Capitol Alert

An aide to Assemblyman John Laird, a member of the Legislature's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, has the rundown of what seats now held by openly gay lawmakers are up for grabs in 2008.

All told, aide Chris Moore reports on the California Majority Report that three-fifths of the five-member LGBT Caucus is terming out of office this year, including Laird, Assemblyman Mark Leno, and Sen. Sheila Kuehl.

But Moore says the LGBT caucus could grow to as many as eight seats.

There are openly gay Democratic candidates running in AD 8, AD 13, AD 14, AD 40, AD 46 and AD 80, as well as Sen. Christine Kehoe running for reelection and Sen. Carole Migden's seat, where two of the leading candidates (Migden and Leno) are openly gay.

The state's campaign watchdog will oppose any bills that create more work for its staff unless they get paid.

The Fair Political Practices Commission approved a resolution last week saying it would oppose "any legislative measure, introduced during the remainder of the 2007-08 legislative session, that expands the duties or responsibilities of the commission or requires additional commission resources to implement, unless the measure includes an appropriation adequate to carry out its provisions."

Like every other agency, the commission is facing a 10 percent budget cut. The commission's staff of 78 operates on an $8.1 million budget and is responsible for regulating campaign spending, conflicts of interest, and gifts given to public officials and candidates.

There are currently a half dozen bills in the Legislature, ranging from gifts from lobbyists to reporting bribes. It's unclear whether the commission will oppose any of those bills, including one that it is sponsoring.

"We're doing everything we can with what we have," said spokesman Roman Porter. "We think it’s the most responsible position to ensure that the requirements we have are met."

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez announced today that he'll be travelling to Texas to campaign for Sen. Hillary Clinton this weekend through early next week.

Voters in the Lone Star State head to the polls Tuesday in what is being billed as a must-win contest for the Clinton campaign.

Ralph Drollinger, the controversial Capitol clergyman who created a stir this week with remarks that some legislators are "disgusting to our Lord," is firing back at his critics with a second Web posting, where he says tolerance of nonbelievers is "to neuter the message of Christ."

Drollinger, an evangelical critical of those who don't embrace his vision of Christianity, has taught weekly Bible lessons in the Capitol for more than a decade, earning a $120,000 annual salary from a nationwide group, Capitol Ministries.

"Far be it from any professing Christian, in the Capitol or elsewhere, to neuter the message of Christ in order to make unbelievers feel comfortable in their sin," Drollinger wrote in a follow-up Web posting to a Wednesday Bee story. "This is tantamount to putting a terminal patient on a morphine drip — they die slowly, and go to hell forever, but feel pretty good about themselves on the way."

Drollinger, a basketball player at UCLA in the 1970s, was particularly critical in his original writing of a competing Bible fellowship group in the Capitol, led by Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, which is more inclusive.

Drollinger's latest entry is called "The One and Only Way to Heaven."

"Contrary to what former California lawmaker Tim Leslie said in this morning’s Sacramento Bee article, there are not 'many paths' to Christ," Drollinger wrote of the group.

Drollinger continued, "I fear that the fellowship group in the Capitol is selling the wrong Jesus," saying the group believes in a "feel-good historical role model" instead of Jesus as Messiah.

Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the Senate's president pro tem-elect, said Drollinger's earlier comments were "intolerant," "troubling" and "deplorable."

"There's just no place in civil society for intolerance of someone's different beliefs," Steinberg said in Wednesday's Bee . "It's the beauty of this country, that people have the right to practice their own faith."

Assemblyman Mike Villines is the sponsor of Drollinger's Bible study and in June 2005 said he didn't recall missing a single Drollinger-sponsored Bible study.

But the Clovis Republican said of Drollinger's original Web posting that he was "very, very uncomfortable with the comments, and I don't agree with them."

This is hardly the first controversy for the 7-foot-2-inch Drollinger. He has derided Catholism as a "false religion" and was protested on the Senate floor after he said it was sinful for a female lawmaker to be away from her children while working in Sacramento.

Drollinger remains a staunch defender of his views, writing in the recent posting, "We should not be surprised by the world’s duplicity, i.e. the world worships tolerance (subjectivism), yet lashes out against Christ and His followers as the only acceptable target of intolerance. This is nothing new."

As Kevin Yamamura reported in today's Bee, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has come up with a plan for his newly returned tank: letting schoolkids drive it.

Watch the governor describe his plan, in his own words, below:

The raw video is from the Capitol Television News Service, with editing by The Bee's Alan LaGuardia.

Here's a compilation of reactions after the Assembly officially voted Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, as the next speaker of the Assembly:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:
“I congratulate Assemblymember Bass on her historic election as speaker of the California State Assembly. In becoming our state’s first female African-American speaker, she serves as an inspiration to every citizen of this great state.

“Speaker Núñez and I have worked together on a number of issues during his tenure including AB 32 and comprehensive health care reform and he has been a dedicated and tireless leader for the Assembly and the people of California. I look forward to building on this partnership with Assemblymember Bass in her new role and achieving the same kinds of bipartisan successes on the important issues facing Californians.”

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez

“The wisdom of the Caucus is going to break the glass ceiling, to say, finally we’re going to elect a Democratic woman to be the Speaker of the California Assembly. We are going to not only write a new chapter in California history, but I’ve been told we’re going to write a new chapter in American history by electing the first African-American woman in the history of this nation to be the Speaker of a state legislative body.”

Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines:
“I congratulate Karen Bass for earning the confidence of her colleagues to become the next Speaker of the California State Assembly in this historic election. I look forward to working with her to build a stronger California. I also want to thank Speaker Nunez for his service to the people of California and offer him and his family the very best as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

“The Legislature is facing many difficult challenges this year, especially in the face of California’s $16 billion budget deficit. Working together, I am confident that we can face these challenges head on and do the right thing for California’s hard working families.”

Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus:

“It is with the deepest sense of pride and exultation that I extend my heartfelt congratulations to my friend and colleague, Karen Bass, on her history-making step into the storied annals of California politics as Speaker-elect of the California State Assembly.

“This is cause for boisterous celebration by people throughout our entire state. We now know that the phrase – ‘Change We Can Believe In’ – is not the sole property of a political movement of national import and significance.

“With Karen Bass’s election as Assembly Speaker, we are witnessing, at this historic moment, our own unique brand of ‘Golden State Change We Can Believe In’.

“Karen is a leader with whom we can thoroughly entrust our future. She will confidently and assertively promote policies, programs and perspectives to benefit the people of the State of California.

“She will advance a people’s agenda marked by her signature style of steady, caring sensibility with an unwavering desire to find common ground among opponents to achieve a common good.

“I have known and worked with Karen for more than 20 years. She turned a small, little-known nonprofit community-based organization in South Los Angeles advocating for substance abuse prevention into a powerhouse for neighborhood organizing and activism to promote a community’s quality of life in urban communities.

“Under Karen’s leadership, the runaway train of liquor stores on every block in South Los Angeles was stopped in its tracks, paving way for new small businesses whose daily commerce helped reduce crime rather than inflame it.

“She had the same impact on motels that operated next to neighborhood homes, schools and parks that had routinely injected vice into South Los Angeles and brazenly housed and hawked prostitution on their nearby streets. Karen brought these motel owner’s unlawful and unseemly business practices to a halt through organized community resistance that demanded change and local prosecutions.

“There is no challenge in our state too great for Karen’s skills and determination. If you have any doubt, ask any one of the thousands of foster children who reside in California. Karen made all of them her children within the influential corridors of influence in the State Capitol. Her dogged concern and caring led her to introduce, pass and have signed into law landmark reforms for our state’s foster care system.

“With Karen Bass at the helm of the State Assembly, we can all be assured that California is in good hands and we will all experience the best of political embraces. It is for these reasons, and many more, that I will be forever proud to call my esteemed friend and colleague, Madame Speaker.”

California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres:

“The California Democratic Party congratulates Assemblywoman Karen Bass on her historic election by her colleagues as the next Speaker of the California Assembly. Assemblywoman Bass has quickly ascended from being a passionate and dedicated community activist to becoming the first female African American to serve as Assembly Speaker. I also wish to thank Speaker Nunez for his distinguished service and record of achievement during his speakership.”

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa:

“This is an historic day for our state, our nation, and my friend Karen Bass. For the first time, we will have a woman in the ‘Big Five’ negotiations on the budget. Our top negotiator will bring a woman’s perspective to negotiating the budget. I am proud of what her leadership represents, and I look forward to working with her in the future. I will be honored to call Karen Madam Speaker.”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell:

"I am delighted with the election of Karen Bass as Assembly Speaker and congratulate her on this well-deserved position of leadership. With Assemblymember Bass as Speaker and Senator Darrell Steinberg as Senate President Pro Tem-Elect, California's schools and students will be served by an education dream team.

"Both leaders have proven track records of supporting public schools and working to close the achievement gap to help all students succeed. Now that a promising new leadership team is in place, we all must work together over the next few critical years to create the conditions for improving student achievement and preparing all students to thrive in a demanding global economy. "

Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach:

“As a woman, her leadership will bring a fresh, new perspective. It is gratifying to see the Assembly elect an African American woman to lead their house. For some of us, it has been a long-hoped for development."

"Her election is also about her fine character and the leadership qualities that Karen Bass possesses. I congratulate Karen Bass on being the first Democratic woman elected Assembly Speaker. To finally witness this historic moment is an achievement for all Californians, especially women and especially women of color.”

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi:

"I congratulate Assemblywoman Karen Bass on her selection as California’s next Assembly Speaker. Hers is truly a California story, and today’s decision is one of which every Californian should be proud.

“As a former community organizer who helped turn around tough neighborhoods in her native Los Angeles, Karen stands as proof that through determination and hard work, we truly can leave California a better place than we found it – for our children and their children.

“With her impressive background and her experience as a proven and effective legislator, Karen has the skills and the know-how to begin solving our persistent budget crisis, addressing health care access and affordability, and investing in our future – bringing people together while holding firm to our principles of equality and opport unity. I look forward to working with Assemblymember Bass and continuing to work with Assemblymember Nunez to these ends.

“Today I also commend Speaker Nunez on his impressive service to the State of California. As the leader of the Assembly, Speaker Nunez led the Assembly in tacking California’s fiscal issues, adopting landmark global warming legislation, and making the expansion of health care to every Californian a top priority. I wish him well as he leads the Assembly through the remainder of the year, and as he continues to be an important voice in our State.”

Chuck Quackenbush, who resigned as California insurance commissioner in 2000 after accusations of misusing public funds, turned up as a deputy sheriff in Florida. But the once-rising Republican politician is again in the news. After shooting a suspect during an arrest this week, he has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an internal police investigation.

The News-Press, a Florida newspaper, has obtained the sheriff's report on the altercation, which misspelled Quackenbush's name throughout.

The fight and shooting happened after 1 p.m. Tuesday at a home on Westminster Street in Lehigh Acres. Deputies went to the duplex apartment to arrest Buda on a charge of battering his wife during a fight the night before.

Buda then picked up the Taser and pointed it at Quakenbush. The deputy then pulled out his handgun and shot Buda. Buda was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition after undergoing surgery.

Quackenbush, who also served in the California Assembly, resigned his statewide office in 2000, after an investigation by the Assembly Insurance Committee found millions of dollars in settlements with insurance companies working with the 1994 Northridge earthquake were diverted to foundations and used for political purposes.

The insurance committee report, which can still be found on committee Web site, stated:

From the Northridge rubble Mr. Quackenbush and his top deputies created an exploitive enforcement structure. The evidence demonstrates they:

The findings are virtually inescapable given the evidence amassed by the Assembly Committee on Insurance as it conducted oversight hearings into DOI’s enforcement practices and priorities.

Quackenbush, who was never charged with a crime, didn't make his way directly to Florida from Sacramento. He moved briefly to Hawaii, which, according to his Web site, was "a wonderful way of decompressing and preparing for the future."

He began competing in Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling -- "a new passion of mine," he wrote -- before eventually moving to Florida.

There, he joined the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on June 27, 2005.

According to a profile from last year in the News-Press, Quackenbush earned $35,449 as a deputy.

From that profile:

A sheriff’s office background report asked him his career intentions and got this response: “I want to go as far as possible in this profession.”

The report continues: “When asked why he would give up an alleged $90,000 salary (a part-time position in a company he owned) to a deputy’s salary ($35,449), he said: ‘My wife and I have made a lot of money in real estate and now I can follow my lifelong dream of being a police officer. I thought I was too old until I moved to Lee County and found out they would take me.”

During the internal investigation of this Tuesday's shooting, Quackenbush will remain on the sheriff office's payroll.

Sacramento Bee File, 2000

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today labeled Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill's alternative state budget "unfair" and called on legislators to speed up spending cuts.

Schwarzenegger proposed a 10 percent across-the-board cut in most state spending to offset a budget deficit that Hill pegged at $16 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year and all of the next. But Hill rejected that approach and suggested, instead, that spending cuts should be selective and smaller than Schwarzenegger wants and that $2.7 billion be raised through eliminating or narrowing tax loopholes.

Hill's selective cuts are "an unfair way to go," Schwarzenegger said in a speech to Town Hall Los Angeles while urging lawmakers to move quickly on more spending cuts to speed up their fiscal impact.

"If we have $96 billion that's all we have," Schwarzenegger said, contending that continuing to spend more than the revenue system can produce is "setting yourself up for failure."

Schwarzenegger says he opposes any broad new taxes to close the budget gap while Democratic legislative leaders say they want to balance spending cuts with new revenues.

Sen. Tom McClintock may be sitting on the fence about running for Congress, but he'd like to raise some money while there.

"We have opened an exploratory committee to raise the funds necessary to take the initial steps before I am able to commit to this race," McClintock wrote to supporters earlier this week. "Your generous support would allow me to complete the exploratory process expeditiously and would weigh heavily as I prepare to make the final decision."

With a little cash on hand.

State Sen. Tom McClintock made a public stop today on his -- maybe, maybe, quite possible -- courtship with running for Congress in the Sacramento region's 4th District.

As California College Republicans gathered on the north steps of the Capitol to urge McClintock to run for the seat being vacated by Rep. John Doolittle, McClintock eagerly dropped in on the fun. And he said he'll decide soon.

"I expect to be making an announcement one way or another next week - so stay tuned," McClintock said.

The Thousand Oaks Republican was egged on by Ryan Clumpner. The UC Davis student and state chairman of the College Republicans presented him with two poster boards filled with signatures of people asking him to get into the race. The signatures were gathered at last week's state GOP convention in San Francisco.

"I don't know what to say except thank you," McClintock said. "Obviously, we're looking at this very carefully. This kind of encouragement means a lot. ... I wish I could offer you an announcement and an answer, but it will be a few more days."

The 4th District GOP primary field has already attracted former Rep. Doug Ose from the Sacramento-region 3rd Congressional district, former state lawmaker Rico Oller, and Air Force reservist and intelligence consultant Eric Egland.

The only GOP hopeful who actually lives in the 4th district, Egland showed up to urge McClintock to run in his place, saying: "I'd be honored to support you, sir."

Meanwhile, Egland is keeping own his bid alive. "Until he's a candidate, I'm a candidate," he said.

At an education event today in Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fielded a question about his administration's possible plan to move toward building a peripheral canal.

Asked by a reporter whether his administration is considering signing an executive order, Schwarzenegger said:

Well, I'm very proud to say that we have for the last 18 months all worked together very hard, all the stakeholders, Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a solution and to improve our infrastructure and water.

So when they turn on the faucet, there's water coming out. When the farmers turn on, want to irrigate their land, there's water coming out. That's what I want to guarantee.

Reporter: Can we expect an executive order from your office in the next week or so?

Right now I have no plans, but I will let you know. As you know, we are like an open book. Everything that is developing in our office, you will always know about it.

The transcript comes from Kevin Yamamura, who attended the event.

The state prison oversight agency put out a report today assessing the $33 million that the medical care receiver's office spent on itself during its first 15 months of existence.

In looking at the expenditures, the Office of the Inspector General recommended that the receiver keep close tabs on what it pays the help and make sure his staff does a better job documenting travel expenditures.

Some 12 employees of the receiver's office used to make more than the $225,000 salary of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Jim Tilton, the OIG said.

Robert Sillen, the former receiver who has since been ousted by the federal judge who appointed him in the first place, led the league with a projected annual wage and benefit package of $620,628, according to the OIG report.

Sillen's replacement, J. Clark Kelso, responded with a two-page letter saying he's already adopted the OIG's recommendations. Kelso said he's cut the receiver's internal budget by $4 million for the current fiscal year and that only eight of his employees are now making more than Tilton.

John Hagar, the receiver's chief of staff (who is still on Kelso's staff), pulled down $605,526 for his services during the 15-month period, according to the OIG.

Kelso said in his reponse he reserves the right to pay the help more than the state's salary structure if that's what it takes make California prison medical care comply with the U.S. Constitution.

Read the OIG's report and Kelso's response here.

Three Senate Democrats, including President Pro Tem Don Perata, have fired off a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger saying they are "shocked" by recent administration actions toward building a peripheral canal.

In the letter, also signed by pro tem-elect Sen. Darrell Steinberg and Sen. Mike Machado, a chief negotiatior on water issues, the Democrats say the administration has "acted unilaterally" in moving toward a controversial canal.

They cite three specific moves by the Schwarzenegger administration, including the state's water department telling an Assembly member it had "broad authority and discretion to construct facilities like the Peripheral Canal” under current law.

The letter also cited eight positions in the 2008 budget to study an alternative conveyance system, better known as a canal, as well as "a resources agency official stated in a public meeting on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan that the administration is preparing an executive order directing to begin environmental and engineering documents for a canal facility," according to the letter.

"Launching a peripheral canal without addressing ecosystem, water quality, structure and governance simply enflames old sectional passions and suspicions," wrote Perata, Steinberg and Machado. "And, it moves us in the exact opposite direction from a comprehensive water policy."

The full letter is below:

The newly elected Senate GOP chief sat down with Capitol Alert for a wide-ranging interview this week, talking about everything from trimming the education budget to his relationship with other members of the Big 5 to internal Senate Republican caucus politics.

Sen. Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican, won election as the next Senate Republican leader earlier this month and will officially become leader on April 15. He’s expected to hold the post for quite some time – he’s not termed out until 2014.

“I think my reputation is pretty well established in this building,” Cogdill said in the interview. “People see me as a straight shooter, an honest person that doesn’t play games. I’m a pragmatist. I look to find practical solutions to the problems that confront us.”

But with a multibillion dollar deficit and the GOP holding only a small minority in the Senate (15 of 40 members), Cogdill faces challenges from the outset.

Cogdill said balancing the budget – where Republican votes are needed – is his top priority. But don’t expect him to bargain away GOP support quickly. Cogdill said of last year’s 50-plus day budget standoff, “We didn’t take it as far as we should have.”

Still, he pledged to “find that middle ground.” He inherits a Senate Republican Caucus that has been openly divided into two factions, one led by current Senate GOP leader Dick Ackerman, the other by Sen. Jim Battin, who twice unsuccessfully made bids for Ackerman’s job.

But Cogdill said he expected caucus relations to improve, in part due to term limits. “A lot of the parties that have been at loggerheads will no longer be members of the caucus,” he said.

Here’s the interview with the newest member of the legislative leadership:

In case you didn't know that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger owned a tank, well, it turns out he does.

And the Austrian M47 tank is on its way to California, after an eight-year detour at an Ohio museum, courtesy of Schwarzenegger, who once served in the Austrian army.

From the Associated Press:

Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said the governor plans to store the tank at a private location.

Driving a tank, he wrote, "appealed to the part of me that has always been moved by any show of strength and force."
...
"A piece of me is with that tank now," he said.

No word yet if Schwarzenegger procured the tank to backfill the state's National Guard equipment shortage.

Photo Credit: AP Photo from August 2000, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lent his Austrian M47 tank to a museum in Columbus, Ohio.

It looks like whoever ended up with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's Dodge Charger has put the car back up for sale -- on eBay.

The car, which Perata was driving when he was carjacked at gunpoint late last year, is a candy red, with the original "Certificate of Title" issued to the "Senate Rules Committee."

After the carjacking, the Senate auctioned off the vehicle -- with the highest bidder taking home the car for a cool $17,800, according to Perata spokeswoman Alicia Trost.

Whoever owns the vehicle now is trying to a turn a bit of a profit, listing the opening bid at $19,800.

So far, no bids.

There are endless photos of the car on the eBay sales item, which promises:

Complete with 22'' Panther Rims
Dual flowmasters
5.7L HEMI Motor
5-Speed Automatic Transmission
Dark tinted rear windows
Rear spoiler
Moon roof
Heated seats
Power Leather seats
A/C
Cruise Control
Keyless entry
Adult (Senator) owned
Non smoker
And a great story (maybe not so great) to go along with it!

As for Perata, an Oakland Democrat, he is now driving "a car like the cops drive" -- a used 2007 silver Ford Crown Victoria.

Note: This original version of this post said Perata was driving a navy blue Chevy Impala. That was his temporary ride until purchasing the Crown Victoria.

Hat tip: The Roundup.

Photo courtesy of the eBay listing

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he is putting Sen. Gloria Romero on the budget panel after he stripped Sen. Joe Simitian of the seat.

Perata also broke his silence on why he's been tinkering with Simitian's assignments since Simitian suggested two weeks ago the possibility of recalculating the school funding base.

"On that committee he was creating a condition that spent more time talking about philosophy than the things that needed to get done," Perata said Tuesday. "You know, we just made a decision that, at this time, this is not the best place for him to be. He has no objection to that."

Perata first stripped him of his chairmanship of the Environmental Quality Committee. That was restored Monday, but he was pulled from the budget panel.

Perata said he still respects Simitian.

The budget committee will meet later today with Legislative Analyst Liz Hill.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has dropped plans to pursue a ballot measure that would have allowed police to seize the license plates from – and eventually impound – cars driven by those without auto insurance.

Poizner, a Republican considered a likely candidate for governor in 2010, launched the initiative late last year, arguing that the law was needed to force the estimated quarter of California drivers who drive without insurance to buy coverage.

But Poizner said in an interview that he wants to “exhaust all other possibilities first” before trying to go to the ballot with those more punitive efforts.

“I am going to focus on the enforcement mechanisms built into the current law,” Poizner said. “Those haven’t been fully, completely tested and enforced yet and I want to start there first. I want to try all avenues before pursuing what was contained in that ballot initiative.”

Poizner’s decision to drop the uninsured motorist measure comes after the Greenlining Institute, an advocacy group for low-income and minority residents, sent a blistering letter to Poizner promising heated opposition and demanding he withdraw the measure.

“If the initiative qualifies and has the chance to be fully vetted by the public, you will likely face the opposition of law enforcement, civil rights groups, minority voters (Latinos, African-American and Asian-Americans), low income workers, immigrants, and voters in general who will not be swayed by polarizing racial politics,” read the Greenlining letter, sent on Friday.

Samuel Kang, a signer of the letter and legal counsel for the institute, welcomed the measure’s demise. He said Poizner was using the working poor “as stepping stones to increase his profile to run for state office.”

Poizner, a politically moderate multimillionaire, spent millions of his own fortune to win his post in 2006. He spent another $2.5 million of his own money to help defeat Proposition 93, the term limits measure on the Feb. 5 ballot, earning praise from conservative activists in the state.

Poizner said charges that his future political plans played any role in the uninsured motorist measure are “just nonsense.” He said his main goal is to expand auto insurance coverage in the state.

To that end, he pledged to continue to promote the state’s Low Cost Auto Insurance program.

“One of the most important things I can do is to expand that program,” Poizner said.

“One of the key problems with why people don’t buy auto insurance,” he said, is “a lot of people who come from low-income families believe they can’t afford it.”

Steve Westly, the Silicon Valley Democrat who funded his bid for 2006 bid for governor with his multimillion dollar fortune, has signed on as co-chair of the latest attempt to change how California draws legislative district lines.

Westly joins Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man he once sought to unseat, as co-chair of the campaign.

The measure, sponsored by California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California, among others, would strip the Legislature of the power to draw their own districts. The measure does not include congressional districts.

Sen. Joe Simitian is back as the chairman of a key environmental panel, after his sudden removal less than two weeks ago. But while he has regained that committee’s gavel, Senate leader Don Perata has stripped the Palo Alto Democrat of his seat on the Senate’s budget panel.

The changes all came following an intense budget hearing two weeks ago, when Simitian sparred with his fellow Democrats over how to cut the education budget.

“It was my choice to speak my mind,” said Simitian in an interview Monday. “Choices have consequences – I understand that."

Ultimately, losing his seat on the budget committee, even in a year where the budget is dominating the Capitol agenda, is a lesser punishment than losing a key chairmanship.

It all began during an evening Feb. 13 hearing on budget cuts, including a $400 million current-year reduction for education.

Sen. Denise Ducheny, chair of the budget panel, wanted the committee to cut the $400 million in a way that would not disturb next year's Proposition 98 funding guarantee for education.

But Simitian raised the possibility of recalculating that base to reflect the current-year cuts. He argued that he'd rather have a lower guarantee than set the threshold so high that lawmakers would be forced to suspend Proposition 98 next year.

“I said what I said because I was trying to avoid a Proposition 98 suspension,” Simitian said on Monday.

The two Democrats, along with other committee members, debated the issue for close to 30 minutes.

In the end, Simitian failed to convince the committee to delay action on the question and he voted – along with every other Democrat on the panel – in favor of Ducheny’s proposal.

The next morning, the Senate Daily File marked the chairmanship of what had been Simitian’s Environmental Quality Committee as a “vacancy.”

The latest committee changes are not yet reflected in Monday’s Senate Daily File. Perata’s office declined to comment on the committee changes.

Perata, who will be forced to leave the Senate at the end of 2008, has meted out harsh discipline to Democrats and Republicans alike during his run as leader.

In 2007, he locked three moderate Democrats out of their offices after they attended a fundraiser for moderate Democrats in the Assembly.

He also stripped Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican, of his vice chairmanship of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee after Denham refused to vote for the budget in 2007. Denham has since been put back on the committee, though Perata has spearheaded a recall campaign against Denham, which recently turned in double the number of signatures necessary to trigger a recall.

Brad Lewis, the mayor of San Carlos, went home a winner on Sunday night, after "Ratatouille," an animated movie about a rat-turned-chef in Paris took home the Academy Award for best animated picture.

Lewis, who works as a producer at Pixar besides his job as mayor of a city of 27,000, was in attendance, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

He attended in the same black tuxedo he wore when he got married.

It's Lewis' first Oscar.

Actor/Director Clint Eastwood, who briefly served as mayor of Carmel in the 1980s, has won five Oscars, though none while elected mayor.

Hat tip: Mike Madrid, League of California Cities.

The Senate has canceled today's floor session, previously scheduled for 2 p.m.

California Republicans gathered in San Francisco this weekend. Among the news tidbits to emerge from the semiannual convention were the decision to oust Tim Morgan as the state party's representative to the national party in favor of former state chairman Shawn Steel. The state GOP also adopted a conservative party platform, brushing aside an attempt to have a broader, more moderate set of core principles.

Among the reactions to the convention...

Katy Grime, aka blogger Fetching Jen, a columnist for the Sacramento Union, writes, "They should have boycotted that city - the Sanctuary City, and instead held the convention is a small, conservative California city... but I guess they are showing their true colors, again. A convention could have been a financial boon for a smaller valley city. Instead they gave the revenue to a biggest hypocrisy in California."

FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman clearly approved of the new party platform. He noted, "delegates overwhelmingly re-adopted a strong, conservative pro-life, pro-family platform."

Not everyone agreed. Scott Schmidt, a Schwarzenegger appointee and a gay conservative blogger named Boi from Troy, "Delegates also adopted what many had dubbed the “Platform for the 18th Century” where the party rolls back the clock on tolerance, choice and immigration rights."

"Way to show you guys are in touch with California!" Schmidt blogged.

Tomahawk, a blogger for the OC Blog, says the election of Steel over Morgan is "a classic example of what not do do when you're holding an elected position, whether it be a party post or public office: DON'T FORGET THE BASE."

Meanwhile, Democratic blogger Frank Russo ventured down to the GOP convention himself. He didn't approve of the diversity of the crowd or the bumper stickers. "There are a lot of anti-Hillary items for sale that are just plain offensive and obsessive, and aren’t going to win any votes," Russo wrote.

Finally Fleischman, himself a party vice chairman, ends with positive thoughts about the party, its finances and helping Sen. John McCain win in November. "While no one is suffering from any illusions that making California a "red state" this November will be anything other than a tremendously difficult task, everyone is now focused on achieving that goal!"

Seeing as it's Oscar season, we couldn't help but open up the awards envelope and hand out a "Best Press Release of the Week" award to Sen. Jim Battin.

The Inland Empire Republican wins for his sarcasm-dripping entry, e-mailed to the press corps late Friday afternoon, alerting reporters about the latest addition to his bill package,

Battin, a conservative who voted against California's leading recent environmental law, AB 32, is carrying legislation to allow "carbon-neutral" cars -- i.e., those driven by folks like himself who have bought carbon offset credits -- to drive in the carpool lane.

"Why shouldn't he and other environmentally conscious drivers have the same rights as low-emission drivers and live the HOV lane good life?" the release asks.

The full release is reposted below:

Battin proposes to open HOV Lanes to "Carbon Neutral" drivers

SACRAMENTO – Senator Jim Battin (R- La Quinta) announced today legislation that would encourage every owner of a polluting, flashy, fuel sucking car to buy their way into an environmentally conscious "carbon neutral" lifestyle. SB 1374 would allow auto owners who purchase carbon credits that offset the carbon dioxide emissions of their vehicles to participate in the Clean Air - High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) decal program, allowing the driver to use an HOV lane.

This program currently only applies to the first 88,000 vehicles meeting enhanced California and Federal emission standards. Under Battin's proposed law, carbon neutral vehicles can also participate in the decal program. Battin sees SB 1374 as a perfect opportunity to jump start the state's efforts to single-handedly stop the fractionally small rise in global temperature.

On February 28, the California State Air Resources Board (CARB) is scheduled to consider under its AB 32 implementation plan how voluntary early actions can start saving the planet. "I can’t think of a better way to become a true champion of the environment and reduce your carbon foot print than by going 'carbon neutral' with your car," stated Battin.

Battin himself decided to go "carbon neutral" immediately after he was scolded by the Contra Costa Times article that read, "Lawmakers' flashy, fuel-sucking cars on road at the expense of taxpayers". "I was embarrassingly caught using excess energy. The only thing I could do was take action," Battin declared. Battin immediately purchased for $45 a DriveNeutral Certificate which simply states that his CO2 emissions have been offset for one year. The obvious next question is if he has gone "green" and is "carbon neutral" why shouldn’t he and other environmentally conscious drivers have the same rights as low-emission drivers and live the HOV lane good life?

This proposal should complement CARB’s efforts. Through the DriveNeutral "CO2" Calculator or any of the dozens of other "carbon calculators" one can calculate that a 2007 Toyota Prius emits 4,229 pounds of dirty carbon per year making the Prius a worse foe to the environment than Senator Battin's carbon-free Lincoln Aviator. Through LiveNeutral, or any of the dozens of other carbon credit vendors, it would cost only $15 to eliminate this Prius polluter's carbon footprint.

Battin added, "The guilt of my excess energy using days are a thing of the past - I feel great about my carbon credit indulgence and think many other Californians will too… when they are driving guilt free in the empty diamond lane."

As California Republicans gather in San Francisco this week, presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain is banking on the party organization getting its act together to help him in November.

Presidential candidates rely heavily on state party infrastructure to build campaigns, particularly in large states like California.

On Sunday, in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Arizona Sen. John McCain said he planned to compete in California – complete with a none-too-subtle reference to popular Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s support.

Here’s the transcript:

Sen. John McCain:
But I mentioned to you earlier, we've got to reunite the party and we've got to re-energize the party. And I'm prepared to do that. We've got plenty of time. But I won't waste a day. And I'd like to mention one other thing, I'll compete all over America. We won't have - we'll be competing everywhere, including the state of California.

George Stephanopoulos:
Including California?

McCain:
Excuse me, Cal-lee-forn-yee-a, yes.

To support McCain, the state Republican Party would have to get its fiscal house in order first.

Jon Fleischman, the conservative blogger and a vice chairman of the Republican Party, extensively outlined the history of the party's $3 million debts earlier this week -- and implored the governor to help pay it off.

"I am sure that the last thing that Arnold would intend is for the deficit from the effort to re-elect him to now negatively impact Senator McCain's efforts to keep the presidency in Republican hands," Fleischman wrote.

Kevin Yamamura had more on the GOP's fiscal troubles in today's Bee.

Liberal billionaire George Soros is wading back into California’s drug and rehabilitation laws, donating $1 million to a proposed ballot measure that would relax penalties for nonviolent drug offenses.

The measure would expand California’s drug treatment program, modify the state’s parole laws as well as change possession of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, the legal equivalent of a traffic ticket.

Soros, a well-known Democratic financier who donated millions of his personal fortune to try to oust President Bush from office in 2004, is no stranger to California ballot measures. In 2000, the New York investor poured in more than $1 million of his own money to pass Proposition 36, California’s landmark drug treatment law.

That measure mandated drug treatment instead of incarceration for people arrested and convicted of being under the influence or in possession of drugs, including harder substances such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Four years earlier, in 1996, he gave close to $500,000 to pass Proposition 215, the state’s medical marijuana initiative, according to news reports.

Soros, who ranked 80th on Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people in the world in 2007 with a net worth of $8.5 billion, has been an outspoken critic of America’s drug policies and has opened up his wallet to fund ballot measures across the country.

The latest Soros-backed California measure is sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance, which bills itself as the “nation's leading organization of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good.” Soros is a member of the group’s board of directors.

The proponents of the measure, which began circulation in early January, must gather 433,971 valid signatures and submit them to county registrars by the April 21 deadline recommended by the secretary of state’s office.

So far, backers of the measure, which they call the Campaign for Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation, have raised $1.475 million – more than two-thirds of which came from Soros, who made his $1 million donation on Jan. 21.

Another $400,000 came from the Drug Policy Alliance Network, which did not immediately return a call for comment.

Note: The original verison of this story said the Drug Policy Alliance donated the $400,000, when the donation came from the group's political arm, the Drug Policy Alliance Network

The price tag of the measure is up for debate.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office’s review predicted that increased costs “could exceed $1 billion annually” for the expanded drug treatment programs, but savings “could exceed $1 billion annually” from reduced prison and parole costs. The LAO also estimates potential one-time savings of $2.5 billion from not building prisons.

With more than $3 raised per necessary valid signature, the measure is likely headed for the November 2008 ballot.

See the full text of the initiative here.

AP Photo, Wong Maye-e, 2006

The crowded Democratic primary in one of the state's only competitive legislative seats shrunk this week.

The seat, Assembly District 15, is currently occupied by GOP Assemblyman Guy Houston of San Ramon. It is the only Republican-held partisan office in the entire Bay Area, although the sprawling district includes parts of Elk Grove and Sacramento County's Delta communities.

As such, it has been a perennial target for Assembly Democrats trying to pick up a seat.

This year, with Houston termed out of office, it appeared there would be a crowded field of both Democrats and Republicans for the seat.

But, at least on the Democratic side, that has changed.

First, Steve Filson, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2006 (he lost to now Rep. Jerry McNerney in the primary), dropped out.

"It is with great regret, that we are suspending our campaign for the California State Assembly. There are a constellation of reasons both personal and political that I have reached a point to make a tough choice," he wrote on his Web site.

Then, another Democrat, Steve Thomas, also threw in the towel.

Contra Costa Times political reporter Lisa Vorderbrueggen writes, "That leaves San Ramon Valley School District Trustee Joan Buchanan as the clear front-runner on the Democratic ticket. She has raised a substantial amount of money compared with the other Democrats, which appears to be scaring off the competition. Party leaders would also prefer to have a clean primary in order to save their money for what will be a hard-fought general election fight with the Republican nominee."

Buchanan raised $166,000 in 2007 and had $125,000 cash on hand at the end of the year, according to reports filed with the secretary of state's office.

On the Republican side, expect a tough contest still. Four candidates, Robert Rao, Scott Kamena, Judy Lloyd and Abram Wilson report more than $125,000 cash on hand at the end of 2007. (And all but Wilson had more than $200,000).

That sets up a likely million-dollar June contest.

CALPIRG, the left-leaning public interest lobbying group, released its annual legislative scorecard on Thursday. Not surprisingly, Democrats achieved "high" scores and Republicans ranked "low."

According to CALPIRG, 25 legislators, all Democrats, received an "A" on their scorecard, including 11 Assembly members and 14 senators.

Curiously enough, not a single lawmaker in either house received 100 percent, according to the interest group. The group's scorecard included a variety of measures, including Democratic leadership's health overhaul bill (AB 8) and Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single-payer system (SB 840). The scorecard also included a pair of budget trailer bills.

Only one lawmaker, Republican Sen. Bob Dutton, scored a "0."

The top scoring Republican was moderate Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria. He is running for reelection this year. The lowest scored Democrat was Sen. Mike Machado of Linden.

Both Maldonado and Machado scored a 50 percent rate of voting with CALPIRG.

See the full list of senators here. See the full list of Assembly members here.

Rob Feckner won an unanimous election today to his fourth term as president of the infludential California Public Employees' Retirement System Board of Administration.

Feckner, who is also the president of the California School Employees Association and a vice president of the California Labor Federation, has served on the board since 1998.

George Diehr was also reelected as vice president.

CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund and has more than $240 billion in assets.

By E.J. Schultz
Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Schwarzenegger met privately with state lawmakers Thursday in an effort to jump start stalled negotiations on a state water bond.

There were no major breakthroughs. But legislative leaders from both parties agreed to meet again in two weeks, the governor said.

Feinstein, who was invited to the Capitol by the governor, said, “I found it very productive and very constructive and I think the key is ... to keep these people together.”

She and the governor pressed for a legislative deal to get a measure on the November ballot, rather than relying on an outside ballot initiative.

The water proposal pushed by the California Chamber of Commerce was cleared for signature gathering earlier this week.

Sen. Jenny Oropeza has introduced new legislation to further restrict smoking in California. The bill would ban lighting up a cigarette at any of California's state parks or beaches.

Oropeza introduced the legislation on Thursday, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill she authored in 2007 making it illegal to smoke in a car, if there is a child passenger.

The bill, SB 1418, is not yet in print online, but Oropeza's office reports violating the would-be law could result in a $100 fine. That's the same fine level Schwarzenegger agreed to in signing the 2007 ban on smoking in cars with children.

Oropeza, in a statement announcing the legislation, couched the bill in environmental terms. “Caring for the environment and protecting public health are goals worthy of California’s policymakers,” said the Long Beach Democrat. “Safeguarding state parks and beaches from cigarette butts, protecting fish and helping prevent fires reflect the values of most Californians. This also shows we are good stewards of our environment.”

In case you missed former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown's appearance at the Crest Theatre last night, Capitol Alert was there to bring you the highlights.

In town to promote his book, "Basic Brown: My Life and Our Times," Brown conversed on stage with former Sacramento mayor and assemblyman Phil Isenberg, who once worked as a lawyer in Brown's law office and as chief consultant to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee when Brown was chairman.

Brown entertained the crowd with the story of how he came to carry legislation legalizing oral sex (he was winging it at a candidate endorsement forum and made the pledge) and how he finally got it passed seven years later (then-Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate).

Brown also discussed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama at length, leading his listeners through a description of Obama's U.S. Senate candidacy to make the point that the Illinois politician essentially lucked out in winning the post.

"I figured nobody with a name like that's going to get elected to anything," he said of his reaction when asked to assist with the Senate campaign.

He attributed Obama's success in this presidential season to a couple of factors: "He does not frighten white people," and "He does absolutely nothing to address a black agenda and he gets the same support from African Americans that you get if you're Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson - because we have such great race pride."

With expectations now running high, he said Obama would benefit most at the moment by moving up the November election date.

"This guy is absolutely operating in hog heaven without having to do anything for it, and if he can keep it up he may be president," Brown said.

Brown also touched on a number of other subjects:

On whether his wife, Blanche, would permit him to seek another elective office: "I can do anything with any other woman, but running for office again is a death sentence."

On whether Jerry Brown is running for governor in 2010: "Jerry Brown is a candidate for governor. I don't care what anybody else says - He gonna win it."

On Hillary Clinton's outreach to the faith-based community: "Hillary spends more time in church that I have in my lifetime, but it hasn't given her salvation yet."

On who was smarter, the late Steve Thompson (the longtime Brown aide who became chief lobbyist for the California Medical Association) or John Mockler (another Brown aide who became the architect of Proposition 98): "Liz Kersten." (Former director of the Senate Office of Research.)

Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, who gave the maximum allowable to Hillary Clinton last year, has changed his mind and is now supporting Barack Obama for president. He says he will also "max out" to Obama and raise "hundreds of thousands of dollars" more from his colleagues.

The Tsakopoulos family has long been a staunch supporter of the Clintons. Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, president of the family development firm, is chair of Greek Americans for Hillary nationally and has raised nearly $1 million for Clinton's presidential bid.

A fundraiser she hosted last year had its share of problems, as anti-war protesters showed up with a flag-draped coffin, forcing the Democratic presidential candidate and many donors to wait nearly two hours while security made sure the event was safe.

Tsakopoulos, who says he has done "everything my sister has asked me to do" to support Hillary, said she's a great public servant.

"I love Hillary Clinton," he said. "This is not a choice about good and bad candidates. This is a choice about conscience. Barack Obama has moved me. He is moving our entire country."

Tsakopoulos says he's up to the challenge of raising money for Obama himself.

"I already have commitments for hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said. "When Obama comes to my home, the problem will be having enough room to get them all in."

Here's the transcript of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press conference this morning, courtesy of the governor's office. Beyond announcing a state hiring freeze, the governor took questions on subjects ranging from the state lottery to his personal travel and beef recall.

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:

I’m very happy to say that today we completed the first out of three steps in order to fix our budget problem here in the state of California. And the first step is to make the mid-year cuts, and the other two steps are to fix the next fiscal year's budget problem, budget 2008-2009. And then the third step is to fix the budget system itself.

Now, I compare this to a triathlon, and the reason is because we want to move from one step to the next very quickly, without any rest whatsoever. In a triathlon, when you finish the swim, which is the first step, you immediately jump on a bike and you do your 200 plus miles, and then after that you immediately go and run the marathon. And the same I want to happen with this here. There should be not one single day's rest. The legislators need to go and take action immediately when it has to do with the budget of 2008-2009.

And the reason why it is so urgent and so important to work immediately on this problem is because to make cuts -- now, a lot of those cuts, it takes months to take effect. So that if they make a decision, let's say this coming month -- and I would say within a month they should really have a budget together for 2008-2009, because if they make a decision in March, it will not take effect until July, and that's when it needs to kick in. If they think, or do what normally is being done, and rightfully so, to make those decisions in July or in June, it will be too late, and the budget cuts will not take effect until October, November or December. And that means that therefore we will have to cut deeper into the budget and make more cuts.

So this is why I urge the legislators to get to work on that immediately. I have total confidence that they will, with the same spirit as we worked together on infrastructure or on the mid-year cuts that we have just done, or on environmental issues and so on. I think that we have a great team here in this Capitol. I have total confidence in them that they will go and act on that immediately.

And of course the third step is then, when we have done that, is to fix the budget system itself. And this is what I have talked about several times, which is the rainy day fund, to put a rainy day fund aside when we have a surge in revenues, and also to have a system in place where we pre-determine the kind of cuts that will be made if our revenues go down. If we would have had this in place 10 years ago we wouldn't have the mess that we're in today.

There is no reason whatsoever that we ever have to make cuts on any program, period, simply because our revenues consistently go up. When you look at the charts you will see, when you look 20 years back where they were, or when I came into office, they were 76 billion dollars; today they're 96 billion dollars. The revenues continuously go up, they never go down. They always go up. The only thing is that with our system, our budget system, there is an up and down, but it always goes up in the long run.

What we want to do is have a rainy day fund set aside so when they flatten out -- like this year, instead of the 6 percent increase in revenues we only have a 1 percent increase -- then to supplement it with the rainy day fund. That's what we want to accomplish here. And also, like I said, to predetermine the programs that will be cut. So those are the kinds of things that we want to accomplish.

I also want to mention that today I have signed an executive order to instruct all of our departments to look for more cuts. And they will look at that, and I think that we can get another 100 million dollars of cuts out of it when we go in that direction. So everyone is working together to make this happen. We want to make sure that comes July 1 that we are in good financial footing, and that we have the money, that we don't run out of cash and all of those kinds of things.

So with that, I want to open it up. And know also that the LAO is going to come out with a report tomorrow to what their opinion is, and I'm looking forward to that. And I will then, after that report, get together and hold a Big 5 Meeting to bring everyone together and to just have everyone march in the same direction. Thank you. Please.

QUESTION: Governor, last week the Assembly missed an opportunity to close a tax loophole, the so-called yacht tax, or the sloophole tax, 26 to 50 million they were saying. Republicans said they didn't support it; Democrats wanted it. Today they're going to take it up again. What are your hopes or expectations as to what Assembly Republicans should do?

GOVERNOR: I think that we can save 26 million dollars, and this is 26 million dollars that we could use for education or for other important programs. I think that we have proposed to get rid of that tax loophole for yacht owners, and I think that they should vote for it. Yes?

QUESTION: Governor, on prompt action on the budget, might the legislators want to wait until May, until they get the revised forecast on expenditures and revenue for the coming year before they act?

GOVERNOR: I'll tell you why I don't believe in waiting for the May revise, because everyone in this building knows the numbers. There's no secret. We don't have to wait. We know that every month our revenues are coming in short by around 500 to 600 million dollars. Nothing has changed; that has been consistent. The LAO is going to come out tomorrow with a report, so we again know the updated numbers. So everyone knows everything, so there's no surprise, or nothing that you have to wait for until May 14th. It's just for some people maybe a way of saying I can't deal with this right now, let's push it. I just want to remind the legislators that every day we wait we're going to have to make more cuts.

Now, there are some people in this building that think that if they can wait and wait, and push it to the end, that that will get us into bigger financial difficulties and challenges, that that will make us then raise taxes. But they're making a big mistake, I can tell you this right now. There will be no raising taxes, because we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem and we have a budget system problem. As I said, revenues are always going up. So we must be fiscally responsible in this building, and we must make decisions now. Yes?

QUESTION: Governor, separate from the fact, as you've said, that there might be ways for the state to increase revenue, and one of those you proposed was privatizing the lottery, and you've used the number of up to 37 billion dollars. There are some reports that say that it might not be worth that much money; in fact, the falling stock market might make it worth even less. Do you still believe it's worth 37 billion dollars, and could be a benefit to the state?

GOVERNOR: That number was thrown around, and other numbers like that were thrown around about the lottery last summer when we talked about it, when we negotiated the budget. I don't know what the current value is. But one thing we know for sure, that we should be making much more money on the lottery than we are making right now, and I think that it would be foolish for us not to take advantage of that and not use some of that money for education and for health care and other things where we need the money. I think, why are we waiting? I think that we can use that money. And so I think it will be part of the budget negotiations down the line. I think Democrats and Republicans will be talking about all of those things, and maybe other ways of creating the extra revenues without raising taxes. Yes?

QUESTION: Senator Florez is introducing a bill today to have the state reimburse school districts that may have lost money from the recent beef recall. Do you think that's a good idea? Is that something you'd support?

GOVERNOR: Look, first of all let me just say about the beef recall, I think it is horrendous and outrageous, when you look at the footage on television of the way those animals were treated. I mean, this is animal cruelty, and I am absolutely against that. And I have already sent a letter to the federal government to tell them that we will do everything we can to work together with them, to prosecute those people, to investigate, and do everything we can to really get rid of this problem. This is really horrible, to see something like that.

But as soon as Senator Florez find the money, I'm more than happy to support his call for reimbursing the schools. Yes?

QUESTION: Governor, does your executive order apply to the Horseshoe and your operations? And in what way will that directly affect operations in the Horseshoe?

GOVERNOR: I think that Susan can give you more the details on that, because she runs the office. But I can guarantee you that we will have 10 percent cuts in our office, as we recommend for everyone else to do the same thing. Absolutely. Okay. Say again?

QUESTION: Will you personally limit travel? It says some of the travel could be eliminated under this 100 million dollars.

GOVERNOR: Some of it. For me personally, I pay a lot of my travel myself, so I don't have to worry about those things. Okay? Remember, I don’t take a salary.

Dave Jensen's stem cell blog reports that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine on Wednesday could grant staff pay raises of up to 50 percent.
The move would raise the president's maximum pay about $200K, from $412,500 to $618,750.

A public employees union that spent nearly $1 million on Proposition 93, a failed ballot initiative that would have kept Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez in office, is raising eyebrows at the Capitol with a letter it sent to potential successors.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, representing about 170,000 public employees statewide, asked candidates for Assembly speaker to fill out a questionnaire addressing its key issues. Questions included:

• How would you protect funding for the In-Home Supportive Services Program?

• Will you support (our) demands for a statewide $15 minimum wage at all UC campuses and medical centers?

• In light of the state’s fiscal situation, how would you ensure that rehabilitation programs within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are refunded?

Núñez is adamant that interest groups not interfere in selection of the next Assembly leader, according to Steve Maviglio, Núñez’s spokesman.

“The speaker has made it crystal clear that the decision about the next speaker should be made by members and no one else,” Maviglio said.

Willie Pelote, union spokesman, said the the questionnaire was not “meant to try to influence the process.” The goal simply was to communicate the union’s concerns and hear candidates’ vision of the future, he said.

“We would never cross the line,” Pelote said when asked whether he would pressure legislators to select a particular candidate. “We’ve never gotten directly involved in trying to advocate on behalf of a new speaker.”

Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said he is not surprised by the questionnaire and suspects that AFSCME is not the only special interest zeroing in on the speakership race.

“I think there’s a lot going on behind the scenes,” he said.

Both houses have passed the midyear budget cuts.

Here's some of the reaction.

California Medical Association:

"These cuts will not only leave millions of Californians stranded with reduced or no access to their critical health care needs, but could break the back of a health care system that is already under serious strain,” said Richard Frankenstein, M.D., President of the California Medical Association.

"Medi-Cal patients will be forced into Emergency Rooms for their primary care, driving up costs and compromising access to emergency services for all Californians. These cuts aren't fair or humane, and don't even make economic sense. Legislators need to give more consideration than a hearing or two to the impact these cuts will have on all Californians.”

Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata:

“For too long, we have in this body denied and even defied reality. That is that California lacks a governance structure capable of managing its future.”

“We all want a better future. That is undeniable. A future where all residents have an opportunity to live responsibly, without fear and with hope. Today’s budget belies that goal. It is a statement that California is going in the wrong direction, all of California is going in the wrong direction.”

“We cut education funds, yet we say that education is the cornerstone and foundation of our democracy. We want health care access and reform, yet we cut the very meager services that we now provide. We pride our nation at protecting its huddled masses and yet we deny the most needy in our society. None of us came here to destroy or to dismantle government.”

“There cannot unfortunately be a nice antiseptic formula or automatic triggers for increases or decreases.”

“We were elected to set standards and make choices. No one born in this state or who has moved to this state, wants it to be second class. And we won’t accept second class. I believe that that is a bipartisan, nonpartisan point of view.

“Democrats and Republicans do not want a second-class state. We won’t accept a second-class educational system. We won’t accept seniors who are left alone and children who are left out. We won’t accept having more people in prison than we do in our universities. We will not allow our environment to decay when we know we can prevent it.”

“I find hope in today. I looked and watched that budget committee spend those 30 hours debating and enlightening each other. . . . But by working together, we came up with a budget. Nobody likes it and nobody here is going to posture on this budget. No one can run for another office or the same office on this budget and get much enthusiasm from constituents – I don’t care where you live. But we did work together. All of us.”

“Now maybe in the past we didn’t have the opportunity to look and see across the range. This year we will. We’re going to continue to do it in this manner. That’s why all of us are here. We are here to make lives better, to make the future brighter, to maintain the integrity of this institution, which we are simply visitors in maintaining for the greater good of this state.”

“We are a people, not a party. We are individuals only to act collectively. We are part of history, so let’s get on with making it and making it better.”

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced:

The Senate Democrat Leadership has lost its way when it comes to bi-partisanship and the collegial history of the Senate,” said Senator Denham. “These alleged solutions on the Floor today were, as usual, drafted behind closed doors and presented at the last minute to Senate Republicans on the Budget Committee.”

“The current budget crisis needs new ideas and bi-partisan solutions. Yet, all we have seen is playground politics with members being locked out of their offices and kicked off committees, as well as petty, partisan games,” said Denham.

“The yacht tax loophole makes a mockery of tax laws that all the rest of us are forced to live by,” concluded Denham. “Unfortunately, this measure was another political game that won’t see passage.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

“The legislature should be commended for working together – both Republicans and Democrats – to make difficult decisions and take this first step toward fixing our state budget. Now that we have proven we are capable of working together to make these difficult but necessary cuts, we must keep going and immediately tackle the next step in solving our fiscal issues: the necessary cuts to our 2008-09 budget.”

The California presidential primary may have come and gone.

But Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are still mining for California’s most precious political ore: 66 superdelegates who can vote as they choose at this summer’s Democratic National Convention.

So far, Clinton leads Obama in endorsements among state superdelegates, 26 to 11. She may soon pick up another, as campaign supporter and former state lawmaker Jackie Speier is favored in a special election to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos.

The state’s superdelegate lists includes U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and 33 members of Congress - soon to be 34 once Lanto’s replacement is elected.

There are also 33 state members of the Democratic National Committee, which includes four of the members of Congress. The remaining California superdelegate is former DNC chairman Chuck Manatt.

Here is a breakdown of California superdelegate preferences. Stay tuned for updates.

• McClintock for Congress
GOP consultant Jeff Flint reports on Red County Placer that a new poll in the fourth congressional district that shows Sen. Tom McClintock way ahead of former Sen. Rico Oller and former Rep. Doug Ose.

"Clearly, this poll is intended by McClintock backers to entice him into the race. My source says that the folks who did the poll conducted it without Tom's knowledge. That may or may not be the case. It's either a well-orchestrated move, or a genuine attempt to "Draft" him into the race, but there is no doubt he would be a formidable, perhaps field-clearing candidate, if he indeed jumped in," writes Flint.

FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman writes, "This survey from a reputable firm has now put all eyes onto McClintock."

• All talk
Speaking of Placer County politics, one-time radio host turned Assembly candidate Eric Hogue has turned radio host again.

The Bee's 21 Q blog reports Hogue is returned to KTKZ (1380 AM).

• Appointees
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made several notable appointments on Valentine's day. He reappointed two members of the state Board of Education -- both Democrats -- James Aschwanden and Yvonne Chan.

He also added Gregory Jones of Calabasas to the state education panel.

Jones, according to the governor's office, has worked for State Farm Insurance Company since 1968 and is currently holds a senior vice president. He's a declined to state voter.

Also, Schwarzenegger reappointed Marian Bergeson, a former assemblywoman and state senator, to the California Transportation Commission. She is 82.

• Take this cork...
Steve Maviglio, a top aide to Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, says it is time to "put up or shut up" for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, as the group, which does not disclose its donors, is asking for greater disclosure of expenses for political campaigns.

More interesting, however, are the comments, in which what appears to be a representative for the California Nurses Association writes to Maviglio, "Maybe have a glass of wine (or green tea) and de-stress a bit!"

To which Maviglio replies, "You should take the cork and, well, nevermind."

Read the whole thing here.

In meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau, state Finance Director Mike Genest had this to say about the state's budget shortfall and recent actions of the Legislature to address it:

On the Legislature’s budget savings package: “I think the Legislature should be commended for taking the problem seriously…From what I’ve been told, it’s a great step in the right direction. I would say the glass is certainly half full.”

On the possibility of a larger than $14 billion shortfall: “There have been some developments in the national economy data that we didn’t have access to…(when the Department of Finance put together revenue estimates.) They haven’t been good developments.”

On the state’s borrowing over more than one fiscal year: “It’s a signal of big problems and we don’t want to send that signal, and we don’t think we need to, and now with these actions of the Legislature, we think we’ll be fine.”

On the state’s cash flow: “You always want to be prudent about cash. You should be a lot more conservative about cash than you are about budget….If you don’t make your bond payments, you’re done. You can’t let that happen.”

On Republican support for budget measures: “We think it’s a very good thing for there to be a two-thirds vote. You need Republican buy-in, because this is a tough budget and we like to see Republican buy-in right through the whole process.”

After what one senator described as a "raucous" budget committee hearing last night, Senate leader Don Perata stripped fellow Democrat Sen. Joe Simitian of his chairmanship of an influential environmental policy committee.

The move was reflected in Thursday morning's Senate Daily File, where the chairmanship of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee was now marked "vacancy."

Simitian could not be reached for comment, while Perata declined to comment on the move.

At Wednesday night's hearing, the committee recommended $500 million in current year education cuts. But Simitian, a Palo Alto Democrat, was advocating a different approach to the cuts that would involve recalculating the Proposition 98 education funding guarantee.

One committee member, Sen. Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat and the Senate's president pro tem-elect, said the meeting "got a little raucous."

"We ran into a little bit of a controversy, if you will, with the Prop 98 issue and one of our members had a very legitimate, Joe Simitian had a very legitimate point of view about whether or not we rebench Prop 98," said Steinberg. "You know Senator Perata and Senator (Denise) Ducheny (the chair of the budget committee) did not want to rebench Prop 98 down as a result of one of the cuts we were making."

Steinberg spoke with The Bee on Thursday morning before news of Simitian's chairmanship removal was known.

"I stepped in, and I essentially explained my point of view and that you know, we need to (side with) Senator Ducheny on this. We went on our way," Steinberg said.

Simitian, despite his vocal disagreement with Perata and Ducheny, joined the eight other Democrats on the committee in unanimously approving the midyear budget cuts. Republicans abstained from the vote.

Mike Genest, the director of finance for the Schwarzenegger administration, said he saw few differences between the approach advocated by Simitan and what was ultimately approved by the committee.

"The two approaches get you to the same result," Genest said, saying the amount of money dedicated to schools remained the same. "I don't really understand the substantive issue there."

Substantive or not, Simitian was missing his chairmanship come Thursday morning.

Perata, who is termed out of the end of 2008, has shown a penchant for governing his house with iron fist.

In 2007, he locked three moderate Democrats out of their offices after they attended a fundraiser for moderate Democrats in the Assembly. Last year he also stripped Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican, of his vice chairmanship of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee after Denham refused to vote for the budget.

A recall attempt of Denham, spearheaded by Perata and the Democratic Party, recently announced turning in double the number of signatures necessary to trigger a recall of the Central Valley Republican.

The Bee's Aurelio Rojas contributed to this report.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom endorsed Assemblyman Mark Leno for Senate on Wednesday, wading deep into the Senate contest among Leno, Sen. Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation.

"There is no question Mark Leno is the best choice for change," said Newsom in a statement.

Newsom is a popular mayor in San Francisco, where he won reelection last year with no major opponents.

Don’t bother asking Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez why he repaid his campaign coffer more than $16,000 in the wake of newspaper stories outlining lavish spending on overseas travel, wine and retailers in years past.

Núñez isn’t talking.

When the Los Angeles Times reported in October that Núñez had spent tens of thousands of dollars in recent years on overseas travel and luxury purchases, the Assembly speaker defended his expenditures and urged reporters to “move on” to other matters.

Two weeks later, however, Núñez reimbursed his campaign coffers $16,124, and one month later he chipped in an additional $300. All were designated as “reimbursement for travel,” according to state records filed two weeks ago.

Núñez, questioned about the reimbursement at a meeting this week of the Sacramento Press Club, declined to identify what he had purchased and why the reimbursement was necessary. State law does not require him to elaborate.

“Let me just tell you, everything in the campaign reporting is proper,” he said.

Opponents of Proposition 93, a failed ballot initiative to alter legislative term limits, filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission prior to the election that alleged Núñez misspent campaign funds on travel and exorbitant purchases.

Núñez said he welcomes an FPPC investigation and noted that he recently passed a state audit of campaign record-keeping covering nearly $6 million in donations from 2004 through 2006.

The audit did not specifically address allegations in the complaint, however.

“At the end of the day, they’re very legitimate expenses,” Núñez said of his campaign spending.

State law requires that campaign funds be spent for a legislative, political or governmental purpose.

The FPPC is expected to vote today to require additional disclosure to help the public determine the legitimacy of campaign spending, such as the names of gift recipients, travel guests or dining companions benefiting from a lawmaker’s largesse.

If the fastest way to a woman’s heart is with flowers, Assemblyman Charles Calderon is banking that the fastest way to the speakership is long-stem yellow roses.

In his quest to be the next speaker, the Whittier Democrat dropped off a bouquet of a dozen yellow roses to all the Democratic ladies of the lower house on Wednesday, the eve of Valentine’s Day.

“If I can’t have your heart, I’ll settle for your vote,” said the note accompanying the flowers. “Please be mine, Chuck Calderon.”

There are 17 women in the Assembly Democratic caucus. That’s more than two-thirds of the 25 votes needed to become the next speaker.

One woman is already backing Calderon. In an interview, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, said the flower-giver has her support (and not because of the flowers) and would make an “excellent speaker.”

“They’re beautiful,” Parra said of the yellow roses, which she said are bringing “a little more levity to the speakership race.”

“And so close to Valentine’s Day,” gushed Parra, who added that Calderon “knows he’s not going to win over votes” with flowers – but they couldn’t hurt.

“They might be the only flowers I get,” she joked.

Calderon, whose two brothers have also served as lawmakers (brother Ron is currently in the Senate), has been part of a leadership play before. He was a member of the Assembly in the 1980s and a member of the “Gang of 5,” the group of dissident Democrats who unsuccessfully tried to unseat then-Speaker Willie Brown.

This year, Calderon is not the first to make an effort to woo his female colleagues. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, sent a letter to all her fellow Democratic Assembly members last week, saying the "time has finally come" for a female speaker.

The race for speakership is considered wide open, with some 10 candidates putting out feelers among their colleagues. See Capitol Alert's list of would-be candidates here.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez showed off his Capitol digs today to Mexican President Felipe Calderón, and Núñez, being a man, couldn't help compare things.

"Sitting on opposite ends of the speaker's couch, Núñez explained, in Spanish, the significance of his office, saying at one point that he found it 'interesting' that his personal office space is 'larger than the governor's,' " according to a pool report by Edwin Garcia of the San Jose Mercury News.

Núñez added that the downside of his sizable office in the north wing "is like a museum for us, we can't put anything on the walls."

He'll also have to vacate the space at the end of the year due to term limits.

Add Esquire to the list of national magazines that have written a glowing profile of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The story, by reporter Tom Junod, is centered around a set of meetings he seems to have attended with Schwarzenegger and advocates fighting for their slice of the budget.

There are interesting tidbits, such as the governor reaching out to the tobacco lobby during the health care debate.

"(T)his was probably the first time in history they were asked their opinion,” he said after the meeting. “They’re always considered the enemies, the villains, they create all the illnesses. But here they’re being given a chance to contribute to health care..."

And this from Schwarzenegger, "It was like God said, Hey, you want to circumvent the Republican primaries, because you’re not conservative enough for them? Here’s the recall."

Junod certainly came away enamored with the governor's leadership style, writing:

How in the world does a governor of California base his politics on the idea that he has no limits? If you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger, you simply take the trick that’s worked for you your entire life -- the realization of your will through the sublimation of your will -- and adapt it to the realities of state politics.

KQED’s John Myers has a full review of the Esquire piece on his blog.

The Schwarzenegger story is the March cover of Esquire. Add that to the recent list of Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Muscle & Fitness, which have featured the governor.

The Education Coalition is ramping up the pressure on lawmakers not to cut education funding in the budget.

The campaign announced airing ads in Spanish on Tuesday.

Today, education advocates are hosting news conferences in Oakland and Riverside to highlight the impact of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts.

To tackle the state's $14.5 billion budget, Schwarzenegger proposed suspending Proposition 98, the state law that governs education funding, to save money this year.

"The education coalition takes (the proposed cuts) very seriously and you're going to see events across the state," said spokeswoman Robin Swanson. "These cuts are deep, they are serious and we are taking them very seriously."

The Assembly and Senate budget committees are meeting today, as the Democratic legislative leaders have said they hope to vote on potential mid-year savings by the end of this week.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez said on Tuesday he hopes to raise revenues to close half the anticipated budget gap.

Schwarzenegger has proposed across-the-board cuts, to spread the pain evenly across all public programs, calling it a "fair" approach.

But Swanson, when asked what parts of the education budget the coalition would be willing to see reduced, replied, “We can't afford more cuts. This isn't the place to be cutting.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared late Tuesday that June 3 would serve as the special election to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos.

But there's more. Eight weeks earlier -- on April 8 -- voters in the 12th congressional district will go to the polls for a primary election.

The first election (the one in April) is an open primary. That means all the candidates from all the political parties appear on the same ballot.

If any candidate wins more than 50 percent of the votes cast, that candidate wins outright and avoids the general election on June 3.

The San Francisco Chronicle today had a story on the race. The headline: "Speier looks to be shoo-in to replace Lantos."

Don't expect Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez to raise his voice during the budget fight -- he can't.

The Los Angeles Democrat said today that doctors have discovered a nodule in his vocal cord that will require laser surgery.

"If this thing bursts, I'm going to have permanent damage to my vocal cord, so I've got to be very careful not to extend or overuse my voice," Núñez told the Sacramento Press Club at a downtown lunch.

Once the nodule is removed, Núñez said he will not be able speak for three weeks while recovering.

"So I thought about it, and I said, 'Well, how bad can that be? -- A Democrat without a voice while, at the same time, we're dealing with Republicans without a vision.' I'd rather be without a voice."

Núñez said he will undergo surgery either after adoption of the budget or after the legislative session, which ends Aug. 31.

"I think I can keep it under control until then," he said.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said today that a "fair compromise" of the state's projected $14.5 billion budget deficit would be to solve half of it by increasing revenues -- including some taxes -- and the remainder by cutting spending.

Nunez, at a downtown meeting of the Sacramento Press Club, said he supports the 50-50 approach used by Gov. Pete Wilson when faced with a similar budget crisis in the early 1990s.

“I think that's a fair compromise," Nunez said. "I think it’s a conservative compromise, but a fair compromise nonetheless."

Asked how to generate new revenue, Nunez mentioned the possibility of taxing oil companies for drilling, closing a tax loophole on yacht purchases, increasing taxes on million-dollar vacation homes, and possibly creating a split tax roll that generates more revenue from businesses.

Nunez also mentioned the possibility of leasing or selling the state Lottery system to a private investor.

“Everything obviously has to be on the table,” he said.

But Nunez said he opposes an across-the-board tax increase.

“Facing a recession like we are, the last thing you want to do is go to working class people and middle-class people and raise their taxes,” he said. “It would be wrong. But there are other options.”

Nunez said Democrats hope to finish a plan for mending holes in this year's budget within days, in time for a vote this week or next. He conceded, however, that no agreement has been reached with Republicans.

“I can tell you that I feel pretty confident that we are very close to reaching an agreement that we can live with, if only we could find a way to convince the Republicans that they ought to be able to live with it as well,” he said.

Nunez said he expects the Democrats’ plan to contain nearly $1 billion in reserves.

If push comes to shove and California finds itself struggling to pay its bills, Nunez said, Democrats would consider implementing a mid-year plan with a simple majority vote, thus sidestepping Republicans.

“I think the ideological differences that we may or may not have in the (Capitol) come second to the immediate responsibility that we have to resolve California’s cash-flow issue,” he said.

In other matters, Nunez said:

** He does not expect the Legislature to tackle comprehensive health-care reform this year. (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, met with health-care providers today to discuss the possibility of resurrecting such reform).

** He does not anticipate that Democrats and Republicans will agree, any time soon, on creating an independent commission to oversee the once-a-decade process of drawing legislative districts. The Legislature currently draws ts own maps.

** He has no regrets about moving California's presidential primary from June to February. "I think it was prudent, it was ncessary and the results speak for themselves. California played a role in that election."

Sen. George Runner said Tuesday that he is withdrawing himself as candidate for Senate Republican leader because of his wife's illness.

Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, dislosed Tuesday that she has "limited scleroderma," a disease that has placed her on a lung transplant waiting list.

Sen. Runner, who was with his wife during this morning's announcement, said "because of Sharon’s situation I am not going to be in the process of looking at minority leader for the state Senate. There are plenty of other fine individuals who can focus their important time on that task that needs to be done.”

Read more about Assemblywoman Sharon Runner’s condition here.

Runner said "our job is to help get this issue taken care of for Sharon and to focus on that as a family."

That, Runner said, "does not allow me to do the kinds of things that I think need to be done to be an effective leader."

Both Runners said they plan to continue to push an anti-crime ballot measure they hope will appear on the November 2008 ballot.

Runner was considered one of the top candidates to replace outgoing Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman. His departure from the race leaves Sen. Dave Cogdill of Modesto, Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth of Temecula and Sen. Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga as the leading candidates for the post.

The Republican leadership job is not nearly as powerful as that of their Democratic counterparts, who enjoy a strong majority in both legislative houses. But the leader does set policy for the 15-member caucus and represents them in negotiations with the Democratic leadership and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Senate Republicans have discussed a leadership handoff in April or May, but no decisions appear to have been finalized. The GOP caucus is set for a lunch meeting on Wednesday.

Assemblywoman Sharon Runner revealed Tuesday that she is suffering from a rare disease that has put her on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

The Lancaster Republican, who followed her husband into the state Assembly in 2002, said her condition, known as limited scleroderma, will not stop her from serving out of the remainder of her term. She is termed-out of the Assembly at the end of this year.

“I’ve been able to serve my constituents and the people of California and will continue to perform my duties in the Legislature while on the lung transplant list,” Runner said in her Capitol office, with her husband, Sen. George Runner, at her side.

The disease is somewhat uncommon, affecting approximately 300,000 Americans, 80 percent of whom are women, according to the Scleroderma Research Foundation. It affects the part of the body that binds tissues and organs. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 50.

Runner, who is 53, said she was diagnosed with limited scleroderma 20 years ago, though the disease only began to impact her life 18 months ago when she found it difficult to breath at higher elevations, she said.

Runner has missed Assembly floor sessions for the first time due to illness earlier this year and said those absences, combined with her decision to sign on to the transplant waiting list at the end of 2007, finalized her decision to go public with her disease.

There is no cure for scleroderma, though treatment can ease the symptoms, according to the Scleroderma Research Foundation. Runner said she is on the lung transplant list at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center. She called UCLA “one of the best transplant centers in the world.” Both her lungs would be replaced in a surgery with a week-long hospitalized recovery, she said.

As of Feb. 7, there were 2,153 people in America awaiting lung transplants, including 179 in California, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Runner said the expected wait time for a new lung was less than a year, saying California hospitals performed 171 such surgeries in 2007.

Since doctors diagnosed her deteriorating condition more than a year ago, Runner said she has been on a medication regime for her lungs. They’ve “not gotten worse, so that’s good, but they also haven’t improved,” she said.

Upbeat and in high spirits, Runner made jokes about her potential recovery, saying some lung transplant recipients have gone on to run marathons. She jested that she’d need a new pair of legs to accomplish that.

“I only married into the name,” Runner said of her last name.

GOP Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, a heart transplant recipient himself, joked that she should hurry up and get the surgery done so they could form the “transplant caucus.”

Her husband, Sen. Runner, called her “an incredible trooper through this.” He announced he was withdrawing himself as a candidate to replace termed out GOP Senate leader Dick Ackerman, saying the leadership post is “not my priority right now.”

Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman announced his backing of former Sen. Rico Oller's bid for Congress today.

“I served with Rico Oller in the state Senate and know his conservative credentials are unmatched,” said Ackerman in a statement. “Rico Oller stands against new taxes, against out-of-control spending and will be a firm voice for conservative values in Washington D.C.”

The Oller campaign also announced the backing of former Senate GOP leader Jim Brulte.

With the passing of Rep. Tom Lantos, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to call a special election to fill the seat before Lantos' term expires in November.

Though Lantos was set to retire at the end of the year, there will now be two elections -- one to replace him for the duration of this term and a regularly scheduled 2008 election, according to the secretary of state's office.

The governor's office has yet to set a date for the mid-term special election to replace Lantos, though, if possible, it would likely be consolidated with the June legislative primaries.

Democratic former Sen. Jackie Speier, who had been considering challenging Lantos, has been successful in clearing the field in her bid to replace him.

Her most likely challenger, Sen. Leland Yee, declared he would not run for the seat.

In Congress, where seniority is king, the earlier special election means that whoever is elected to replace Lantos, such as Speier, would take office several months before the class of 2008.

That would, presumably, give her a leg up accumulating seniority.

Lantos served 14 terms in Congress, most recently as chair of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee. He represented the southwest corner of San Francisco and San Mateo County.

Read more about Lantos and his passing here. Capitol Alert has compiled a list of condolences issued following his death here.

Also of note: A Californian, Rep. Howard Berman, is next in line to succeed Lantos as chair of the Foreign Affairs committee, according to The Hill, a Washington D.C. paper.

Theodore Terbolizard, who making a quixotic bid for Congress to replace Rep. John Doolittle, was arrested early Sunday morning in Grass Valley on suspicion of drunk driving.

A congressional candidate arrested for a DUI is odd enough. Stranger still was Terbolizard's response, both in the newspaper and on his personal blog.

“It's not like the sort of Lindsay Lohan story or Nicole Ritchie (sic) story where I was driving 5 mph the wrong way on the freeway with the doors open and a car full of narcotics, it was absolutley (sic) nothing like that; no car crash or anything,” Terbolizard posted at 3:23 am this morning on his blog.

Correction: Terbolizard called to correct the time stamp on his blog. The time stamp reads 3:23 a.m., but that is in the UTC time zone, which equates to 7:23pm in California.

That came in response to a reader who wrote, “I've lost loved ones to drunk drivers and so it's a sore spot. I am glad you are alright and hope you can learn from this.”

In the Nevada County Union, Terbolizard said, "This will not affect my campaign other than giving me publicity.”

On his blog, he wrote of his arrest, “A longer version of this- including an interview with me - will be on the front page of Monday's paper. I'm going to stop by their offices and visit in person, and pick up a big stack of the papers.”

In a later comment, he added, “The press will have a hard time ignoring this.”

Terbolizard, a Republican, has described himself as a “paleo-conservative,” according to news reports, and is a supporter of Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

• Big GOP donor unhappy
Larry Dodge, who along with Republican donor Paul Folino promised to retire $3 million of the California Republican Party's debts in 2007, has written a scathing letter to state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring saying the party needs "professional management."

Michael Blood of the Associated Press has the story.

More troubling for the state party, the American Sterling Co. chief executive strongly hints in the letter that he may withhold a $3 million check he was planning to write within days to retire the state party's long-standing debt. That would be a devastating financial blow in the midst of the 2008 election season.