to follow Steinberg and accept the drop in their salaries.

Those resisting were Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, who declined to talk about his decision, and Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, who said a cut would only contribute more money to "the Democratic majority for more game playing."

For now - at least for this month - Pavley now joins Wright and Ashburn. Next month, though, none of them will have a choice.

Last July the California Citizens Compensation Commission voted to cut legislators' pay by 18 percent in December 2010. But an opinion issued Thursday by Attorney General Jerry Brown paves the way for salaries to be slashed next week.

Democratic state Sen. Rod Wright , whose residency claims are the subject of an investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, has opened a campaign account to pay for potential legal costs.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office searched two homes last September in connection with an investigation into whether Wright lives in the 25th Senate District that he represents.

Taxpayers for Rod Wright Legal Defense Fund, which was opened in early November, can be used to pay for attorney fees and other costs that arise because of the investigation.

Legal defense funds, which aren't subject to contribution limits, came under scrutiny in recent years after The Bee reported lawmakers were tapping into the accounts to pay for Hawaii getaways and fundraising expenses at ritzy locations. In 2007, the Fair Political Practices Commission voted to tighten disclosure and spending rules. Now, candidates must identify why the fund was needed and can only use the cash for legal fees.

LA District Attorney Public Integrity Division head David Demerjian said his investigation is continuing. Wright couldn't be reached for comment.

As we wait to hear who Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger taps for the vacant lieutenant governor spot, one 2010 "guv lite" hopeful appears to be bowing out of a bid for the job.

"I'd rather be in the Senate for the next couple of years ... if I was going to have to decide right now," Democratic Sen. Alan Lowenthal told the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Lowenthal, who's termed out in 2012, had raised $27,000 for a lieutenant governor bid as of his last campaign finance report, with only one late contribution of $6,500 reported since the July filing deadline.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn seems to be getting closer to launching a full-fledged run.

Hahn, who's raised $168,000 in contributions of $5,000 or more since opening an exploratory committee in September, sat down with the liberal blog Calitics last weekend for an interview about her potential run.

The other Democrat vying for the seat is Sen. Dean Florez. , who's stored up more than $872,000 for his bid.

Sens. Sam Aanestad and Jeff Denham have thrown their hats in the ring for the Republican nomination.

No shortage of news around the Capitol this week.

The Legislative Analyst's Office delivered more bad news about California's future fiscal shortfalls.

The Assembly moved up its race to finish "Race to the Top" legislation before the New Year.

A decision to increase student fees by 32 percent sparked student protests at UC campuses.

Attorney General Jerry Brown gave the green light for cutting legislators' pay mid-term.

And, of course, there was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's overseas trip to watch.

But it looks like the Capitol will be calm today, so maybe it will finally feel like the Legislature is out of session.

HEARING: The Assembly Select Committee on Workforce Development Within the Developmentally Disabled Community meets in San Francisco today.

TOWN HALL: Assemblyman Steve Bradford, D-Gardena, and Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, are teaming up for back-to-back town hall forums in Lawndale and Los Angeles Saturday.

GOV2010: Tom Campbell is talking to the Santa Barbara Area Republicans in Montecido today. Steve Poizner will be the first guv hopeful to participate in the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce's "Gubernatorial Candidates on Parade" lunch series. He's also holding a small business roundtable in Modesto.

BIRTHDAY: Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, turns 61 today.

Ed Reinecke, who was California lieutenant governor some 40 years ago until being forced to resign after being touched by the Watergate scandal, has endorsed Meg Whitman for the Republican nomination for governor, the Whitman campaign announced today.

The announcement didn't mention Reinecke's conviction for giving perjured testimony to Congress - a conviction later overturned on appeal - in its recitation of Reinecke's business and political career, which included a stint in Congress. But a Whitman spokesman said the campaign was aware of that aspect of his career.

Reinecke was a Southern California congressman when then-Gov. Ronald Reagan tapped him to become lieutenant governor in 1969, succeeding Bob Finch, who resigned to join the Richard Nixon administration. Reinecke served as lieutenant governor until 1974, when he was compelled to resign.

"I am honored to have the support of Ed Reinecke who shares my deep concern for our state,'' Whitman said. "Having served with one of the great leaders of our time, Ed recognizes the need for new leadership in California and agrees we should focus on job creation, economic growth and limiting government spending."

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell announced today he's passed the $1 million mark in fundraising, nearly doubling what he had raised by the end of June.

The former congressman has largely been seen as an experienced but poorly funded challenger to his two GOP opponents, wealthy former Silicon Valley CEOs Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, who are spending much of their own wealth on their candidacies. Whitman has already given $19 million to her own campaign.

Despite the money disadvantage, Campbell has consistently placed second to Whitman in polls, with Poizner running a distant third.

Attorney General Jerry Brown said today that the California Citizens Compensation Commission can cut state legislators' salaries mid-term.

Secretary of the Senate Greg Schmidt and Assembly Chief Administrative Officer Jon Waldie had asked Brown to look at whether the commission's proposed 18 percent salary reduction was legal.

Jim Sanders has more on the opinion at SacBee.com.

Read the full letter after the jump.