Capitol Alert

Conservatives who want to require minors to notify a parent or guardian before obtaining an abortion are hoping the third time's a charm.

The same coalition that placed two similar measures on the ballot in 2005 and 2006 -- both failed at the polls -- has qualified a third measure for the ballot this November.

The campaign collected more than 1.2 million signatures, more than enough to meet the threshold of 694,354 valid signatures, the secretary of state's office determined through random sampling today.

The measure is the fourth to qualify for the November ballot. The others are a high-speed rail bond, a children's hospital bond and a measure about the treatment of farm animals.

Proponents have already spent more than $2 million on the campaign, mostly on signature-gathering efforts.

As in the past campaigns, San Diego newspaper publisher James Holman donated the lion's share of the money, $1.4 million. Former Republican Assemblyman Don Sebastiani, a wine magnate, has contributed another $500,000.

The conservatives have clearly shown the financial strength to qualify initiatives for the ballot. But the previous measures, Proposition 73 in 2005 and Proposition 85 in 2006, lost by widening margins, with 52.8 percent and 54.2 percent of voters, respectively, rejecting them.

Planned Parenthood spearheaded the 2005 and 2006 opposition campaigns and is expected to do the same this year.

Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, writes on the group's Web site, "Voters will reject it once again because the public understands this initiative puts our most vulnerable teens at risk."

Here's the measure's title and summary:

WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATION OF MINOR'S PREGNANCY. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends California Constitution to prohibit abortion for unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor's parent, legal guardian or, if parental abuse reported, an adult family member. Provides exceptions for medical emergency or parental waiver. Permits courts to waive notice based on clear and convincing evidence of minor's maturity or best interests. Mandates reporting requirements, including reports from physicians regarding abortions on minors. Authorizes monetary damages against physicians for violation. Requires minor's consent to abortion, with exceptions. Permits judicial relief if minor's consent is coerced. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government:

Potential unknown net state costs of several million dollars annually for health and social services programs, court administration, and state health agency administration combined. (Initiative 07-0053.)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped in on Fresno Mayor Alan Autry this afternoon unannounced, as the Fresno Bee reported.

The Republican governor wanted to visit Autry in Fresno as his friend prepared to give his final State of the City address, said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. The governor's visit was apparently low-key, and the two went out to lunch afterward.

Schwarzenegger has had no better friend than Autry among the state's mayoral ranks. The governor frequently visits Fresno and can always count on having Autry at his side, singing his praises. The governor in March also entrusted Autry with his weekly radio address.

Besides being Republicans, the two are both actors. Autry played Captain Bubba Skinner on the TV drama "In the Heat of the Night."

Once Autry is termed out, Schwarzenegger may have to depend on his second-best mayoral friend: Orange Cove Mayor Victor Lopez.

And another newspaper is shuttering its Capitol bureau. The Stockton Record, with its one-person shop manned by reporter Hank Shaw, joins the growing list of Calfornia newspapers closing or reducing their outposts in Sacramento.

Shaw had been with the paper since 2004. He told the Capitol Morning Report that he was given one hour's notice of his layoff.

From the right, FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman called Shaw a "superior reporter."

From the left, California Majority Report publisher Steve Maviglio called Shaw "enterprising and insightful."

In the meantime, keep up with Shaw's food blog, where his most recent entry is about "Korean Antelope Bulgogi Sandwiches."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday embraced the idea of gay marriages starting in June in California counties.

The state issued guidelines to county clerks this week authorizing gay marriages in California starting June 17 unless the courts impose a stay before then. The guidelines come after the state Supreme Court this month overturned a ban on gay marriage in California.

The governor appeared Friday at a school in Pacoima to announce the release of $463 million in bond money to pay for new construction at charter schools, where he responded to a reporter's question about gay marriage.

"The Supreme Court has decided it is unconstitutional to stop people from getting married, same-sex marriage, and therefore we move forward now and let people get married and have same-sex marriage in California," Schwarzenegger said. "I think that we should move forward, and I hope they do, and I think that what I've heard, by June 16th or so, the offices will open up and will make it available."

Voters approved a state law in 2000 defining marriage as "between a man and a woman," and Schwarzenegger said Friday he always believed the law should stand until the courts or voters overturned it. He previously explained that he personally believes marriage is "between a man and a woman" but that he does not believe one's personal belief should be imposed on others.

Conservatives are pursuing a stay that would block gay marriages from taking effect in California until voters have the chance in November to decide on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. Schwarzenegger opposes the stay and the constitutional amendment.

Mary Nichols, the chair of California's Air Resources Board, has responded to the letter from 13 House Republicans this week asking California to back down from its pursuit of the right to regulate tailpipe emissions.

The House Republicans wrote Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him "to let the federal standard work."

Nicholas replied, "I agree that climate change requires a national solution, and I look forward to working with you to pass strong federal legislation to aggressively reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions."

But, she added, "I believe that a successful national program must build on the foundation of successful state programs."

Below is Nichols' full letter:

Senate candidate Harry Sidhu has had a strange couple of weeks. First, his challenge to Assemblywoman Mimi Walters got off to a negative start, with both candidates airing blistering attack ads.

The two Republicans were equally negative in their campaign mailers.

Then, Sidhu, an Anaheim City Council member, suddenly announced he had a change of heart and would end the negative campaigning. He symbolically shredded his remaining negative attack mailers.

Now, his latest mailer touts the fact that he's cheap.

"In 1974, I legally emigrated from India to America. I became an American citizen. I've never considered myself an Indo-American. I consider myself to be an American," writes Sidhu. "I'm just like you but, maybe a little cheaper."

The piece is drawing curious reviews from down in Orange County.

See the piece for yourself here.

(Hat tip to the OC Blog and the OC Register's Total Buzz.)

Here's a new get-out-the-vote campaign: Snag a ride to the polls in a swank limo.

The Contra Costa Times' Lisa Vorderbrueggen reports Contra Costa Supervisor Federal Glover is offering free limo rides to the polls.

Minimum two passengers per ride.

Here's a new get-out-the-vote campaign: Snag a ride to the polls in a swank limo.

By David Whitney, Bee Washington Bureau

ABC News caught Rep. Dan Lungren poolside at a Hawaii resort hotel in a nationally aired report on the Gold River Republican appearing at an American Association of Airport Executives winter conference in January.

Lungren, the senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee's transportation security panel, spoke at the gathering and attend many of its sessions. But he and his wife traveled there on money from his House campaign committee and held a fundraiser there that drew many of the conference participants.

Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation said the trip violated the spirit of a new congressional ethics law because the fundraiser allowed special interests to indirectly finance the trip.
Lungren said it was all perfectly legal and the trip was a great opportunity for him to meet with airport executives on terrorism issues.

"We followed all the rules," Lungren said.

More than the substance, however, the none-too-flattering ABC News videos of him lounging poolside were an issue for Lungren. He said the scene was shot during a lunch break when nothing else was going on at the conference.

The AAAE said it was "disappointed" in the ABC report and that it has "always scrupulously followed the law and government ethics rules."

Lungren may not have helped himself with these comments to reporter Brian Ross:
"Organizations have their conventions usually at nice places," he said. "I'll admit I like to go to that particular one."

And then he was asked if he would have attended the event had it been in Pittsburgh in January:

"Do I look like I go to Pittsburgh in January?"

Check out the ABC News report here.

New York Gov. David A. Paterson (that would be Eliot Spitzer's replacement) has instructed all state agencies to change their policies to begin recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries, such as Massachusetts, California and Canada.

From the New York TImes:

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor's legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere "should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union."

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses
...
Legal experts said Mr. Paterson's decision would make New York the only state that did not itself allow gay marriage but fully recognized same-sex unions entered into elsewhere.

A late-airing ad criticizing Assemblyman Mark Leno for cutting school funding has drawn the ire of the state's largest teachers union.

Leno is locked in a contentious three-way bout for the state Senate against incumbent Sen. Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation.

The new ad, which a newly formed "independent expenditure" committee called Protect Our Kids paid $45,000 to air, said in 2004 Leno "joined Republicans... (to) cut $3.1 billion from California schools."

That committee has received funds from the San Francisco Police Officers Association and another committee funded largely by PG&E.

The vote reference in the ad is to the 2004 budget deal -- signed off on by the teachers union -- to temporarily cut school funding.

The California Teachers Association, which has endorsed Leno, hastily scheduled a news conference for this afternoon attacking the attack ad.

"Mark Leno is a strong friend of our public school teachers and students," said CTA President David Sanchez in a statement. "He has never failed to stand up for our schools, and he has always fought for educators and students at the local and state levels."

Here's from transcript, according to the CTA:

San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno Claims that he's for better schools.

Mark Leno: Not exactly a profile in courage.

A man suspected of carjacking Senate leader Don Perata last December is being linked to the January shooting of a 10-year-old that left the boy paralyzed.

The Oakland police say the fingerprints of Jared Adams and his girlfriend were inside Perata's red Dodge Charger after it was stolen from the Oakland senator at gunpoint last December and abandoned hours later.

Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren told the Associated Press that Adams has admitted to being part of the carjacking.

From AP:

Adams already has been charged with attempted murder, robbery and other charges in the shooting of Christopher Rodriguez. Adams allegedly was robbing a gas station at gunpoint and fired at the attendant when a stray bullet pierced a wall and struck the boy as he was taking a piano lesson.

Perata told the Oakland Tribune, "I thought at the time I was lucky and now I know I was. If you believe in fate or whatever, the only difference between what happened to the Rodriguez boy and what happened to me is unaccountable."

Perata and the Rodriguez family had appeared side by side even before police tied the cases together.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Eight days after the boy was shot at the Harmony Road Music School on Piedmont Avenue, Perata, who has campaigned against assault weapons and crime, stood with Christopher's parents, Jennifer and Richard, at the school to announce a gun-buyback program. At the February event, police collected more than 1,000 weapons, and Perata was the first to surrender a gun.

Welcome to the Capitol Alert elections quiz.

Here's how the contest works:

There are 20 questions. Each question is worth one point. Answer as many correctly as you can, then e-mail your answers to captions@capitolalert.com.

The easiest format is to copy the questions into the e-mail and type your answers below.

You can find many - but not all - of the answers in previous Capitol Alert entries or Sacramento Bee stories.

Again, send in your entries to captions@capitolalert.com. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. Monday. The winner receives a $50 Starbucks gift card. (Check out the legal rules here.)

Good luck!

1. Which two Assembly candidates who lost in $1 million-plus general election campaigns in 2006 are running again this year?

2. The father of which Assembly candidate has spent more than $100,000 on an "independent expenditure" on his son's behalf?

3. In which Assembly district are three Democratic primary candidates of Asian descent?

4. Name the wives - and ex-wife - of lawmakers, present and past, on the June ballot?

5. Name the only daughter of an ex-lawmaker on the ballot. Name the only mother of a current lawmaker on the ballot.

6. Which open Assembly seat contains all or portions of nine different counties?

7. Which Senate candidate has benefited from a "carbon free" independent expenditure campaign?

8. Which Bay Area Democrat and would-be Assembly member was once a Republican?

9. Which Assembly district switched from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority of registered voters in 2008?

10. Which unopposed Democratic candidate for Senate was once a Republican?

11. Which Assembly candidate had his opponent endorsed by his former boss?

12. Who are the only two legislative candidates to have held constitutional office in California?

13. Which Assembly candidate once served on the Board of Parole Hearings? (Hint: It had a different name at the time.)

14. Name the two California mayoral candidates who have spent at least $500,000 of their own money to run for office.

15. Which GOP primary candidate could be only the second African American Republican ever elected to the state Assembly?

16. West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, who's running for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Assembly District, was embarrassed when his car was booted in Sacramento for unpaid parking tickets and a rival's campaign manager saw it and alerted the media. What was Cabaldon's excuse for not paying the tickets?

a. He didn't think he had to since he was a local elected official.
b. He didn't think he had to since he was a legislative candidate.
c. He tossed them on his kitchen counter and forgot about them.
d. Someone stole them off his windshield and he wasn't aware of them.

17. Proposition 98 would make it illegal for governments to use the power of eminent domain to take any kind of private property to hand over to another private party. Proposition 99 does this for only one type of private property. What is it?

18. Sen. Carole Migden may be the next, but name the last state legislator who was defeated for re-election in his/her primary?

19. In what county supervisor race on the June 3 ballot is total spending expected to top $5 million?

20. Which incumbent Republican lawmaker is running as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary? And what is the name of his/her write-in opponent?

Tiebreaker 1: What will be the final percentage of the recall vote in the abandoned recall effort of Sen. Jeff Denham?

Tiebreaker 2: What percentage of the vote will Sen. Carole Migden receive in her reelection campaign?

California House Republicans have sent a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking their fellow Republican to stop pushing for the state to limit auto tailpipe emissions.

The letter, signed by 13 members of the California GOP delegation, urges Schwarzenegger "to let the federal standard work."

The governor has been at odds with the Bush administration over the state's right to regulate vehicle emissions. Schwarzenegger sent a letter last month, to which the Republicans are responding, urging support for California's law.

But he didn't find much among these House Republicans. "The United States needs a nationwide approach to regulating fuel economy," they wrote.

Read the full letter, dated May 23, here.

Assemblyman Dave Jones is calling on EdFund to reject a proposed severance agreement that would give millions to seven executives upon the sale of the student loan guarantor program.

The Sacramento Democrat recently sent a letter to EdFund's board of directors, saying "the proposed size of this compensation package is unreasonable on its face and therefore contrary to law."

Jones criticized the EdFund board for holding discussions about the proposed severance agreement in private despite advice from the Student Aid Commission and the Office of Legislative Counsel.

"Why is the Board reportedly choosing to ignore legal advice from state authorities?" Jones wrote.

Read Jones's letter here.

Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, has unveiled a plan to raise vehicle fees by $10 for all Californians to provide unlimited "free" day-use access to all the state parks.

Laird, chair of the budget committee, said the plan would raise a total of $282 million, $40 million of which would backfill lost revenue from park entrance fees.

The remainder -- $242 million -- would go to increase the budget of the parks system.

"Even in the face of crumbling facilities and reduced service, demand for California's state parks is growing," said Laird in a statement. "California is expected to add 10 million more residents in the next 25 years. So we need a solution that will meet today's demand and tomorrow's growth."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed closing 48 parks in his January budget plan, but backed away from that amid public opposition.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Schwarzenegger didn't sound likely to back Laird's plan.

"I have not heard it, I have no idea, but all I can tell you is it's a tax," Schwarzenegger said.

"Because if you cross over from vehicles to state parks, where you go hike and camp and all those things, I don't know what kind of relationship there is one to another."

Here's the detail of the plan, according to Laird's office:

• $10 fee hike on all registered California vehicles except trailers and those commercial vehicles subject to the CVRA fee.

• $40 million to backfill loss of entrance fees at gate receipts

• $120 million increase for maintenance

• $60 million increase for operations and public safety

• $62 million to reduce deferred maintenance deficit - may be bonded against

The former mayor of Los Angeles has submitted an application to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seeking an appointment to the bench.

From the LAT:

Hahn said Tuesday that he had filled out the paperwork to put himself in the pool of candidates for a judicial appointment. And he confirmed that he has spoken twice to Schwarzenegger about his interest in being a judge -- most recently when he ran into the governor at the opening of the Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale.

"I realized I missed public service," said Hahn, 57, who lives in San Pedro.

And yes, in case you were wondering, Hahn is a lawyer.

Former California Gov. Pete Wilson let it be known today that he is no fan of Tom McClintock.

Wilson began by putting out a letter attacking the veteran state lawmaker as an obstructionist who has accomplished little.

"As governor, I could never count on Tom McClintock," Wilson said in the letter sent out on behalf of Doug Ose, McClintock's rival in the 4th Congressional District race. "He was always first to criticize, but the last to help the team. His record doesn't match his rhetoric."

Later, appearing with Ose outside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, Wilson ripped McClintock for voting against recent state legislation to help veterans and for opposing a cut in the car tax while Wilson was governor.

It may not come as a shocker that Wilson isn't warm to McClintock. In 1993, McClintock assailed Wilson for passing a state tax increase and editorialized in the Los Angeles Times that the governor was dead politically. Predicting Wilson would lose re-election in 1994, McClintock suggested Republicans instead run his Persian cat, Gizmo.

Wilson, who went on to win re-election handily in 1994. Today he defended his move to raise taxes during a state fiscal crisis, telling reporters that McClintock "didn't have the guts to do what should have been done."

Campaign spokesman Stan Devereux said McClintock voted against a car tax cut under Wilson because the version the governor supported wasn't generous enough. And he said McClintock is proud of having been a pain in Wilson's backside on taxes.

"This is the same governor who walked into the Assembly Republican Caucus and asked them to support a $7 billion tax increase and then referred to them as (expletive) irrelevant Republicans," Devereux said. "That wasn't team play."

As if this race needed any more firepower.

Outside interest groups have poured more than $1.1 million into the Migden-Leno-Nation Senate slugfest with one week left until the June 3 primary election.

The majority of the independent expenditure spending has not focused on Sen. Carole Migden or her initial upstart challenger, Assemblyman Mark Leno, but the third entrant in the race, former Assemblyman Joe Nation.

While both Migden and Leno are proudly liberal San Francisco Democrats, Nation established himself as a moderate during his six-year term in the Assembly, joining the "Mod Squad," an influential group of business-friendly Democrats.

Business interests, seeking to elect a more moderate voice to the Bay Area's Democratic delegation, have spent just shy of $500,000 promoting Nation's candidacy, blanketing the district with pro-Nation mailers.

"Joe Nation is best equipped to bring balance to the civil justice system," said Cynthia Neff, communications director for Civil Justice Association of California, a business lobby group that aims to reduce "excessive litigation" against businesses.

Funded by contributions from the real estate, pharmaceutical and insurance industries, among others, CJAC-linked committees account for more than $340,000 of the spending benefiting Nation.

Tom Higgins, Leno's campaign manager, said the heavy business spending is because Nation "carried corporate interests' water as a member of the state Assembly."

"They could get a Republican-lite in a progressive seat," said Higgins of the business groups backing Nation in the San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma district.

Nation disputes that charge. "If you look at my contributions, and contrast that with Leno or Migden, they have received far more in corporate contributions than I have," Nation said.

He pointed out that the IE spending was independent of his campaign and that he had taken no money from the pharmaceutical industry in this campaign - unlike Leno - even if those interests had contributed to the independent effort.

"The only thing we can control is our direct campaign," Nation said.

Labor interests have countered with an anti-Nation campaign, spending $368,000 to oppose Nation's Senate bid. The California Teachers Association, the California School Employees Association and SEIU have been among the chief contributors.

David Latterman, the president of Fall Line Analytics, a San Francisco-based polling company, said that Migden's problems - from her wild driving to record fines from the state's watchdog agency - have turned the campaign into "a one-on-one race with Nation and Leno."

A recent poll showed Leno leading Nation by 20 points and Migden in third.

UPDATE: Nation called to say the KPIX poll is misleading and that internal campaign polls show a "statistical dead heat" between himself and Leno, with Migden in third. He said the KPIX/Survey USA poll oversampled San Francisco, where Leno has greater support.

The bulk of the Nation spending - both pro and con - has come in Marin, Latterman said, where Nation served as a representative and Leno is relatively unknown.

With a week left before the election, the Leno campaign is trying to tag Nation as the corporate candidate, using the independent expenditures as evidence.

"He's not a progressive, that's the bottom line," said Higgins.

Nation countered in a local paper, the Marin Independent Journal, that "strip clubs and producers of pornographic movies" are backing Leno to the tune of $14,000. Gambling interests gave Leno another $31,000, Nation accused.

Meanwhile, Migden has been propped up by an independent campaign largely paid for by the business interests of racetrack owner Terry Fancher.

A group called the Fair Public Policy Coalition, funded with sizable checks from Fancher's Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park racetracks, has spent more than $200,000 supporting Migden.

Leno has received less independent expenditure support, benefiting from a $50,000 contribution from the Assembly Democrats' PAC for a slot on a slate mailer and another $2,000 from a local Democratic gay and lesbian club. Facing the barrage of independent spending, Leno lent himself $100,000 in the most recent filing period.

In the final sprint of the campaign, Migden has a cash-on-hand advantage, with $737,525 left in the bank. Nation had $194,857 and Leno controlled $159,514, according to campaign reports filed on May 22.

Migden had the largest debts, $180,591 in unpaid bills, followed by Nation ($130,683) and Leno ($45,908).

Latterman, a registered Democrat in San Francisco, said he had received eight Migden mailers in the last ten days, a sign the embattled senator hopes she can revive her reelection hopes with a barrage of late mail.

• Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, reports that members of the Schwarzenegger administration met with health advocates last week to say the governor still wanted to pursue health reform.

"Of course, the budget crisis hung over the entire conversation," reports Wright on the Health Access blog.

"It's not just that the budget crisis prevents movement on the heart of health reform--coverage expansions, provider rate increases, guaranteed issue, etc," Wright continued. "It's that the Governor's budget proposals go in the exact opposite direction of the reforms and coverage expansions proposed earlier this year."

• A new Los Angeles Times poll shows the same thing PPIC did last week: Sen. Barack Obama would beat Sen. John McCain in California in November.

The Times poll has Obama winning by 7 points, 47 to 40. Sen. Hillary Clinton leads 43 percent to 40 percent.

• The president of the state's elections clerks says gay marriages will begin June 14. AP

• Here's a new way to take advantage of media consolidation. Senate candidate Wilma Chan sent out a mailer touting her backing from four area newspapers, the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, Tri-Valley Herald and Alameda Times-Star.

Each editorial was quoted under the respective paper mastheads.

But all four papers, owned by the same company, ran the same editorial, according to Josh Richman at the Tribune's Political Blotter.

• Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and an openly gay member of Congress, came to California over the weekend to host a fundraiser for Greg Pettis, an openly gay Assembly candidate in the Inland Empire. Riverside Press-Enterprise.

The story of the Sacramento home foreclosure of Rep. Laura Richardson continues to grow. Over the weekend, the Long Beach-area congresswoman gave her first interviews since Capitol Weekly reported her home had been foreclosed.

"I should have moved forward in an earlier fashion," she told the Daily Breeze. "I acknowledge that. I intend never to conduct business in that fashion again."

But the paper also reports the Sacramento home wasn't RIchardon's only defaulted payments:

Rep. Laura Richardson, who lost her Sacramento home in a recent foreclosure auction, has also defaulted on properties in Long Beach and San Pedro, records show.

In her first interview since the news broke Tuesday that her Sacramento home had been foreclosed, Richardson blamed the foreclosure on a miscommunication by her lender. She offered no apologies for failing to make payments on three separate homes and expressed no regret for failing to pay nearly $9,000 in property taxes.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Richardson claimed her home was sold into foreclosure contrary to an agreement with her lender:

Richardson provided AP with an April letter that appears to be from Washington Mutual Home Loans telling her there was a hold on foreclosure sales on her property until June 4 of this year.

A Washington Mutual spokeswoman, Sara Gaugl, told AP earlier in the day that the company had "not received consent from Ms. Richardson that would allow us to discuss her loan situation."

A group billing itself as "Education Leaders for High Standards" has sent thousands of campaign mailers blasting Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, for trying to "weaken academic standards" on the eve of her contested Senate primary.

But more than 90 percent of the funds for the mailer came not from "education leaders" but from a coalition of Indian gambling tribes, most notably the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. The tribe has battled with Hancock to open a casino with slot machines in her East Bay district.

Hancock, who will face former Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, in a Democratic primary on June 3, called the attack mail "both payback and intimidation."

"If these tactics can defeat me, it sends a message to other legislators that they question or oppose gambling interests at their own risk," said Hancock in an interview.

The California Tribal Business Alliance donated $99,000 to the "independent expenditure" mailer campaign. That committee, in turn, was funded by five $75,000 donations from gambling tribes and $244,000 from the Lytton Band, which operates the San Pablo Lytton Casino in Hancock's district.

The Lytton band negotiated a 2004 casino compact with the governor's office, but that deal was never approved by the Legislature.

Doug Elmets, a spokesman for the alliance and Lytton tribe, said the mailer was "hardly deceptive."

"Native Americans are as interested in education as, frankly, any demographic," he said. "Loni Hancock's record on education is as lousy as it can be."

"I don't think that people are going to be that interested in (who exposes) her bad voting record," Elmets added.

The mailer accuses Hancock of authoring AB 2975, a 2006 "bill to weaken academic standards."

The legislation in question, which would have changed high school exit exam requirements, passed both houses. Chan voted for the measure and has criticized the mailer. "I am opposed to this attack on Ms. Hancock," she said in a statement.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ultimately vetoed the Hancock bill, saying, "Redefining the level of academic achievement necessary to designate students as proficient does not make the students proficient."

Hancock decried the largely tribe-funded mailer as a sign of "a broken system of campaign funding very detrimental to legislators that take on well-funded interests." Hancock has been the Legislature's chief proponent of publicly financed campaigns.

"It is particularly dangerous for democracy when high-sounding titles are made up out of whole cloth to deceive people about who is really behind the mailing. I can understand that groups wanting to set up urban gambling casinos would not want me in the state Senate," she said. "But they ought to say who they are and they ought to talk about the issues."

Another $10,000 for the mail was contributed by EdVoice, an education advocacy group funded by prominent business leaders. "I just think that what's happening right now is the Loni Hancock folks are trying to make the messenger the issue, not the message," said Paul Mitchell, EdVoice's political director.

Chan, the former Assembly majority leader and Alameda County supervisor, has benefited from other, less controversial independent spending in the campaign. A coalition of health care interests has spent more than $200,000 campaigning for Chan, the former chair of the Assembly Health Committee.

Both Chan and Hancock seek to replace termed-out Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata in a heavily Democratic district in Alameda County.

Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, is now the proud owner of not just one, but two, classic American motorcyles thanks to some recent luck in a raffle.

The Orange County Register's Frank Mickadeit, a Harley lover himself, tells the tale:

Back in March, Spitzer said, he was at an American Legion function doing whatever he does. Being towed in on a trailer was a pearlescent-black 2008 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe. It's about twice the bike of his entry-level Sportster.

As the drawing neared, Spitzer said, he stood as far away as he could and still be in earshot. Fearing the allegations that would fly if he won, "I didn't want to be anywhere near that basket." About 2:30 p.m., "Miss Harley" ("I swear, I'd never met her!") reached into the tumbler and pulled out the winner. "Assemblyman Todd Spitzer!"

Michelle Steel, a Republican member of the state Board of Equalization, sharply criticized the governor's lottery proposal in an op-ed in today's Los Angeles Times.

"(T)he governor's plan to pay for the state's irresponsible spending rests, ironically, on getting Californians to spend more irresponsibly," wrote Steel, who is among the few statewide elected Republicans (The Board of Equalization, the state's tax board, is divided into four districts. Steel represents the non-Los Angeles Southern California seat.)

Steel argues that while the lottery plan "has the potential to stave off the state's budget crisis," it comes at too high a social and economic price.

"The lottery's regressive nature, long-term societal costs and perpetuation of financial myths make it a guaranteed loser," she wrote.

Sen. Barack Obama picked up the support of two more California superdelegates this morning, Reps. Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa.

Cardoza, a moderate Central Valley Democrat, had previously been a superdelegate for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Costa had been undecided.

"This is the most important election of my lifetime," Cardoza said in a statement. "While I continue to greatly respect and admire Senator Clinton and feel she has made history with her campaign, I believe that Senator Obama will inevitably be our party's nominee for president."

The Obama campaign estimates the Illinois senator is 59 delegates away from clinching the nomination.

California's largest state workers union has a new president.

Yvonne Walker, the vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000 for the past three years, has been elected to the union's top post in mail balloting announced Thursday, according to a union news release.

Walker is the first African American woman to be the union's president.

She replaces Jim Hard, who won a vice president's slot on the same slate as Walker, according to SEIU 1000 spokesman Jim Zamora.

Also elected to vice presidents' positions were Cora Okumura and Kathleen Collins.

The union represents 94,000 state workers in nine bargaining units. It is currently negotiating with the state on new contracts to replace those scheduled to expire June 30.

The campaign against Proposition 98, one of two competing eminent-domain measures on the June 3 ballot, has released its first TV ad of the campaign.

It features the opposition of AARP and an older man saying into the camera, "Prop. 98 is a deceptive scheme by a few wealthy landlords to eliminate rent control."

The ad makes no mention of eminent domain.

Watch the ad:

(Also see the competing Yes on 98 spot here.)

Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado is running for reelection this year - as both a Republican and a Democrat.

The Santa Maria lawmaker turned in signatures earlier this week to qualify himself as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary of his 15th Senate District, though he is already unopposed for the GOP nomination.

Maldonado's campaign said the rare move was intended to give the moderate Republican's Democratic supporters - including his mom - the right to vote for him in the primary.

"Abel's mother, who is a Democrat, said, 'Son, I want to vote for you in the Democratic primary and I want it to count,' " said Brandon Gesicki, Maldonado's campaign manager. So the campaign gathered the necessary signatures this Monday and turned them in Tuesday, Gesicki said.

But Maldonado's write-in bid also serves a less familial, more partisan purpose.

By running now as a Democrat, Maldonado could beat back the underfunded Democratic write-in candidacy of local attorney Dennis Morris, who is hoping to face Maldonado in November.

"Abel Maldonado, in a Soviet Politburo style move, has employed (a write-in campaign) to deny Central Coast voters a choice in the November election," is how Robert Cruickshank, a blogger on the liberal Calitics blog, put it.

Under state law, candidates in California can't "crossfile" to be on the ballot for both major parties. But a Republican, such as Maldonado, can run as a write-in Democrat, and vice versa. The practice is rare but not unprecedented, according to the secretary of state's office.

Two examples in the past two decades are then-Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (now in Congress) running for reelection in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in 1994 and then-Assemblyman Jack O'Connell (now state superintendent of public instruction) doing the same thing in 1988.

If Maldonado were to beat Morris - and receive more than the 3,689 votes needed to qualify as a Democrat - he would be listed on the November ballot as both the Democratic and Republican nominee.

Jim Battin, a Republican colleague of Maldonado's in the state Senate, also saw a "strategic reason" to avoid having a Democrat on the ballot: saving money in the fall.

Maldonado represents the most Democratic-leaning Senate seat held by a Republican, with Democrats holding a four-point registration advantage (40 percent to 36 percent).

That means Morris' simple presence on the November ballot with the label "Democrat" next to his name would likely force Maldonado to actively campaign in a district that includes all or parts of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.

Gesicki insisted that blocking Morris from winning was "absolutely not" part of Maldonado's decision to run as a Democrat.

Morris, 44, said he decided to run as a write-in after no Democrats filed for the seat. "I felt it was important to have races contended by all sides," he said.

Mark Buchman, chairman of the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Central Committee, said he was surprised Maldonado would try to run as a Democrat.

"I can't imagine why somebody that's been an assemblyman and a senator and supposedly touts himself as being successful would feel like he needs to do this," said Buchman.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, gave Maldonado a half-hearted welcome to the Democratic fold.

"If he's halfway across the street," said Perata, "I encourage him to come the whole way."

Perata incurred the ire of liberal activists last summer when he said he would "knock on doors" for Maldonado after he voted for last year's budget.

Big business is spending big to defeat Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, in his bid for the state Senate, hoping to elect a moderate Democrat, former Assemblyman Rod Wright.

With just under two weeks until the June 3 primary, various business and tribal interests had spent more than $715,000 in independent expenditures as of Wednesday, making Wright, D-Inglewood, the biggest beneficiary of outside interest money in the state this year.

Of the funds, more than $650,000 went to pump up Wright's candidacy. That sum quadruples the total amount Wright raised in all of 2007 and 2008, according to campaign filings. Another $60,000 was spent specifically to oppose Dymally.

"I'm at a loss because I am not anti-business," said Dymally, citing his close relationship with the pharmaceutical and auto industries. "That's what is so puzzling about it."

Despite repeated phone calls, the California Chamber of Commerce, which is tied to the PAC spending much of the funds, would not comment for this report.

The independent expenditure funds have paid for everything from polling to radio, TV and newspaper ads and what campaign filings describe as pro-Wright "ground campaign" spending. The money keeps pouring in - with another $200,000 reported from the business coalition and the real estate industry on Tuesday.

Dymally, who had reported raising more than $660,000 from 2007 to March 2008, has scrambled to compete, collecting another $200,000 in direct contributions in the last two months.

Most of the pro-Wright money came through a committee called the Alliance for California Tomorrow, which in turn, received money many of the biggest business interest in the state.

Top donors include the real estate industry ($150,000), Sempra ($100,000), Anthem Blue Cross ($50,000) and Philip Morris ($45,000). The committee received more than $300,000 from another business-backed political action committee, JOBS-PAC, which has ties to the California Chamber of Commerce.

"What is very strange is I have a good relationship with PG&E and Sempra," said Dymally. "How anti-business can I be?"

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the real estate industry and the California Apartment Association launched independent pro-Wright campaigns, as well, totaling roughly $150,000, campaign records show.

Shant Apekian, political director for the apartment association, said his group was backing Wright because he understands their issues. "Rod is a rental property owner himself," said Apekian.

Voter-approved contribution caps limit to $3,600 what donors can give directly to candidates. But those same donors can spend unlimitedly in so-called "independent expenditures."

The state's Fair Political Practices Commission, which monitors campaign finance, released a report this week calling independent expenditures "the giant gorilla in campaign finance."

"The emergence of independent expenditures has thwarted the will of the people, dramatically undermined California's campaign finance laws and doubtlessly influenced the outcome of numerous statewide and legislative elections," the report concluded.

In Dymally, the business groups are trying to beat one of the elder statesmen of African-American politics in California. Dymally, 82, served as lieutenant governor in the 1970s and in Congress in the 1980s, before joining the Assembly six years ago.

Wright, who is also African American, counts the backing of 12 current Senate Democrats, including Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Although Wright has that Democratic support, the corporate contributors appear to be hoping he would be more business-friendly in the state Senate.

Two years ago, business advocates hailed the 2006 elections as a turning point in moderating the traditionally liberal state Senate.

Known moderates (and former Assembly Mod Squad veterans) Sens. Lou Correa, Gloria Negrete-McLeod and Ron Calderon were swept into the upper house, replacing the more reliably liberal Sens. Joe Dunn, Nell Soto and Martha Escutia. In Alex Padilla, a freshman senator from Los Angeles, business interests also saw a potentially friendly vote.

By most accounts, however, the Senate did not shift substantially toward business interests.

Senate leader Perata cracked down on Correa, Negrete-McLeod and Calderon early on - locking the moderate trio out of their offices for attending a fundraiser for moderate Democrats. Padilla, who had competed with Sen. Darrell Steinberg to become the next Senate leader, also didn't stray far from the party line in 2007.

Sen. Jack Scott has voluntarily stepped down as chair of the Senate budget subcommittee on education, days after he was named the next chancellor of California's community college system.

Scott, a Democrat from Altadena, didn't want any possible appearance of a conflict of interest, said his spokeswoman Wendy Gordon. The budget subcommittee holds appropriation powers over public education.

Earlier this month, the California Community Colleges board of governors appointed Scott to a $198,500-a-year job after he leaves the Legislature in November. He will start Jan. 1.

Scott handed his resignation in Tuesday. By Wednesday, Sen. Denise Ducheny, chair of the Senate Budget Committee, had stepped in for Scott at the subcommittee hearing.

Scott will remain chair of the Senate Education Committee.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday it's a "good idea" for the state to block pay raises for legislators in years the state faces an operating deficit.

The proposal, Senate Constitutional Amendment 23, would also block raises for state constitutional officers. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to review the proposal today at 1:30 p.m.

The governor refuses his $212,179 annual salary, explaining he doesn't mind the proposal "because as you know, if we increase my salary by 100 percent, it's still zero."

Legislators who are not house leaders earn $116,208 each year, in addition to about $30,000 in per diem payments. The state salary-setting commission inquired in April about reducing legislative pay this year in light of the state's budget deficit, which has now reached $15.2 billion.

"I think no one should increase their budgets, no one should increase their salaries or anything," Schwarzenegger said. "I think we've got to start learning how to live within our means rather than promising the world to people and not being able to keep it."

The governor answered questions Wednesday after speaking at the 82nd annual California Chamber of Commerce Host Breakfast in downtown Sacramento. As is usually the case at the chamber breakfast, the governor's speech was a quick assessment of his own tenure, with an emphasis on what he's done to help the business community.

During the speech and in a Q&A with reporters afterward, the governor tried to emphasize that his plan to get $15 billion out of the California Lottery over the next three years is neither exotic nor risky. He said immediate public disappointment in his plan was simply a matter of voters not understanding the proposal.

"I think that the people of California, if you ask them, they don't know yet that we don't take any risks," Schwarzenegger said. "It is not borrowing, and it will help us with our budget because we are short of revenues because we don't have a rainy-day fund set aside."

Of course, not everyone agrees with the governor's risk assessment, including state Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill.

Republican Sen. Dave Cox of Fair Oaks unveiled legislation Wednesday that would scrap the First 5 California program and use the money to provide health care for more children and give one-time funding to local schools and government.

Cox, who said the First 5 California program for early childhood development has been marred by questionable spending, proposed divvying up more than $2.4 billion in First 5 accounts among cities, counties, school districts and the state.

Future money from a 50-cent tobacco tax -- about $580 million a year -- could be dedicated to health care programs such as the children's health care program, Healthy Families, and Medi-Cal, which provides health insurance for low-income families.

"I believe this proposal is consistent with the governor's call for creativity and consistent refrain that the state of California budget should reflect California's priority," Cox said at a news conference Wednesday.

Cox, who has raised concerns about the program before, said voters did not intend for First 5 money to help families cover hotel stays and Target gift cards. He pointed to an ad that said parents could get up to $5,000 to set up music circles.

He added: "I think it's fair to say that health coverage should have a higher priority than music circles."

• Rep. Laura Richardson is the latest foreclosure "victim" in California. Elected to the Assembly in 2006, she bought a home in Sacramento soon after, but went into default as she ran for Congress. Capitol Weekly

• The Bogh-Benoit Senate race is getting even muddier. From the Desert Sun:

A new campaign mailing by state 37th Senate District candidate and state Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, claims that his Republican primary opponent, former Assemblyman Russ Bogh, "used the power of his office" while in the Legislature to influence the awarding of more than $85 million in school construction contracts to his family's business.

"While in the Assembly, Russ Bogh took action after action that helped the family business get millions of dollars in construction contracts," a portion of the flier states.

The paper does a service and walks through all of the mailer's accusations, debunking some and offering Bogh a forum to respond.

• San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will air his first TV ad of the mayor's race starting today (the election is on June 3). It's an poke at wealthy challenger Steve Francis, who has been on the air for months attacking Sanders. "The Steve Francis shell game," is the theme of the ad. San Diego Union-Tribune,

• San Diego Supervisor Dianne Jacob's name has been misspelled -- on her own campaign signs. AP

• Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles Times columnist, waxes nostalgic about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, even before he's gone. He also chats with former Gov. Pete Wilson about candidates in 2010. Wilson pegged Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and Attorney General Jerry Brown among the frontrunners. Los Angeles Times.

The campaign for Proposition 98, the eminent domain ballot measure pushed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and apartment owners associations, has released its first television ad.

"Only Proposition 98 will stop politicians from seizing homes and small businesses and selling them to developers," the ad says, citing the example of a woman who lost her home.

"This could happen to you," the ad intones in white text on a black background.

Watch it here:

The Los Angeles Times has analyzed the spot, writing, "The ad neglects to say that Proposition 98 would phase out rent control."

California's congressional delegation doesn't exactly have the reputation for being chummy. But it isn't often that one California rep threatens to physically remove another at a committee hearing.

That is what happened Tuesday as House government oversight committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman questioned EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. During his questioning, Rep. Darrell Issa tried to stop Waxman citing House rules.

"I will have you physically removed from this meeting if you don't stop," Waxman snapped at Issa.

Watch the video:

Hat tip: Riverside PE via Talking Points Memo.

Attorney General Jerry Brown has weighed in on the heated San Diego mayoral race, announcing Tuesday that his office had cleared Mayor Jerry Sanders of charges of corruption.

The case is a strange one, stemming from a 2007 letter to the editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune from City Attorney Mike Aguirre, a Sanders rival.

In his letter to the editor, Aguirre argued Sanders had "engaged in an embarrassing and corrupt course of action" in approving a construction project.

Sanders responded by asking the attorney general to investigate...himself.

Jerry Brown obliged and today issued a report saying "the record does not support the allegations made by the city attorney against the mayor."

Sanders is in a tough reelection race on the June 3 ballot against multimillionaire challenger Steve Francis.

Official reaction has begun to the news that Sen. Ted Kennedy is suffering from a cancerous brain tumor. For Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, of course, the diagnosis is a family matter. Their statement and others follow:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Maria and I are thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers today and over the past several days. While we are still learning the extent of Teddy's diagnosis and treatment options, what we do know is that Teddy is an incredibly courageous and tenacious man who will tackle this with the same determination with which he approaches everything in life. I encourage everyone to keep Teddy in their prayers, as we are continuing to do."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "My heart dropped when I heard the news about Senator Kennedy.
On behalf of all Californians, I send him and the entire Kennedy family my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery. They are in our thoughts and prayers.
There is reason for optimism. He has great physicians, a loving and beautiful wife in Vicki, and the indomitable Kennedy spirit.
I look forward to the day when Senator Kennedy is back on the Senate floor, giving one of his famous stem-winder speeches. I hope that day will be soon."

Sen. Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party: "Today's news about my dear friend Ted Kennedy's diagnosis took the wind out of me, as I know it did for so many Americans. Since Saturday and as recently as this morning, I have been on the phone a number of times with the Senator's staff outside his hospital room, and I know that he is in good spirits, talking and joking.

Ted Kennedy was one of the first people to call me when I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006. He helped me seek the right advice about treatment and encouraged me to fight and win. He has been a source of inspiration and friendship for me for more than 28 years. I now pray for him as he did for me, and also for Ted's wife Vicki and his children, Ted Jr., Kara and Patrick.

I know that Ted's energy and resiliency will prevail. Ted is strong, vibrant, and I know he will recover and we will see him hard at work and back out on the campaign trail soon."

Former Assemblyman Mike Gotch, who served two terms in the early 1990s, passed away at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. He was 60.

Gotch, a San Diego Democrat, held the 78th Assembly District from 1990 until 1994. He later served as legislative secretary to Gov. Gray Davis from 1999 to 2003. The San Diego Union-Tribune has an obituary.

The California Chamber of Commerce released its annual list of "job killer" bills on Monday, targeting 33 bills - all carried by Democrats - for defeat. Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's governorship, few interest groups have been as effective as the CalChamber at defeating legislation.

Since he was sworn into office, Schwarzenegger has signed only three bills on the Chamber's list of most egregious legislation.

In 2007, the Chamber blocked 16 of its original 25 "job killers" (three more were later added to the list). Schwarzenegger vetoed every such bill that reached his desk.

In 2006, he vetoed nine of the 11 bills. In 2005, he vetoed seven of eight. In 2004, he vetoed all ten.

Those that he has signed have been notable, including a hike in the minimum wage and the landmark global warming law he has touted across the state and on national magazine covers.

The 2008 CalChamber list includes seven holdovers from 2007, which the Chamber successfully helped stall last year, including Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single-payer health care proposal (SB 840).

"Economic recovery is the linchpin for a long-term budget solution," said CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg in a statement accompanying the list. "In the face of this year's budget deficit, the Legislature must focus on helping to strengthen California's economy. Should these 'job killer' bills become law, they would impose a variety of mandates, barriers, and unnecessary regulatory hurdles on California's already overburdened employers."

At least one bill on the 2008 hit list might be signed by Schwarzenegger: Sen. Alan Lowenthal's SB 974, which would impose fees on containers moving through the ports to pay for environmental mitigation.

Last September, Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying, "I support the concept of SB 974."

Of the bills on the 2008 list, five are authored by Sacramento Assemblyman Dave Jones, making him the most prolific "job killer" legislator. Assemblyman Paul Krekorian of Burbank has authored three bills. Four others have at least two bills on the list.

Here's the full list of "job killer" bills:

AB 1065 (Lieber; D-Mountain View)
AB 2046 (Jones; D-Sacramento)
AB 2112 (Saldaña; D-San Diego)
AB 2153 (Krekorian; D-Burbank)
AB 2705 (Jones; D-Sacramento
AB 2716 (Ma; D-San Francisco)
AB 2279 (Leno; D-San Francisco)
SB 840 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica)
SB 1115 (Migden; D-San Francisco)
SB 1717 (Perata; D-Oakland)
AB 1840 (C. Calderon; D-Montebello)/ABX3 2 (C. Calderon; D-Montebello)
AB 2030 (Lieu; D-Torrance)
AB 2359 (Jones; D-Sacramento)
AB 2372 (Coto; D-San Jose)
AB 2447 (Jones; D-Sacramento)
AB 2514 (Eng; D-Monterey Park)
AB 2678 (Nunez; D-Los Angeles
AB 2897 (Hancock; D-Berkeley)
SB 375 (Steinberg; D-Sacramento
SB 974 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach)
SB 1165 (Kuehl; D-Santa Monica)
AB 2546 (De La Torre; D-South Gate
SB 899 (Simitian; D-Palo Alto)
AB 2558 (Feuer; D-Los Angeles)
ABX3 9 (Nunez; D-Los Angeles)
SB 140 (Kehoe; D-San Diego)
SB 445 (Torlakson; D-Antioch)
SB 1240 (Kehoe; D-San Diego)
AB 437 (Jones; D-Sacramento)
AB 1456 (Laird; D-Santa Cruz
AB 2690 (Krekorian; D-Burbank)
AB 2847 (Krekorian; D-Burbank)
SB 1113 (Migden; D-San Francisco)

For the chamber's spin on the bills check here.

The San Diego Union-Tribune sat down for an interview with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, during which the Los Angeles Democrat apparently floated the notion of running for mayor of his hometown.

The U-T reports:

After an expected stint in the private sector, he could choose from an array of political options, including perhaps a bid for mayor of his hometown, Nunez said in an interview.

Perhaps, but he's more closely identified with the megalopolis to the north. After graduating from San Diego High School and attending the University of California San Diego, Nunez, the son of a former bracero worker from Mexico, moved to Los Angeles at age 22.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office issued its first-blush report on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised May budget and called the cornerstone of his plan -- borrowing against future lottery revenues -- "overly optimistic."

The governor's plan calls for modernizing the state lottery with the hopes of increased revenues over the next three decades and selling those projected revenues for $15 billion up front in the next three years.

"The administration makes overly optimistic estimates about the potential growth in lottery sales and profits. Consequently, its securitization proposal would create the strong likelihood that distributions to public education from the lottery would fall well short of their current levels--perhaps by $5 billion over the next 12 years combined," the LAO reports.

Read the agency's analysis here.

The LAO also criticizes the governor's budget reform plan, calling it "overly complicated."

"Under our revenue estimates, the administration's revenue cap leads to counterproductive results--the required deposit of General Fund monies into a new reserve at the same time that the state faces multibillion dollar shortfalls," reads the report.

On the revenue side, the LAO largely agrees with the Schwarzenegger administration, calling its forecasts "reasonable" and projecting a reserve of $500 million less than the administration if the budget were approved as proposed.

The Bee's Judy Lin has more.

Assemblyman Mark Leno has a 20-point lead in his Democratic primary battle against Sen. Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation, according to a new poll from SurveyUSA, conducted for a local TV station.

Leno, who jumped into the race to challenge Migden's reelection in 2007, received the support of 42 percent of respondents, comparecd to 22 percent for Nation and 21 percent for Migden.

See the full poll here. Leno was leading in every sub-set group in the poll.

Hat tip: Frank Russo of the California Progress Report

Want to know how special interests are playing a role in the 26 legislative races coming up in the June 3 primary? Check out the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Web site.

To see the independent expenditure committees that have given money to Senate and Assembly races, click here.

While the same information can be found at the Secretary of State's site, the FPPC’s database consolidates all independent expenditures on a few pages, making it easier for the public to view.

Viewers can find out which candidates are being backed by which special interests. For example, the business community is shelling out big for Democratic candidate Rod Wright in the 25th Senate district race. The Alliance for California's Tomorrow spent over $360,000 in support of Wright's campaign as of Friday, including $45,000 against challenger Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally.

Add California Rep. Pete Stark to the growing list of superdelegates backing Sen. Barack Obama. Stark endorsed the Illinois senator today.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named David Shaw as California's next inspector general.

Shaw has worked as chief assistant inspector general of the Bureau of Independent Review for the Office of the Inspector General since 2004.

Here's the release from the governor's office:

Speaker Karen Bass announced the core of her new leadership team on Friday, naming Assemblywoman Noreen Evans as the next chair of the Budget Committee and Assemblyman Kevin de León as the next chair of the Appropriations Committee.

Those two fiscal panels are widely considered the two most influential in the Assembly.

In choosing de León, D-Los Angeles, and Evans, D-Santa Rosa, Bass picked loyalists who backed her ascent to the speakership. Earlier this week she named Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, who was one of her chief rivals until the final day of the race, as Assembly majority leader, the No. 2 post in the Assembly.

Neither Evans nor de León will immediately assume the gavel of their respective committees. The current chairs, Assemblymen John Laird (budget) and Mark Leno (appropriations) will continue "with their full duties" until December, when they term out, according to the speaker's office.

But by naming her "chairperson-designees," Bass allows Evans and de León to begin fundraising in earnest for the fall elections.

Neither are particularly experienced with the committees, even by Assembly standards in the term limits era. De León is not currently a member of the Appropriations Committee and Evans does not chair any of the budget subcommittees, though she is a member of the overall panel.

Others who had been rumored to be considered -- or jockeying -- for the chairmanship of the appropriations panel include Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, and Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley.

Freshman Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, was considered a contender for the budget committee chairmanship.

Bass also named Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, another loyalist, as assistant speaker pro tem, today.

The only other changes Bass has made was naming Assemblyman Curren Price, D-Inglewood, as chair of the Governmental Organization Committee.

Price had previously chaired the Assembly Elections Committee. He is not expected to chair both panels, which would leave elections without a chair, perhaps the only remaining puzzle piece in Bass' initial restructuring.

In an attempt to regain control of public opinion on its recently released lottery proposal, the Schwarzenegger administration has written and distributed a memo about the plan.

The memo outlines the lottery proposal and, in the administration's own words, "why we expect no challenges to this plan."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by The Bee's editorial board today to tout his May budget revision and address an assortment of other topics. Here's what he had to say:

On lawmakers' less-than-enthusiastic reaction to his proposal: "Now the ball is in their court. The more they scream, the more they bury themselves" because they'll have to vote for a budget in the end. "I hope the Legislature will go beyond the rhetoric and beyond the politics."

On his lottery proposal: "This is a great idea and it will solve 95 percent of the problem....I believe very strongly that the people will go for it."

On his own view of his budget proposal: "Is it the perfect thing? Maybe not. ..Under the circumstances, I'm proud of our budget."

On his daily briefing: He gets two pieces of information daily - "the prison population count and do we have enough energy....I want to be always updated on a daily basis about that."

On dropping his proposal to close state parks to save money: "It seems to be a huge concern to people."

On whether his budget should do more to help bus riders who can't get a seat for their commute: "Everyone who rides that bus should be calling the Legislature and saying, I'm tired of your up and down (budget) roller coaster rides."

On whether he'll campaign against the marriage initiative likely to make the November ballot: "I don't know how much time I have for campaigning....I get requests all the time for campaigning."

On nuclear power: "Look at it - don't just say no because 30 years ago something happened."

On the state budget process, which he noted leaves just a month for negotiations after the April tax receipts come in: "The system itself just doesn't work."

On the fact that Eunice Shriver contributed some $25,000 to his campaign: "She didn't even send that much money to Teddy, I think."

Two California Democratic members of Congress, Henry Waxman and Howard Berman, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid on Thursday, moving the Illinois senator closer to securing the party nomination.

“Barack Obama has laid out a foreign policy vision driven by principle and conviction, and he understands that our moral authority and our safety as a nation go hand in hand,” said Berman in a statement.

“Senator Obama’s vision for change has inspired tens of millions of Americans. And he’s also proved that he has the experience, judgment, integrity, and toughness to bring real reform to Washington," added Waxman.

Both were previously uncommitted.

The Obama campaign announced four added superdelegates today. The others are Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, and Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington.

CNN now estimates Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton 291 superdelegates to 274. The Obama campaign reports he is roughly 130 delegates shy of securing the nomination.

News of the California Supreme Court's gay marriage spread through the state Assembly this morning through Blackberrys, whispers and harried staff bearing printed news stories.

In the back of the chambers, many Democratic staff and members shared glassy-eyed hugs and embraces of congratulations. Republicans reacted largely in silence. As staff shared news with Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, and Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, they just shook their hands.

Here's a compilation of statements issued about the ruling, by lawmakers, elected officials and advocates on the issue.

Legislative leadership

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles
We are delighted with today’s State Supreme Court ruling allowing marriage equality in California. It is a true testament to advancing equality and to recognizing the right of all Californians to build a future with the person they love. We recently lost Mildred Loving, the woman whose marriage to a man of another race ushered in the Supreme Court ruling that made marriage colorblind. Today’s ruling is another important reminder that love will overcome.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland:
I’m glad the Supreme Court validated what I consider a fundamental premise of our nation – that all people deserve equal protection under the law. This is a happy and historic day because all Californians, regardless of sexual orientation, now have the right to marry.

Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis:
I am very disappointed that the California Supreme Court, by the narrowest of margins, would allow their own personal partisan views to get in the way of their duty to uphold the rule of law by thwarting the will of the overwhelming majority of Californians who voted in support of Proposition 22.

Fortunately, more than 1 million Californians have signed ballot petitions to place a constitutional amendment before the voters this November that will write into the state Constitution that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I am confident that the people of California will again overwhelmingly vote to preserve and protect traditional marriage.

I hope that once this constitutional amendment becomes law in November, the Supreme Court will resume its appropriate role of interpreting the law, and stop legislating from the bench.

Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto:
California voters spoke loud and clear that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. This disappointing ruling gives activist judges a louder voice than the people of this great state. A constitutional amendment to overturn this ruling will now undoubtedly qualify for the ballot, giving Californians another opportunity to maintain the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.

Sen. Darrell Steinberg, pro tem-elect of the Senate, D-Sacramento
I could not be more proud to be a Californian than I am today.

We will look back at the struggle which led to this historic decision and ask, why the fight?

After all, California should do everything to encourage loving, stable and committed relationships.

The Court is on the right side of history.

Republican lawmakers:

Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar:
Eight years ago with the passage of Proposition 22, the voters of California agreed that marriage is 'between a man and a woman.' PERIOD. The court's decision today is further proof that some activist judges value their own beliefs over the will of the people.

Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville:
The Court’s ruling is an insult to millions of voters across this state who affirmed their support for the definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

The people had spoken loud and clear, the issue had been settled. That’s what I and just about every Californian thought years ago. Now four judges have decided that their opinion is more important than that of the millions of Californians who continue to support traditional family values.

This is a highly sensitive issue, but it is not a complicated one. The law is clear. Proposition 22 is only 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

The court’s decision is the worst possible outcome for the people of California, who have already made their feelings on this issue known. Fortunately, more than 1 million Californians have signed ballot petitions to place a constitutional amendment before the voters this November that will write into the state Constitution that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I strongly believe that this fall, California’s voters will once again overwhelmingly support the traditional values that our working families live by each day.

Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga:
I’m very disappointed in the Supreme Court in their decision to allow same sex marriage in California. The people spoke clearly in 2000 when they overwhelmingly passed Proposition 22 that defined marriage as union between a man and a woman.

Those of use who embrace family values are confident that when the issue is put before the voters of this state again in November that they will once again speak loud and clearly that marriage is reserved for only a man and a woman.

Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert
Proposition 22, which I strongly supported, passed just eight years ago by an overwhelming 61% of voters in California. I am saddened to see a small group of judges replace the longstanding values of our society with their own personal views.

I stand with the people of California in affirming the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. The institution of marriage should not be redefined by the activism of four judges.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville:
I am extremely disappointed that the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage. This ruling subverts the will of the people, who eight years ago overwhelming approved the definition of marriage to be that of one man and one woman.

The court’s decision today further erodes the necessary institution of marriage. I stand strongly opposed to this ruling, as it radically underminds the will of the people. This truly is a sad day for California.

Democratic lawmakers:

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and author of gay marriage legislation
Today’s ruling is a supreme affirmation of the sanctity of the love that two people share with one another without regard to their gender, and a victory for all Californians who believe that people should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams on equal footing.

I applaud the Supreme Court today for erasing hundreds of years of unconstitutional discrimination against loving and committed same sex couples. I also congratulate the brave couples who brought the case to court, as well as Mayor Newsom, City Attorney Herrera and the amazing legal team that successfully argued this historic case.

I will continue to review the legal implications of today’s ruling and, if it is determined to be necessary, draft any implementing legislation that may be needed or appropriate.

With the conviction of its highest court and its legislature, California continues to lead the way in favor of the conservative principle that society is best served when loving couples who want to settle down with one another are all able to do so through the civil institution of marriage.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys
I am absolutely elated by the California Supreme Court’s decision. We live in 2008 and there is no place for discrimination in any way, shape or form. All people in California have equal rights under the law. I look forward to the day when all people can marry the person they love. This is a great day for equality in California.

Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco:
Today our state’s supreme court reaffirmed the highest ideals of our republic. I am proud to be a Californian today as we stand on the right side of history. This is a victory for all people committed to equal justice and equal opportunity. For far too long, our nation has unfairly denied fundamental rights to individuals simply because of their sexual orientation. Today, we finally begin to heal those wounds and end state-sanctioned discrimination. At last, we fully recognize and honor all loving relationships and all families with the rights, privileges, and joys of marriage. We also celebrate the perseverance and courage shown by so many in this latest march towards equality, justice and happiness.

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View:
I am elated by the court’s decision. It is a victory for all Californians who cherish fairness and opportunity. The court did its job today – ensuring that all Californians are treated fairly and equally under the law.

I joined in a brief that argued to the Court that the State Legislature did not intend to preserve the “traditional” definition of marriage by creating a “separate but equal” institution of domestic partnership. The Court’s review of the legislative history shows that domestic partnership was intended to be an intermediary step to full marriage equality. With today’s decision we have achieved that goal.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco:
During San Francisco’s Winter of Love, I was proud to serve as a San Francisco Supervisor when San Francisco extended marriage rights to our City’s same-sex families. There was such incredible joy for these couples, to ensure that they were able to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities we expect in a modern society.

Justice was delayed, but today the California Supreme Court decided it would not be denied. More than 100,000 California families will be able to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of marriage, if they choose. We must work as hard as we can to protect their rights against future attacks.

I expect local county clerks in California to act without delay to make marriage equality available to their residents.

Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco
This is one fine day that believers always knew was coming. We applaud the good sense and legal fairness of our very well-educated and open-minded California Supreme Court. LGBT people will long herald this moment as an obliteration of old ideas and the birth of a new day of sunshine.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles
It’s a proud day to be a Californian. Our Supreme Court took an historic step to ensure that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, finally receive equal treatment when it comes to the fundamental right to marry. I applaud the Court’s decision, and am absolutely delighted for the thousands of our fellow citizens who can now legally validate their loving relationships.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa
Today we move closer to living out the spirit of our nation’s creed that all people are created equal. My heart goes out to the men and women who can now live out their lives in dignity with their loved ones with equal rights under the law.

Assemblyman Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles:
In the legislature we twice passed marriage equality bills, so I am obviously pleased to see this ruling by the California Supreme Court recognizing and respecting the rights of all Californians. The plaintiffs and their supporters in this case deserve our congratulations and our thanks for advancing the cause of civil rights. On a personal level, it is the biggest victory for love and persistence I have seen since I convinced my wife to marry me the second time.

Statewide officials:

State Controller John Chiang
Every single citizen of this State deserves equal treatment under the law, and as an elected official I have the honor of serving all Californians regardless of their sexual orientation.

I have enjoyed my working relationship with the gay and lesbian community – helping domestic partners understand new tax filing requirements, and moving to provide property tax protections to surviving partners when one passes away.

I welcome the Court’s decision, because it is time for our laws to recognize that all households, same-sex or otherwise, contribute to the success and the greatness of California.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer:
The court has made its decision and ended a lengthy state-court battle. Now, the debate likely will return to the ballot. Conservatives are pushing an initiative to place a ban on same-sex marriage in the California Constitution. I strongly oppose this initiative.

Gay and lesbian couples should have the legal right to live in loving and committed relationships, and to share the joy and challenges of those relationships. The initiative is an attempt by a few to permanently shut the door on that fundamental right. It’s anti-civil rights, anti-family and anti-family values.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi
Today, the California Supreme Court made the correct decision in affirming the rights of gay couples to wed, and affirming California’s commitment to fairness and justice. It brings California one step closer to the ideal of equality under the law for every person in our great state. This ruling is strengthened by the fact that the majority of Supreme Court Justices who voted to affirm the right of all Californians to marry the partner of their choosing, were appointed by Republican Governors.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a terse and supportive statement on the California Supreme Court's decision to allow gays and lesbians to wed:

“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.”

The California Supreme Court has overturned California's ban on gay marriage. See the story here.

Education may not have taken the biggest hit in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget, but advocates plan to continue their PR assault on the Capitol.

Today, education officials have organized a noon rally on the South steps of the Capitol to protest cuts to schools.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has announced he will speak at the rally. So will Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

Video filmed and edited by Alan LaGuardia.

One of the ways Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger balanced the budget he unveiled today was by borrowing $574 million from various special funds.

Here's a quick list of the funds Schwarzenegger hits up for cash. Most all of the loans listed would not have to be repaid until at least the 2010-2011 fiscal year (if that soon). Schwarzenegger leaves office in 2010.

Legislative, Judicial and Executive:
• Antiterrorism Fund — $2 million
• Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund — $1 million
• False Claims Act Fund — $6 million
• Gambling Control Fund — $10 million
• California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission Fund — $2 million
• California Debt Limit Allocation Committee Fund — $2 million
• Occupancy Compliance Monitoring Account, Tax Credit Allocation Fee Account
— $10 million
• Tax Credit Allocation Fee Account — $10 million
• Victim-Witness Assistance Fund — $2 million transfer

State and Consumer Affairs
• State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology Fund – $10 million
• Psychology Fund – $2.5 million
• Accountancy Fund – $16 million
• Contractors’ License Fund – $13 million
• Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California – $6 million
• Board of Registered Nursing Fund – $2 million
• Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund – $1 million
• Professional Engineers’ and Land Surveyors’ Fund – $4 million
• Behavioral Science Examiners Fund – $3 million
• Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund – $1 million
• Occupational Therapy Fund – $3 million
• Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund – $25 million
• High Polluter Repair or Removal Account – $40 million

• Public School Planning, Design, and Constructive Review Revolving Fund – $60 million loan to be repaid in 2011-12
• Restitution Fund – $50 million, along with $30 million loan to the Emergency Response Account

Business, Transportation and Housing
The administration notes, "The loans are proposed only from those funds in which the loss of revenue will not result in any impact to the programs supported by the fund, will not require fee increases, and will not need to be repaid prior to 2010‑11."

Transportation Loans — $238.1• State Highway Account, State Transportation Fund — $200 million
• Local Airport Loan Account — $14.9 million
• Motor Vehicle Fuel Account — $8 million
• Bicycle Transportation Account, State Transportation Fund — $6 million
• Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program Fund — $4.4 million
• Historic Property Maintenance Fund — $3 million
• Pedestrian Safety Account, State Transportation Fund — $1.8 million
Other Special Fund Loans — $50.6
• Financial Institutions Fund – $1.5 million
• State Corporations Fund – $1.5 million
• Mobilehome Park Revolving Fund – $2.5 million
• Mobilehome‑Manufactured Home Revolving Fund – $1 million
• Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund — $1.2 million
• Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund — $12.9 million
• Real Estate Appraisers Regulation Fund — $16.6 million
• Real Estate Fund — $12.2 million
• New Motor Vehicle Board Account — $1.2 million

Resources
Loans from Special Funds — $30.4 million
Renewable • Resources Trust Fund — $10.9 million
• Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund — $13.0 million
• Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund — $4.0 million
• California Waterfowl Habitat Preservation Account — $2.5 million
Transfers from Special Funds — $8.2 million
• Coastal Wetlands Account — $4.7 million
• Environmental Water Fund — $2.4 million
• California Water Fund — $1.1 million

Health and Human Services
The administration notes, "A loan or transfer was only proposed where the loss of the revenue would not result in any impact to the programs supported by the fund and would not require any fee increases. Loans will be repaid by June 30, 2011."

Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
• $10.0 million loan from the Hospital Building Fund.
• $12.0 million loan from the California Health Data and Planning Fund.
• $1.0 million loan from the Registered Nurse Education Fund.
Department of Health Care Services
• $3.0 million transfer from the Emergency Services and Supplemental Payment Fund.
• $1.0 million transfer from the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund.
Department of Public Health
• $1.1 million loan from the Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Account.
• $1.6 million loan from the Drinking Water Operator Certification Special Account.
• $2.1 million transfer from the Cancer Research Fund.
• $8.5 million transfer from the Drinking Water Treatment and Research Fund.

Check out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised May budget for yourself here.

Also, Assembly Democrats have released their usual quick take on the budget plan. Read that report here.

Here's a compilation of reactions to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's May budget proposal (Read about the proposal here.):

Legislative leadership

Senate President pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland:
“This is a budget beneath a governor of this great state. It’s telling our citizens: This is it. Our best years are behind us.”

“Under this plan, schools will lay off teachers and increase class sizes, and we will abandon children and the elderly. It’s shameful.”

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles:
“There are cuts in this budget proposal that unfairly hurt struggling California families and solutions that may be no more than risky schemes."

“I am happy to hear that the Governor realizes we need to bring in more revenue, that the budget deficit cannot be solved through cuts alone. I do applaud the Governor for embracing the proposal for a tax commission that will study ways to bring our state’s revenue collection into the 21st century. I look forward to working with him. This current budget does not address long-term solutions and I think it’s important to do that.”

“It is important to look at the [securitization of the] lottery, but I do have tremendous concerns that it is a risky proposition to say that is the sole way we will look for new revenue.”

“Public transportation is up in many cities, including my own …and it is up precisely because of the price of gas. If people are feeling the pinch there, then we cut back on public transportation it seems like a double hit.”

Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill:
“I’m pleased that the Governor’s May budget revision prioritizes state spending and has moved away from across the board cuts. Despite a slowing economy, our state’s revenues are holding steady which shows we still need to address the spending addiction in Sacramento. Budget reform will ensure the state spends no more than it takes in.

“Tax increases – or the threat thereof – are not the answer. While we support looking at ways to make the lottery more profitable to taxpayers we have concerns about linking those reforms to a tax hike.

“We are very supportive of the Governor’s decision to back off of his early release for criminals proposal but we are still concerned about summary parole, which is a threat to public safety.

“I support the Governor’s decision to keep state parks open. Not only do our parks contribute to our state’s beauty, they also draw tourism which is a large component of our economy.

“This document provides a framework for the legislative leadership to begin talks in earnest about how to give Californians the on-time, responsible budget that they deserve.”

Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis
“I applaud the Governor for fully funding education at the minimum guarantee. I am also pleased that the May Revise includes some positive improvements over the January budget proposal, including eliminating a previous early release plan, keeping our state parks open and reducing spending in one of the fastest growing areas of government.

“The May Revise also presents some significant concerns for Republicans. With families struggling to pay high prices for gasoline and groceries while home values are falling, the last thing we ought to be doing is raising taxes. The time for borrowing and questionable budget schemes is long behind us.

“Let me be clear – Assembly Republicans will not support tax increases, period. Raising taxes will only lead to more jobs lost, which will hinder our economic growth and hurt families. Assembly Republicans are ready to sit down today with the Governor and Democrats to take immediate action to balance the budget and help California live within its means.”

Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee:
"The governor’s May Revise proposals are not the right answer for California and are not a real fix. They’re bad for our economy, lay off teachers and are based on risky assumptions.

“With his revised budget, the governor has proposed setting up a third budget reserve and he’s calling it ‘reform’. But it’s no substitute for hard decisions. While I salute him for proposing $7 billion more on the revenue side of the budget, his budget still leaves in place a $4 billion cut to schools, which is a the heart of what’s wrong with his budget: kids. The governor’s budget targets kids at school, and then again at home in the form of his very deep cuts to health and human services.

And at a time of increased transit ridership, the governor proposes to pull nearly all transit funding out the budget. He also proposes to take the annual federal increase in social security payments and divert the money away from seniors and into the state budget for other purposes.

Along with my colleagues in the legislature, I’m ready to get to work in the spirit of reality to move toward a real fix to California’s budget crisis.”

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, the vice-chair of the Assembly Budget Committee:
“Republicans are encouraged to see the Governor follow our lead by fully funding education and reducing spending in one of the fastest growing areas of government. We are also pleased that the May Revise does not include a previous proposal to release 22,000 inmates into our communities before they have served their time.

“There are many aspects of this proposal that leave us concerned, however. Now is not the time for more borrowing, a complicated scheme to sell the state lottery or a dangerous summary parole proposal. As gas prices and grocery prices go up and home values go down, it is also not the time to raise taxes on hardworking families.

“The deficit has grown significantly in recent months, and it’s time for lawmakers and the Governor to once and for all address the root of our budget problems – years of overspending. We must also end the budget madness by addressing the structural deficit and reforming the system to prevent us from spending more than we bring in. The time for action is now, and Assembly Republicans stand ready to get down to work immediately to make the hard choices to balance the budget without tax increases and get California back on track.”

Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, vice-chair of the Senate Budget Committee:
“While I believe the May Revision gives us a good starting point in our negotiations, I feel the governor’s proposal doesn’t do nearly enough to change the way we do business in California. I’m deeply concerned that this budget doesn’t put the measures in place that will help grow the economy and generate additional tax revenues through job creation.”

Senate Republicans:

Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley:
“My belief is we need to cut spending to balance this budget, and I’m hopeful the Governor will listen to the concerns of Senate Republicans. New taxes are not the answer to our current budget deficit. We have a spending problem and we need to cut spending.”

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced:
“I don’t believe the choice is simply between more borrowing or raising taxes. Why should taxpayers have to be on the hook even more because state leaders couldn’t stop their ‘crazy deficit spending?’ For six years, I have been fighting in Sacramento to reduce government waste. As we face yet another budget deficit, the State must analyze its assets, as any business would do during tough times. We must rid the state of unused or underutilized state properties through fair market sales. These sales would help the State pay off deficit recovery bonds, and bring down California’s debt ratio. I do appreciate that the Governor abandoned his idea of releasing 22,000 convicts onto our streets - that would have created a public safety and budgeting nightmare."

Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach:
“California’s budget crisis is the product of fluctuating tax revenues and steadily increasing state spending. While the Governor’s proposal for a Revenue Stabilization Fund will address the first problem, if the state continues to increase spending as it has over the past couple of years, even the rainy day fund will run dry. What we need in Sacramento is to control our spending.”

Sen. Bob Margett, R-Glendora:“The Governor’s May Revision shows the acuteness of California’s financial situation. I am glad to see the Governor has met the Prop 98 minimum, backed away from releasing felons early, and kept our state parks open. However, the proposal is full of gimmicks and relies too heavily on credit card spending, including the modernization of the California Lottery.”

Sen. George Runner, R-Antelope Valley:
“The governor’s lottery scheme is classic ‘counting your chickens before they hatch’ budgeting – and the voters are left with the choice of going along with his plan or paying more taxes. But what the voters demand and deserve is a budget that lives within California’s means.”

Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Del Mar:
“I applaud the Governor’s use of a ‘rainy day’ fund, an approach I’ve supported for years, to protect Californians during tough economic times. I also agree with fully funding education, a plan that Senate and Assembly Republicans recently proposed. However, I do not support a tax increase when we have failed to reduce wasteful spending. It’s unacceptable to punish California families, who are already paying too much in taxes, for the unwillingness of Democrats to control their addiction to spending. I hope the majority party realizes soon enough that the first step toward controlling addiction is admitting that you have problem.”

Assembly Democrats

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark:
"The Governor is gambling with California’s future by relying on a risky scheme to fix a dysfunctional system. The May revise perpetuates a structural deficit that will plague Californians for generations unless the Governor and Legislature make some tough decisions.

The proposed cuts will hit our children, seniors and working families the hardest.

The failure to provide a COLA for our schools amounts to a $4 billion dollar cut that will increase class size, create teacher layoffs, and put at risk educational achievement.

Students who are attending the University of California and the California State University system will have to write bigger checks to stay in school.

The vital services that add to the quality of life for seniors and the disabled will be severely cut.

People who rely on public transit, in this time of $4 a gallon gasoline, will have to hand over more money to climb onto mass transit to get to work or school.

Until we are willing to take a balanced approach that includes sensible cuts and new revenue options, we will fail to make the necessary investments in education, infrastructure and health care that our past leaders made to make California a world economic leader."

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa:
“It is encouraging to see the Governor join with Democrats in wanting to balance the budget with a blend of spending cuts and revenue increases. As the Legislature reviews his new ideas, it will be our responsibility to make sure that the final budget reflects the values of all Californians.

The good news is that the Governor abandoned his proposals to close many of our beloved state parks. The bad news is that the money to make this possible will be taken from education and programs providing health care and other vital services to California’s most vulnerable citizens. The disappointing news is that the Governor proposes additional debt to balance California’s books this year instead of enacting long term solutions to our financial woes.

There are no easy or desirable choices to get us through our fiscal crisis. We must preserve California’s values with a plan that puts our state on a strong footing into the future. That’s why I am pleased to hear the Governor support Speaker Karen Bass’ proposal to create a bipartisan commission to look at how California can modernize its tax policies for the 21st Century.”

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino,D-La Cañada Flintridge:
“The Governor’s May Revise is actually a step in the right direction for California’s three systems of higher education,” said Portantino. “Although the funding increase falls short of fully funding public higher education, the reversal of previously proposed budget cuts shows that the Governor understands the importance these systems play in educating our workforce and revitalizing our economy. As negotiations progress, I hope the Governor will continue to move toward fully funding all of our public education systems.

I continue to be very concerned that the additional 7.4% and 10% fee increases approved at UC and CSU today have made the promise of higher education unattainable for many. With fees having now increased 100% in the last six years, we simply must find a way to stabilize costs for our students and their families.

I am also concerned about some of our most vulnerable populations - the poor, aged, and disabled, who have become frequent targets of budget cuts year after year. We must find a way to bridge the deficit without balancing our budget on the backs of those who are most vulnerable in our society.”

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Woodland Hills:
“It is a zero sum game. The lower the revenues, the more we have to cut. Without new revenues, protecting any one part of the budget it is just a shell game.

“We are still 46th in the country in per pupil funding. New York still spends 75 percent more on education than California. By protecting or restoring education funding at the current level we are still going to be under funding education.”

Senate Democrats

Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco:
“Our state deserves better than a budget filled with smoke and mirror gimmicks.

The Governor’s proposal is devastating to the poor, elderly and our state’s most vulnerable at a time when they need help more than ever. Borrowing against the lottery is not the way to raise revenue and does not stop the massive layoffs of teachers and larger class sizes.

As someone who created the largest rainy day fund in San Francisco, I understand the need for a reserve for difficult times. However, you should be creating those reserves during a good economy, as we did in San Francisco during the dot com boom, not during the worst deficit in California history.

It is unacceptable to balance the state budget on the backs of children, teachers, seniors, and the working poor. The wealthiest among us, including yacht owners, should also share in the pain. I hope the Governor and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will finally join Democrats in closing tax loopholes for the rich and support viable solutions to raising revenue.

While I am more than willing to negotiate on this budget, I will not foreclose on our children’s future.”

Assembly Republicans

Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar
“I am pleased that Governor Schwarzenegger has fully funded education. However, I am concerned that this budget relies upon ballot measures that have yet to be drafted or approved by voters. I would prefer to see common-sense reforms to jump start our economy and maximize taxpayer dollars.”

Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia
“I am pleased that the Governor’s revised budget plan includes the Assembly Republicans’ proposal to protect education by fully funding Prop. 98 and does not include the Governor’s proposal to release 22,000 dangerous criminals back into our communities.

“Assembly Republicans look forward to working with the Governor to find further savings to reduce the budget deficit without having to raise taxes on California’s hardworking families.”

Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa
“Over the next several weeks, the State of California has to move away from smoke and mirror budgeting to a balanced budget that provides essential funding of our public safety, our classrooms, our parks and other essential services without increasing the burden to taxpayers.”

Assemblyman John J. Benoit, R-Palm Desert
“There are a number of commendable decisions that the Governor made in his budget revisions, as we all work hard to tackle a now-$17.2 billion budget deficit. First, rejecting the proposal of thousands of early prisoner releases merits praise, as California families will not need to worry about endangering their safety to make budget savings. Second, the Governor found savings that allow for the full funding of education at Proposition 98 levels and saving 48 state parks from closure, including Riverside’s own California Citrus State Historic Park. Finally, this budget reduces spending in one of the fastest, unrestrained areas of the budget, Health and Human Services, namely cost-of-living adjustments and pay increases for those on welfare.

“However, there are a number of areas that provoke major concern. If borrowing against the State Lottery fails, a 1-cent sales tax is triggered, which would cost taxpayers $6 billion per year until 2011. This literally puts the balanced budget in a gamble, leaving Californians at too great a risk of a massive tax increase. I think there are other ways we can continue cutting spending and making real structural changes to our programs so we don’t raise taxes on hard-working Californians.

“The Governor is on the right track when he considers that future budgets, in good times, need to limit spending and tuck away savings to cushion for fiscal emergencies like the one we’re currently facing. I look forward to working with the Governor to introduce a real spending cap, which if put in place at the last fiscal crisis, would have kept us with a budget surplus.”

Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto:
“I am encouraged to see the Governor’s plans to fully fund education and abandon the proposal to release prisoners early and close state parks. There is clearly much work to be done on the proposal. Spending is still the problem. Searching for new revenues and areas to borrow and shift funds is not the way to solve the ongoing budget crisis. Only when we take seriously the need for cuts and reforms will we have a balanced budget.”

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine
“The Governor’s revised budget is an improvement over his January proposal for two main reasons: it fully funds education by not suspending Prop. 98 and it abandons the dangerous plan to release some 22,000 felons from prison before they have served their time. I still have major concerns. The proposal does not address California’s out-of-control spending habits and it proposes a massive, automatic $6 billion sales tax hike – a kind of doomsday tax bomb on hard working California families.”

Assemblyman Mike Duvall, R-Brea
“First, I am pleased Governor Schwarzenegger has heard the message of legislative Republicans and decided to put the public’s safety first. Late last month, several of my fellow Assemblymen from Orange County and I held a roundtable discussion over the proposed early prisoner release and parole termination. We were all, along with our constituencies, very upset about the potential release of over 20,000 hardened convicts back into California’s neighborhoods with our 70% recidivism rate.

“What’s more, I am pleased the Governor has decided to fully fund Proposition 98, though non-monetary reforms to our education system are critical if we want to see improvement. I am absolutely opposed to the Governor’s tax increase proposal. The huge deficit we’re dealing with right now isn’t the fault of taxpayers. It’s the fault of the big government and runaway spending. Californians are losing their homes and struggling with skyrocketing gas and food prices. It’s unfair to ask them to pay for mistakes made in the State Capitol.”

Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands
“The fact that the actual deficit came in at $17.2 billion was not a tremendous surprise. To be sure, we're not going to solve the problem through tax increases. We need to continue to seek reforms to health care that preserve choice and keep costs low to ensure Californians receive the health care they deserve.”

Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield
“It is encouraging to see that the Governor’s May Revise fully funds Proposition 98, keeps state parks open and does not include early release of prisoners. However, there are some very concerning proposals which require further review. The Legislature will of course be taking a closer look at all the proposals laid out in the May Revise in the coming weeks and I look forward to working with my colleagues to create a responsible budget.”

Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville:
“I am disappointed that the Governor has chosen to ignore common-sense budget solutions. Higher taxes will do very little to stop the recurring roller coaster ride of fiscal irresponsibility.

I firmly disagree with the Governor’s proposal to impose a surcharge on residential and commercial property insurance. California’s homeowners and small business-owners simply cannot afford this new tax and deserve better.

I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Governor to find real structural budget reform that does not include additional taxes.”

Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad
“I am very pleased to hear that the Governor heeded Republican calls to protect education funding and has decided against the suspension of Proposition 98. Over the last few months, I have met with and talked to hundreds of parents, educators and school administrators about how to best deal with the budget in a way that keeps reductions out of the classroom. While we are a long way from a final budget, I believe the new proposal reaffirms our commitment to keeping education a top priority.

“I still remain concerned with the idea that tax increases and more borrowing are the solution to fixing the budget deficit. Californians are already paying higher prices at the pump, at the grocery store and are facing decreasing home values – a tax increase is the last thing they need.”

Assemblywoman Shirley Horton, R-Chula Vista
“By fully funding Proposition 98 it is clear that the Governor has realized the importance of protecting the vital needs of California’s students. Education is the gateway to a better life, and it is crucial that per pupil spending remain intact to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to excel.”

Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville:
"I am pleased to see that the Governor’s May Revise to the State Budget does not include his previous proposal to release 22,000 inmates from prison before they have served their time. Public Safety should be a top concern for the State of California, and I am pleased that this dangerous proposal has been dropped.”

“There are some in this Legislature that feel that we must tax our way out of this deficit. The citizens of California did not cause this budget deficit, the big spenders in the Legislature caused this problem. Californians are already paying higher taxes. The state is already receiving more taxes, via the doubling of the sales tax on gasoline. More taxes just heap insult on the already higher cost of living for families. I will continue to join my Republican colleagues in asking that we enact common-sense budget reforms that will stimulate our economy, cut government waste, and not force Californians to pay higher taxes.”

Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster
“I am glad Governor Schwarzenegger now proposes a budget that more accurately reflects the values of Californians by protecting our children’s education, ensuring the public is kept safe from the early release of prisoners and keeping our state parks open. However, I strongly urge the Governor to remember his commitment to not raise taxes as I will not support a proposal that increases costs to hardworking families who are already paying more for the basics of fuel and food.”

Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach:
“I cannot support a proposal that allows for the possibility of a sales tax increase. Asking working Californians to pay more, especially at a time when gas and food prices continue to rise, is not an option that should be seriously considered.”

Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita
“I am pleased to see that the Governor decided to increase funding for public education, ensuring that our schools receive the minimum guarantee under Prop 98, even in these tough financial times. I also applaud the Governor for eliminating his initial proposal to release over 20,000 inmates from California's prison system before they have served their time, as well as not closing any state parks. I am concerned however that we continue to rely on stopgap measures, like borrowing against future lottery earnings or a sales tax increase, which amount to nothing more than a band-aid rather than tackle structural deficiencies that will continue to plague our state.”

Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange
“When lawmakers passed AB 900 we made a commitment to our communities that dangerous criminals would not be cut loose back onto the streets. The Governor has shown his tough commitment to public safety by dropping his early release proposal, which would have given ‘get out of jail free’ cards to 22,000 inmates. Now that early release has been taken off the table, the Legislature can redirect its attention towards other corrections policy items.”

Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Garden Grove
“I am pleased that the Governor reconsidered his proposal to release prisoners early. Prisoners should serve their time, and Californians deserve to know that they are safe in their homes and neighborhoods.

“I continue to be concerned that the state’s spending does not match its revenues. Each Californian lives on a budget, not spending more than they earn. The state should be following the examples set by these hard-working citizens and not spend more than we take in.”

Statewide officials

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi
"Today’s budget revision does not live up to the promise or the needs of this great state and its people. It sorely lacks the long term structural solutions that will move our state forward and cuts right at the heart of the most vulnerable among us – slashing more than $2 billion from the health and human services January proposal.”

“While some cuts to education were restored, we should be clear that this level of funding will leave our schools and our children's hungry minds on a starvation diet.

"I am also concerned that mortgaging the lottery amounts to California taking a risky big spin -- possibly diverting money that has been promised to education, and balancing the budget with the promise of a future ballot measure.

“There is no question that our state’s chronic structural imbalance calls us to carefully examine our budgeting priorities and to seek reforms that increase efficiency of all state programs. We must remember that the success of the Golden State over the past half century was based on a robust, entrepreneurial private sector matched by state investments that propelled us into the 21st century.”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell:
“Teachers, parents, administrators, and paraeducators across our state have joined together over the last four months to illustrate what a devastating impact the cuts proposed in January would have had on our schools. I think it’s clear the Governor has heard the outcry from the education community over his initial budget proposals.

“I welcome his new proposal and retreat from suspending Proposition 98. But to say that education is fully funded in this budget is an overstatement.

“Schools still must absorb the 10 percent cut made to specific programs like class size reduction, counselors, and targeted remediation programs. These cuts remain in today’s proposal and have real-world impact on our students. Many teachers and other essential school staff will still face layoffs, classroom sizes are likely to increase, and there is no cost-of-living increase at a time when the cost of gas, food, and other school essentials is increasing. With the price of gas alone increasing by nearly $1 a gallon over the last year, the failure to fund a cost-of-living adjustment amounts to a serious budget cut in practical terms.

“I realize the Governor has a lot of tough decisions to make, and I commend him for taking the difficult but necessary step of recognizing that we need to raise more revenue. I am concerned, however, about a proposal that relies so heavily on the Lottery alone to fund schools. This scheme does not address the long-term funding needs of our schools. Instead, it gambles on our students’ future by providing one-time funds for schools with a multi-year repayment plan.

“California is already near the bottom in terms of per-pupil spending. The Governor’s budget revision still falls short of what schools need now, and doesn't begin to address what is needed in the long term. I continue to argue that we are long overdue for a conversation about how to adequately and effectively fund public education in a way that invests in California’s future.

“I will continue to work with the legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger to find a budget compromise that meets the needs of our students and all Californians.”

Treasurer Bill Lockyer:
“The Governor deserves credit for offering a plan that recognizes our state needs to deal effectively with both its revenues and its spending. Proposing a statewide tax increase, even if only temporary, takes guts for any California Republican these days. However, this budget still seems to assume that the state’s structural deficit and legitimate spending needs will somehow take care of themselves in future years with a return to a steady increase in revenues. History shows that’s not an assumption that makes for sound fiscal planning.

“My office is reviewing the revenue and debt assumptions used to support the Governor’s state lottery ballot proposal. But I am always concerned about using one-time revenues to finance ongoing state services. And the proposal constitutes a sizable bet that Californians will double their current level of lottery participation within a few years. Whatever the merits, there may not be enough time to make the lottery plan part of an immediate budget solution.

“Right now, the best thing the Governor and lawmakers of both parties can do for California is work together to produce an honest, balanced and on-time budget. We have a smaller cash cushion than we’ve enjoyed in past years. A late budget could force the state to pay a premium of $100 million or more to issue securities to help us maintain cash flow. Tardiness also could cause the state to delay payments to programs and services, which could subject the state to tens of millions of dollars in financial penalties. And if we once again show we can’t enact a budget on time, Wall Street rating agencies could give California another rap on the knuckles. That doesn’t help taxpayers when the state goes to the bond market.”

State Controller John Chiang
“I compliment the Governor for proposing a budget that recognizes that the magnitude of the current fiscal crisis warrants open-mindedness to solutions that impact both sides of the ledger.

“However, the Governor’s budget proposal relies too heavily on risky borrowing and questionable assumptions that could plunge the State into deeper fiscal crisis if they fail to materialize.

“Without a timely budget based on sound assumptions and containing real solutions, the State could run out of cash as early as August and will have no option other than expensive external borrowing to meet the State’s payment obligations. I urge the Legislature to work quickly to enact a solid budget that protects those who rely on government services and paves the way toward long-term fiscal stability.

“My office expects to receive the Governor’s revenue projections next week and will immediately begin testing his budget assumptions and proposed solutions to determine their viability and what impact their success or failure will have on the State’s cash balance. I hope to make those analyses available by the end of the month to assist the Legislature in its difficult task.”

Advocates

Anthony Wright, executive director, Health Access California:
"The Governor’s budget cuts will result in closing the doors to coverage and care for hundreds of thousands of Californians, and further unravel the broken health care system that we all rely on.

"The new cuts that block people from getting coverage is on top of severe cuts already made this, and others still pending, that would reduce access to doctor and hospitals, eliminate basic benefits like dental care, and have people dropped from coverage. As a result, millions of Californians, including children, parents, seniors, and people with disabilities will live sicker and die younger as a direct result of these budget decisions."

Paul Meyer, executive director of the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California:
“CELSOC applauds Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for developing creative responses to California’s massive budget deficit. In preparing the May Revise, the Governor faced an extraordinarily difficult situation with no easy answers.

“The Governor deserves credit for crafting a state budget that includes resourceful new ideas for addressing the deficit. Without such innovations as creating a multi-year revenue stream from the modernization of the California Lottery and enacting a budget stabilization act, the state budget cuts would be much worse than those proposed.

“In addition, Governor Schwarzenegger developed a budget that does not mandate permanent tax increases. With California’s economy already hurting, increasing the tax burden would only chase more jobs out of state, slow the recovery and retard new job creation.

“Just as in other areas of the budget, the May Revise cuts some funding for needed infrastructure projects. However, the Governor strongly supports public-private partnerships, design-build and other project financing and delivery techniques that can help offset the loss of traditional funding. We look forward to working with the administration and the Legislature to make those needed reforms a reality.”

Marty Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers:
“The governor’s budget revision tries to protect education, but lacks the funding to do it. Selling bonds based on future lottery proceeds postpones some of the hurt but shifts the burden to adequately fund education and other vital services into the near future.

“It’s time to restore the top income tax bracket and close loopholes like the yacht owners’ tax break. Restoring the top income tax brackets makes good fiscal sense. The wealthy have long expressed the willingness to help pay for California’s schools, but politicians have lacked the political courage to lead
that effort."

“Shifting the bulk of the cuts to health and human services is a disguised cut to
education. These programs aren’t isolated from schools. Our students need to
come to school ready to learn, and they can’t do that hungry or sick.”

“School kids did not cause this crisis,” said Hittelman. “Their teachers and school staff are being confronted with uncertain futures. It’s time to put in place a fair, stable and progressive funding source for education and other vital services.”

“The people of California rely on their schools and other vital public services. A progressive tax policy that asks the people who have benefited the most from living in California to pay their fair share is a reasonable alternative to massive program cuts.”

C. Duane Dauner, president of the California Hospital Association:
"The May Revision of the Administration’s proposed 2008-09 State Budget contains bad news for health care consumers across California. With the state facing a projected $17.2 billion deficit, the proposal released today would result in crushing, disproportionate cuts to the Medi-Cal program - including up to $184 million in cuts to hospitals caring for the most vulnerable in our state. Adding insult to injury, these proposed cuts come on top of more than $1.3 billion in Medi-Cal reductions to all health care providers that were enacted earlier this year and are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2008.

The additional payment cuts proposed in the May Revise include $22 million for inpatient services provided at hospitals that do not contract with the Medi-Cal program; $54 million in cuts to some public hospitals through the Safety Net Care Pool; and approximately $12 million in payment reductions in the Medi-Cal managed care program. Additionally, hospitals may experience up to an additional $96 million in losses as a result of changes being proposed to Medi-Cal eligibility and benefits.

If these additional cuts are adopted into law, more patients covered by the Medi-Cal program will not receive needed health care services. Some hospitals cannot meet payroll beginning in late June as a result of the 10 percent cuts and payment delays already enacted; other hospitals will be severely affected. It is a lose–lose proposition for both patients and hospitals.

California’s hospitals have a long-standing commitment to ensuring that every Californian should have equitable access to safe, affordable, high-quality, medically necessary health care. But this goal is endangered by the proposed slashing of the Medi-Cal program. California already ranks dead-last in the nation when it comes to funding health care for Medicaid patients. Further reductions only serve to fracture an already broken health care system, while at the same time costing the state in lost matching federal dollars."

Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of California Medical Association:
"These budget cuts will devastate access to health care for millions of poor Californians and will wreak havoc on the ability of middle class Californians to meet their health care needs. If this budget somehow passes and even a fraction of these cuts go into effect, Governor Schwarzenegger's legacy to the people of California will not be the health care reform he has promised, but instead a health care system damaged beyond belief.

All Californians should sit up and take notice. These cuts will not just take wheelchairs away from the disabled, deprive poor children of access to their critical health care needs, and leave seniors stranded. The cuts will also raise the costs of health care for employers and families, undermine the quality of care in emergency rooms, and shut down doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics in communities across California.

The health and well-being of all Californians will suffer under this budget.”

Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs:
“We applaud Governor Schwarzenegger for presenting a budget that ensures the state sales tax on gasoline continues to fund critical transportation improvements. Just 18 months ago, with the support of the Governor, more than 77% of voters passed Prop. 1A - sending an unequivocal mandate and locking in constitutional protections that ensure the state sales tax on gas can only be spent on transportation improvements. The Governor has kept faith with the voters with his May Revise.

“Preserving transportation funding is absolutely essential in today’s economic downturn. California has a significant backlog of transportation improvement projects that need funding now. The longer we wait to address these problems, the more costly they become – further stretching scarce local and state dollars. What’s more, maintaining the steady flow of transportation funding will help provide some stability in the construction sector, which is facing a significant slump that is hindering our economy.

“We recognize that today’s Revise is just the start of a long, difficult budget process. The Alliance and other transportation stakeholders will be vigilantly participating in this process to ensure any final budget is responsible, and protects vital transportation funding.”

Teresa Casazza, president of the California Taxpayers’ Association:
"We take no pleasure in today's May Revise. No one who lives and does business in California should. What we must take away from today is a sense that California's budget structure must be addressed with the same urgency as education, health care and the environment.

"We commend the governor’s thoughtful approach to the $24.3 billion deficit and his commitment to fixing the broken budget process that is crippling California’s economy.

“We support the governor’s work toward getting the state’s fiscal house in order without increasing the burden on California’s taxpayers, who already are struggling to pay their bills in these tough economic times. The governor wisely rejected the tax increases on homeowners, seniors and struggling businesses, suggested by the legislative analyst and others.

“An economic rebound in the private sector is the key to increasing state revenue. The governor’s plan to increase state revenue by making voter-approved changes to the Lottery deserves an honest review in the Legislature, as it could help balance the budget without new taxes.

“Budget reform also remains vital. We need to change the system that led to the chronic structural budget deficits, so it doesn’t happen again. If we don’t create a rainy day fund to establish a cushion in tough economic times, many problems will remain even when the economy rebounds.”

Cathy Maupin, interim executive director of the California Children's Defense Fund:

“In a state with the 8th largest economy in the world, it is a moral outrage that cuts to foster care, health coverage, cash assistance for children, and food programs are even being considered. Our policy makers must recognize that every step taken to improve the lives of children improves the lives of all Californians. Instead of structuring our state budget to address the urgent needs facing millions of California’s families, the Governor proposes once again to balance the budget on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable population: children."

“In many cases one family will feel the effects of multiple cuts simultaneously. For example, the same child receiving CalWORKs may experience a freeze in her cash benefits, be disenrolled from health care, and have her food assistance benefits reduced. Maupin continues, “In the midst of an economic downturn when gas and food prices are skyrocketing, we have a moral responsibility to meet the needs of children, and should respond to an economic downturn as we respond to any other type of disaster or crisis that requires increased resources and attention.”

Joshua Shaw, executive director of the California Transit Association:
"We acknowledge that the governor worked hard to find a way to maintain the current year’s funding, but we expected more last year – we believe we were legally entitled to it, and we know Californians want and need better transit service – so more of the same is nothing to be happy about.”

“That three hundred and six million is equal to the STA for 07-08, so they claim to be holding transit harmless. While it’s not technically a net reduction, it’s clearly a significant amount less than the voters intended to provide to transit when they enacted numerous measures over the years designed to spend transportation taxes on transportation programs.”

“Given that fuel prices are driving more and more people out of their cars and on to buses and trains for their day-to-day mobility, this is the worst possible time to continue this trend of massive cuts to transit funding. Transit providers are seeing ridership surge to record levels and beyond. Many are actually having to turn away passengers. Yet their ability to keep up with demand keeps moving in the opposite direction.”

Annelle Grajeda, president of SEIU California State Council and SEIU Local 721:
“We need our elected leaders to understand that the people of California will not accept cuts that hurt our children, seniors, and communities.

“The proposed budget reflects a short-term mentality, but we’ve got a long-term problem on our hands. Cuts that yield quick savings now but create costly problems later are unwise. This budget is a missed opportunity to move the ball forward.”

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now:
“It’s mind-boggling that too many of our state's leaders still can’t see the shortsightedness of cutting children’s health, education and economic support. California’s children currently are well behind national average measures of well-being and per-child funding. It’s also clear that investment in these programs today will reduce the state’s future costs and increase its future revenues. Yet California continues to make decisions that are leading us closer and closer to a next generation that can’t support our human capital needs and increasingly overburdens public costs. We’re shortchanging our future in big, bad ways.”

Tom Porter, California state director AARP:
"AARP is extremely disappointed with the Governor’s 2008 May budget proposal, announced today. Far from improving upon his initial budget proposal, the Governor’s budget revision proposes even deeper cuts to critical services to the most vulnerable Californians.

AARP believes that highest priority in the budget process should be given to programs that serve the state’s most vulnerable populations – specifically low-income children, as well as disabled and older adults. The budget should not be balanced on the backs of these most vulnerable Californians. We believe our elected leaders should fully fund the “safety net” programs that are critical to the well-being of those who cannot care for themselves.

Further, our health care system is failing. Drastic cuts have already weakened these critical programs. If approved, the Governor’s new proposal means fewer people will have access to services and the health care crisis will simply get worse.

AARP believes that policymakers should consider revenue enhancements rather than cut services to California’s most vulnerable persons."

Jim Metropulos, senior advocate for Sierra Club California
“We are happy that Governor Schwarzenegger responded to the public’s overwhelming call to keep our parks open. Still, this year's budget proposal does nothing to ensure the long-term stability of the chronically underfunded Department of Parks and Recreation. We’ll continue to work with the governor and the California Legislature to create a stable funding source for these special places.”

Allan Hoffenblum, the publisher of the California Target Book, which handicaps political races in the state, has written up a rundown of the Democratic Party's chances for winning a supermajority in the Legislature.

He says Democrats would need a clean sweep and "two major upset wins" in the Assembly races. There's pretty much no chance in the Senate (where Dems need to pick up two seats).

Read Hoffenblum's analysis at the new Fox and Hounds blog.

The seats Democrats would need to win in the Assembly are AD 80 (Bonnie Garcia), AD 78 (Shirley Horton), AD 15 (Guy Houston), AD 26 (Greg Aghazarian), AD 10 (Alan Nakanishi) and AD 37 (Audra Strickland, the only GOPer of the bunch not termed out). Democrats would also have to hold AD 30, currently held by Assemblywoman Nicole Parra.

Bracing for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget announcement later today, the trustees of the California State University approved raising tuition fees by 10 percent this fall.

Undergraduates will pay an average of $3,797 next year, twice as much as what a CSU school cost in the fall of 2000, according to the Associated Press.

California's prison people put out their Spring 2008 inmate population projections, and the news is positive for those who favor putting fewer offenders behind bars.

The projection is contained in a report released today by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It says that this June, there will be 171,126 inmates in the state's custody, or about 4,292 fewer than the projectors had previously projected, as recently as last fall.

Moving ahead to June 2013, corrections analysts say the state will be housing exactly 167,535 inmates. The projections release in the fall called for a June 2013 prison population of 191,886.

Parole agents, meanwhile, are projected to have fewer offenders to track. They're supposed to have 124,631 parolees under supervision this June and 117,816 in June 2013.

The numbers have big implications for the state budget. It costs $43,000 to house the average prisoner for a year.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's money people said this week he was dumping his budget-driven release plan because the prison population drops are taking place on their own.

Accounting for the pop drops: fewer admissions from courts, mostly the result of fewer drug and theft offenders getting convicted in Southern California; and fewer parolees returned to custody for minor, non-criminal infractions.

The report credited corrections' new parole policies for helping drive the numbers down. In the last year, the administration has directed thousands more offenders into drug and other community-based programs. It also is discharging parolees from supervision sooner if they stay clean.

In her first shift of committee chairs, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass named Assemblyman Curren Price as the new chair of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. Price replaces Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, whom Bass has elevated to the post of majority leader.

Price has served as chair of the Elections Committee. His move to GO, which oversees gambling, tobacco and alcohol interests, among other things, opens up the chairmanship of his former commitee.

Let the game of musical chairs begin!

That's what Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines said of the floor of the Assembly congratulating Speaker Karen Bass on her swearing-in.

Photo credit: Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee

With Karen Bass’ swearing in Tuesday as the next speaker of the Assembly, Capitol Alert asked a pair of her predecessors – former Speakers Willie Brown and Herb Wesson – to share advice for the new leader of the lower house.

Brown, who served roughly 15 years as speaker, said Bass will inherit “awesome” power and responsibility – even if she’s termed out in 2010.

“Her speakership may be short in terms of time but it’s never short in terms of responsibilities. She will have awesome responsibilities,” Brown said, standing outside the Willie L. Brown Jr. room in the Capitol.

“She now becomes one of the Big 5 – in my opinion, as speaker, she becomes number one of the Big 5,” he said of the negotiating group that includes the four legislative leaders and the governor.

The governor’s office might have something to say about that pecking order, but that’s a story for another day.

As for her workload, Brown said the budget must come first: “She’s got to go to work to start doing that.”

Brown famously fended off Republican challenges to his speakership for more than a year after the 1994 elections swept Republicans into the majority.

To keep order in her house, Brown said Bass “first has to develop a relationship with her membership, Republicans as well as Democrats.”

“She has to instill in them that they have a good-government responsibility, not a political party responsibility and I think Karen Bass is uniquely talented and skilled to do that,” he said.

That means “dealing with the issues that affect the other 79 members – that’s everybody.”

“Except yourself,” I replied.

“Seventy-nine members,” he smiled. “You don’t look out for yourself you look out for the 79 members, they will ensure that you have a job.”

Wesson, who preceded Fabian Núñez as speaker, said the key to a short-term speakership is “to pick one or two things, focus on it laser-like and deliver.”

Bass has said the budget, the state’s tax structure and foster care will be her priorities.

“In an era when you have budget problems that is all you can do,” said Wesson, who pointed out that a deficit-plagued budget marked his speakership, as well.

“The key is to be a good listener,” he said. “If people think you’re listening, sometimes they give you a break.”

“This is a tough house,” Wesson added. “It’s a tough gig.”

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, himself a former speaker, had no interest in offering Bass advice.

“Do I have an option?” he asked. “No. If I have an option, no.”

Here's the complete swearing-in speech, as prepared, by Speaker Karen Bass. She didn't stray far from the prepared text in her delivery.

“To the former Speakers who joined me today as my escorts - -you honor us with your presence the way your service honored this house and this state. Thank you for taking the time to be here today. Since I have been in the legislature I have sought each of you for your guidance, critique and solidarity. And I thank you for that – and assume you’ll be available for many more phone calls.

Thank you members. Let’s get to work.”

Nothing like starting out the day with a good death penalty joke.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared Tuesday at a conference on alternative energy in Irvine co-hosted by the University of California, Irvine, the Milken Institute and New Majority California, a group of wealthy moderate Republicans who have donated to the governor.

Schwarzenegger explained how he is trying to bring Democrats and Republicans together.

"So this is why to make sure of that I proposed something entirely new, which is to have a solar-powered electric chair," Schwarzenegger said, provoking laughter. "There's something in there for both parties so everyone can be happy. See, this is how I get things together."

The Republican governor followed up with an old joke about why he doesn't understand it when other people say it's difficult to resolve partisan differences. "I don't know what you're talking about. I sleep with a Democrat every night, so, I mean, I know exactly how you bring people together."

Be sure to catch Schwarzenegger's next act Wednesday when he unveils his revised May budget. No two-drink minimum required.

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, who campaigned hard for the speakership, has landed a pretty good consolation prize: majority leader. That is the number two post in the Assembly.

The Newark Democrat told his local paper, the San Jose Mercury News, "I'm very humbled by the appointment; I'm honored by it, and I'm looking forward to working with Speaker Bass confronting California's growing problems."

Torrico was one of Bass' chief rivals for speaker and her choice to give him a top post raises questions about where she will place those who backed her candidacy.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Kevin De Leon were among the members of the Assembly said to have been interested in the majority leader post. Both floated their only speakership trial balloons, but ultimately backed Bass.

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, during a 2005 committee hearing. Photo credit: Sacramento Bee/ John Decker

New Assembly Speaker Karen Bass will urge legislators to “take the fear out of California’s future” and consider restructuring the tax system.

Bass, D-Los Angeles, has prepared a nearly 10-minute acceptance speech for her swearing-in ceremony today.

Her office released the following excerpt:

“California is a giant in crisis – and now it is up to us to solve that crisis. It is up to us to take the fear out of California’s future.

“If we can mobilize our resources to respond to major disasters like Northridge and Whittier and Loma Prieta – we must be able to respond to the budget crisis….

“Members, we have to respond to the current economic crisis in the same way we would a natural disaster.

“We have to toss aside the boxes we put ourselves in and the labels we place on others and come together to get the job done.

“I believe that part of that job has got to involve looking at the big picture and really examining California’s overall economic structure.

“Most importantly, we have to ask the question of whether a tax structure that was established in the 1930s is sufficient to meet the needs of Californians in 2008.

“The weight of history is not just on my shoulders.

“As we all move forward, it should be with the understanding that a society will be judged on the way it cares for its people.

“As speaker, I want you to judge me on how I am able to bring together the best of your talents, your experience, and yes – the best of your hearts – to help build the kind of society that California deserves.”

Here’s a question for trivia buffs:

What Bible will Karen Bass use today when she’s sworn in as the Assembly’s first African American woman speaker?

Her right hand will be placed on a copy of the “New Women of Color Study Bible,” New International Version.

A Web site selling the book, Family Christian Stores, says the “New Women of Color Study Bible” will “inspire readers with perspectives and insights that focus God’s Word directly on the world of today’s African-American women.”

The book features 75 full-page “Women of the Bible” profiles, 140 notes that reveal African influence in Scripture, 95 “From God” notes that encourage women to see themselves through God’s eyes, and 50 quotes that offer the wisdom of African-American women, the Web site said.

Joel Fox, the president of the Small Business Action Committee, has launched a new political site covering California politics, called Fox & Hounds. The site features a right-leaning blogpen of contributors including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's economics adviser David Crane, former GOP Assemblyman Keith Richman and Fox himself.

Fox promises a site "not based on ideology, but on the principle that an economically healthy California is a boon for all citizens."

"There is little that combines the news of business and politics and links them in such a way to inform and persuade politically-interested business-people and professionals," the site says.

Today, Fox posts an off-the-cuff interview he had with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the budget. Fox asked the mayor how he'd solve the state's fiscal mess.

"I've said for some time the state budget deficit is a spending problem but it's also a revenue problem. There are very real structural elements to it. The only way to resolve this budget deficit is to cut some spending and also to raise revenues and that's what we're doing here with the city budget. We're saying for every $1.50 in cuts we are going to raise a dollar in revenue," Villaraigosa said.

Crane, a Democrat and close adviser to Schwarzenegger, has already written a blog post about the state's infrastructure shortfall.

The rest of the site's contributors are Bonnie Reiss, a University of California Regent and former top adviser to the governor, Rex Hime, president and CEO of the California Business Properties Association, Elizabeth Crothers, a political consultant, Brendan Huffman, president & CEO of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, John Kabateck, executive director of the California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, Michael Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University, Patrick Dorinson, former communications director for the California Republican Party, Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book and Joe Mathews, Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

Assemblyman Hector De La Torre today endorsed Rod Wright's campaign for state Senate. Not that it was much of a surprise. Wright's opponent, Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, called De La Torre "the most racist legislator I have encountered in over 40 years" in 2006.

The two Democrats were at odds over police-style badges Dymally was giving away to his supporters. De La Torre, then-chair of the Assembly Rules Committee, investigated the matter.

The since-abandoned Political Muscle blog has the details on the Dymally-De La Torre exchange.

"Knowing his record during his previous tenure in the California State Assembly, Rod Wright is the best candidate to serve the diverse population and needs of the 25th Senatorial District," De La Torre said in his endorsement statement.

The Senate Republican primary campaign between Assemblywoman Mimi Walters and Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu has turned negative, as both candidates are sending out critical mail pieces and airing attack ads on local TV.

The pair are competing to replace termed-out Sen. Dick Ackerman in a conservative Orange County district.

Sidhu fired the first on-air shot, accusing Walters of missing votes in the Assembly, "taking a big pay raise" and voting for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.

Walters didn't so much vote for Núñez as she didn't object to a voice-vote twice anointing him speaker. The charge spurred a long column by Jon Fleischman, an Orange County Republican and Republican Party vice chairman, urging Republicans to drop the bipartisan practice. "Mimi is an outstanding conservative leader -- one of the best in Sacramento. She should not have to be enduring this because of a bad precedent set before she arrived in Sacramento," he wrote.

Watch Sidhu's ad below (hat tip to the OC Blog):

Walters released her own counter-attack, charging that Sidhu is "wrong on illegal immigration."

Watch her spot below:

As the negativity ramps up, it must be getting close to election day.

A new TV ad by a left-leaning group aims to frame Republicans as the yacht tax loophole-loving party.

But the ad may be just as successful in making the GOP out to be the sex-crazed, bikini-bearing, champagne-pouring, strawberry-nibbling party of the young and beautiful.

The ad was created for the Courage Campaign, an online activist group, with the California Nurses Association paying for its production. Arianna Huffington, the liberal publisher of Huffingtonpost.com, pitched the group's online donors for donations to air the ad on Monday.

"Trust me, this is must-see TV," blared the e-mail subject line.

The ad is certainly off the charts for sex appeal, at least among political spots. One scene features a bare-chested man pouring champagne on a bikini-clad woman.

Huffington said the ad "strips naked the shocking nature of the California Republican Party's priorities" in support the "yacht tax loophole." Under current law, owners of large vehicles, such as yachts, can park their purchases out of state for 90 days to avoid paying California sales tax.

Watch the ad below:

Rick Jacobs, co-founder of the Courage Campaign, said the group had already recieved enough donations to begin airing the spot in Sacramento on Tuesday night. They have reserved air time on political programs on CNN and MSNBC, as well as Comedy Central's Colbert Report and Jon Stewart Show.

The ad is the second "Yacht Party" ad that Courage Campaign has created.

We just completed a caption contest, so we're not going to launch another one today, but we'd love to know what you think Massachussets Sen. Ted Kennedy (left), his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy(middle) and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (right) are laughing at.

Bowen was in Boston to receive the annual Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library for her decision to limit the use of electronic voting machines in the state.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Lisa Poole

Looking for Assembly members today?

Check Valley Hi Country Club’s 18-hole golf course.

The Assembly scheduled a 9:30 a.m. session today, unusually early, since the gavel typically bangs closer to noon on Mondays to accommodate legislators’ flights from Southern California.

With more than 130 bills awaiting action and the state facing a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, the early session at the Capitol was meant to get an early start on tackling state problems, right?

Wrong.

The Assembly held brief ceremonies to honor the state champion McClymonds High School boys basketball team and Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. It passed a consent calendar and voted on one non-controversial bill.

Legislators were gone by 11:15 a.m. – early enough for participating lawmakers to make their early afternoon tee times for a charity golf tournament honoring the late Bob Moretti, former Assembly speaker.

In the first video below, Assembly Speaker-elect Karen Bass talks about the difficulty in balancing the budget with a "cuts-only" approach.

In the second video, Bass talks about her plans to create a bipartisan commission to study California's tax structure.

Read a full run-down of what Bass had to say in her meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau.

Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally turns 82 today.

That makes him the combined age of Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (41) and Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines (also 41).

Dymally served as lieutenant governor in the 1970s and in Congress in the early 1980s. He is running for state Senate this year.

Speaker-elect Karen Bass said Monday she plans to have a limited agenda during her speakership, focusing from the start on the budget, which she declared as her priority number “one, two and three.”

Bass, who will be sworn in on Tuesday as the first African American woman speaker of the Assembly, spoke with The Bee Capitol Bureau about a range of topics, from her election priorities to her plans for committee chairmanships.

She takes the helm of the Assembly only one day before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will unveil his revised May budget. The governor has suggested the budget deficit could be as large as $20 billion.

“I really can’t see past the budget,” said Bass, who predicted that her Democratic caucus would not support a “cuts-only” budget, without new revenues.

She also plans to convene a commission of bipartisan big thinkers to consider how to overhaul California’s tax structure, saying she’s reached out to former Leon Panetta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, as well as former Govs. Gray Davis and Pete Wilson. She said she hoped to formulate the commission “before the month is over.”

Another top priority for Bass is foster care. The Los Angeles Democrat is considering pushing a ballot measure, modeled after Proposition 63, the 2004 mental health measure, to create a revenue stream earmarked for foster care programs.

“The state is responsible for these children. We’re their parents,” she said. “One could argue today that we could be accused of neglect and abuse.”

To pay for the program, she said she is exploring closing “tax loopholes” but hasn’t settled on a particular revenue stream. “This is a group of children that have no lobby,” she said of making foster kids a priority.

Unlike her predecessor, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, she said she’s unlikely to tackle major policy issues like health care and global warming.

“My speakership will be like all the other ones post-Willie Brown: short,” Bass said.

She continued, “It seems to make the most sense to me that I stay focused on the budget, continue my agenda with foster care and then promote the agenda of other members versus taking on major issues myself.”

•Her top election priority come November will be protecting the seat currently held by termed-out Assemblywoman Nicole Parra.

Fran Florez, mother of Sen. Dean Florez, is the Democratic candidate in that race. “We are going to be out there in full force for Fran Florez,” Bass declared.

Parra has famously feuded with the Florez family (a former Dean Florez aide unseated her father in local office) and publicly flirted with the notion of backing the GOP nominee, Danny Gilmore.

But Bass said that wouldn’t happen. “She’s not going to endorse Danny Gilmore,” Bass said of Parra.

•She said she would need to raise an estimated $10 million for Assembly Democrats to compete in November.

•Bass wouldn’t divulge who would be the new set of committee chairs under her speakership. They will be changes, she said, but she there will not be a mass exodus this week.

“If I believe that the most important thing is the budget, then, to me, in terms of the house, it is most important the house be stable,” she said.

She said she would “appoint designees for a number of committees” in June.

•She said she opposed the anti-gang initiative, sponsored by Sen. George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. She wasn’t sure how active she would be in her opposition, citing the challenges the raising money and campaigning for Assembly Democrats.

•She hasn’t taken a position on Núñez’s latest redistricting/term limits proposal. She has not taken a position on the plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing, saying she wants to ensure the Legislature will “maintain the diversity” it currently has.

Assembly Speaker-elect Karen Bass in a press conference after her election in February. Photo credit: Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee

It's not every day that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger takes second billing in an op-ed. But he does so today, co-authoring an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal with Carlos Gutierrez, the U.S. secretary of commerce.

The pair preview their joint event today at a Hitachi plant in Torrance and boast of the benefits of free trade.

"Prominent voices in punditry and politics have questioned the benefits of America's openness and called for an isolationist U-turn that would choke off our innovation and prosperity," they write. "In every state of the union, such a retreat would be disastrous for jobs, economic growth and consumer choice."

Read the full piece in the Wall Street Journal.

A $980 million bond aimed to expand and revamp California's network of children's hospitals has qualified for the November ballot, the secretary of state's office reported late Friday.

If approved by voters, 80 percent of the nearly $1 billion would go to hospitals that treat children with illnesses such as leukemia, cancer, heart defects, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. The other 20 percent of funds would go toward University of California general acute care hospitals.

Proponents spent more than $1 million to gather the 433,971 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. It is the third measure to qualify for the November ballot. The others are a high-speed rail bond and a measure to improve the living conditions of farm animals.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the total costs of the children's hospital bond measure to be $2 billion, including interest. That works out to $67 million per year for the next 30 years.

Proponents are hoping to duplicate the success they had in 2004, when voters approved Proposition 61 with 58 percent of the vote. That measure was a $750 million children's hospital bond.

Another California superdelegate has declared for Sen. Barack Obama. Crystal Strait, the former president of California Young Democrats, issued a statement Sunday endorsing Obama.

Strait has some timing. CNN reported she tied the superdelegates race with her endorsement.

Here's what Strait said with her endorsement:

"While representing the Young Democrats of America at the DNC, my number one priority is to ensure that young people are fully represented at the polls and in the party. Barack Obama has shown a real commitment to young voters in his campaign and, in response, young people have overwhelmingly voted and caucused for Obama in these primary contests. We know that if a young person votes three times in a row for a party, they become a party voter for life. We know that because of high youth turnout in 2004 and 2006. 2008 is the third and critical election for young voters. And that's why I know I want to pledge my delegate vote to Barack Obama. "

Him, I'd kick out of bed!

Congratulations to Mike Spence, the president of the California Republican Assembly and chief of staff to Assemblyman Joel Anderson, for sending in the winning caption.

There were plenty of entries similar to Spence’s – all based on Bonnie Garcia's controversial 2006 comments about the governor, in which she said she “wouldn’t kick him out of my bed.”

But Spence’s caption packed the best punch. For his efforts, we’re sending a $25 gift certificate to Starbucks.

Honorable mention goes to Garcia, who had the good humor to send in a caption herself: “I have to do what??? to turn him into a prince.”

Also, thanks to Assemblyman Anthony Adams, who wrote, “I was just trying to kiss Nunez good-bye!”

Folks made jokes about Garcia kissing just about every politician in Sacramento (and the country) from Don Perata to Dave Cogdill to Ron Calderon to John McCain.

Another theme was captions based on Schwarzenegger’s private comments in 2006, in which he called Garcia a “hot-blooded” Latina. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we won’t be reprinting all of those.

Finally, a shout out to Melissa Lawson, who reports sharing the contest with her sixth grade students. Our favorite student entry:

"OMG! Do those come in PINK?"

With that, here’s a roundup of the top runner-ups:

Hot-blooded and cold-blooded just don’t mix.

Hot-blooded species only for this Latina.

Is that a tax increase?

Oh, Fabian. Is that what happens when term limits kick in?

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia reiterates her intention to NEVER go green.

As a very hot Latina I knew kissing the governor would turn him into a frog – I just didn’t realize he would be as ugly as his budget.

Drop it like it’s hot!

Oh my goodness, he has my EYES.

Assemblywoman Garcia at the annual “scare a frog to death” event.

Thanks again to those of you who sent in one of the more than 200 entries we received.

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, whose Senate Health Committee was the final graveyard for the health care plan negotiated by the governor and Assembly Democrats, has written a post-mortem on the overhaul efforts.

In it, Kuehl, a leading backer of single-payer health care, writes, "The governor's plan appropriately fell because of the governor's own reluctance to make the difficult policy decisions necessary for the plan to be in any way affordable."

She lays the blame largely on the insurance industry: "Simply put, insurance companies will not support any plan that would prevent them from continuing to raise premiums 2-3 times faster than wages, limits that must be imposed in order for any long term financing to work."

Kuehl specifically set out to dispute the notion that the health bill died in part because of the combined opposition of those on the left (from supporters of single-payer like herself) and the right (like insurance companies).

"Predictably, a number of interests in Sacramento have attempted to characterize the failure of the governor's and the speaker's bill as the victim of uncompromising single payer proponents on the left and powerful insurance companies on the right, as though the governor's plan was 'just right' in a three-bears, middle of two-extremes, spin," she writes.

As she's chair of the Health Committee (even if she's termed out), the full comments, which appear on the California Progress Report, are worth a read.

California superdelegate Ed Espinosa unmasked himself twice this week.

First he revealed that he was the mysterious "Mr. Super," an anonymous superdelegate, www.mrsuper.org who became a web phenomenon for political junkies with his musings on the ebbs and flows of the Democratic presidential contest and how they may affect the super selections.

Then today, Espinosa, a Long Beach political and public affairs consultant, formally came out for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Espinosa, who had worked on the presidential campaign of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, said he finally broke from the ranks of the undeclared after an urgent phone conversation with Richardson. In the call, Espinosa was persuaded after he voiced his concerns to Richardson about Obama's experience and his ability to attract Latino voters.

"He called me from Mexico – old Mexico, not New Mexico," Espinosa said of the governor, who has endorsed Obama. "'Gov' said character and judgment are just as important. He expessed to me that Sen. Obama had the character and the judgment to be president and I agree with him."

As for Mr. Super, his rhetorical political swoops will continue in cyberspace - even if now he is just an Earth-bound guy from Long Beach.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday she is "sticking with" Sen. Hillary Clinton. Earlier this week, Feinstein asked if Clinton "can get the delegates that she needs" to win the nomination.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Feinstein said she spoke with Clinton this week and said the New York senator still has a strategy to win.

"Her strategy is to win. I don't want to go into it, but clearly, her strategy is to win," she said.

Feinstein has been a vocal Clinton backer, but after Tuesday's primary results in North Carolina and Indiana, she said, “I think the race is reaching the point now where there are negative dividends from it, in terms of strife within the party."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he's not concerned about pressing the Lottery to pay back $46,336 spent on a staff party last fall.

“I don’t know if it should be paid back," Schwarzenegger said Friday. "I think we should really do everything we can not to let this happen again. Cause we don’t want to waste the taxpayers’ money on those kinds of things."

Schwarzenegger said he understood the argument for improving morale in a state agency he has proposed to privatize.

“There is always the question: Does something like this help to bring more revenues in?” he said. “Some people think: They say look, I did a party to bring everybody up and celebrate and let them know what a great job they did. And they now will work harder because of it and they will be better for the state of California.”

“There’s a good question about all of this,” he added.

State Controller John Chiang has pressed California Lottery Director Joan Borucki to repay the money, which could have gone toward schools.

Last year Borucki authorized an elaborate employee recognition dinner featuring a Nintendo Wii, iPods and other prizes. The controller warned Borucki in January that she could be held liable for unallowable costs related to the event.

Borucki has since testified that the Lottery will request “a legal opinion from the attorney general’s office on the legality of the expenditures for the employee recognition event.” But the attorney general’s office has said it never received a formal request.

Sempra Energy gave $50,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top fundraising cause days after the governor expressed frustration that environmentalists are trying to "slow down" the company's solar and geothermal project east of San Diego.

The governor has raised $2.1 million for a redistricting initiative this year, and Sempra last month gave $50,000 to California Voters FIRST, the committee running the redistricting campaign.

Environmentalists oppose Sempra's desired route for a 150-mile transmission line from the Imperial Valley to San Diego because it would cut through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The company wants to use the Sunrise Powerlink project to meet renewable energy requirements.

Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the route, though he supports the overall project, said spokeswoman Lisa Page. State regulators are reviewing the matter.

"This is about protecting our environment and meeting our renewable energy goals, so of course the governor is supportive," she said. "There is an urgent need for large-scale geothermal and solar resources in the Imperial Valley that this project could deliver. But he has not endorsed a specific route ... he does not want it to go through the park if it can be avoided."

Schwarzenegger used the dispute last month as an example of how environmentalists can obstruct environmental projects. In an April 18 appearance at the 2008 Conference of Governors on Climate Change at Yale University, he said it is a "myth" that only "businesses and Republicans are the obstacle to progress on renewable energy and on greenhouse gases."

He added that environmental activists and Democrats take on a "kind of schizophrenic behavior" because "they say that we want renewable energy but we don't want you to put it anywhere, we don't want you to use it."

At Yale, he specifically said, "San Diego Gas & Electric wants to develop solar geothermal fields in Imperial Valley and build 150 miles of transmission lines to go and take this power right into San Diego, but it faces opposition even though it would replace an old carbon-based power plant. So the point I'm making is it's not just businesses that have slowed things down, it's not just Republicans that have slowed things down, it's also Democrats and also environmental activists that slow things down."

Schwarzenegger made a similar point April 24 on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: "And it's sometimes even environmentalists that are obstacles ... you want to go and create more solar plants in the desert, and then they don't let you build, sometimes, the transmission lines to get it on the grid."

Sempra gave $50,000 to California Voters FIRST on April 25. Many contributors to the committee are friends of the governor, and their money came on top of the $2.1 million raised by the governor. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $250,000. Developer Rick Caruso gave $100,000. Texas oil executive T. Boone Pickens also gave $100,000.

Julie Soderlund, a campaign spokeswoman, said Schwarzenegger has "absolutely" no association with the Sempra donation.

"The governor makes policy decisions based on what is in the best interest of the people of California," she said.

Sempra did not donate toward redistricting when it was on the ballot in 2005, and it is unusual for Sempra to donate to a government reform cause, said Michael Shames, executive director of the San Diego-based Utility Consumers' Action Network, a utility watchdog group.

"They have stayed aloof of these issues until now, so it's either a massive change of policy or they're looking for the governor's love," Shames said.

Sempra was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.

At least one termed-out senator has landed his next job. Sen. Jack Scott, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, has been named the next chancellor of California's community college system.

The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges announced a unanimous vote Thursday to name Scott, 74, the 14th chancellor of 109-college system.

Scott, who served as president of Pasadena City College for nearly a decade before his election to the Legislature, will take the helm of the community colleges on Jan. 1, 2009, after he leaves office.

In an interview, Scott joked he had "barely finished one job and (already) have another."

A soft-spoken member of the Senate, Scott holds great sway over education policy in California as the chairman of both the Senate Education Committee and the budget subcommittee on education.

He said he was approached by "10 to 15" people to apply for the chancellor’s job, which he said he was “honored” to accept.

"His extraordinary experience and demonstrated commitment to our community colleges is unsurpassed," said Lance Izumi, president of the Board of Governors, in a statement congratulating Scott.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also welcomed the pick. "The Board of Governors could not have chosen a more qualified or highly respected candidate," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Scott said he hoped "to give good leadership to this wonderful system" of community colleges, which served an estimated 2.6 million students annually.

He said community colleges are "a system that needs greater funding."

"I have been and will consistently be someone who urges increased expenditures in higher education and K-12 education," Scott said.

Asked if his key role in crafting the state’s education budget and his new job would create a conflict of interest, Scott said, "I will simply exercise caution and prudent judgment." He said he would be particularly wary of taking positions on any area that "specifically impact the chancellor’s office."

"I will be very careful to be very prudent where there might be an appearance of a conflict of interest," Scott said.

Scott will receive a raise in his new job, which comes with a salary of $198,500 plus benefits. He also receives a state-paid car.

Sen. Bob Margett, a Republican colleague of Scott's representing Arcadia, said Scott "will have the support of Republicans and Democrats" in his new post.

Scott will replace interim Chancellor Diane Woodruff.

Republican lawmakers Thursday trotted out another set of what they described as money-saving proposals, this time focusing on streamlining government by allowing more partnerships with the private sector.

"Today we're unveiling our proposal to maximize every hard-earned tax dollar that California sends to Sacramento," said Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill. "We need to get government out of the way and make them a more willing partner to help us improve our economy."

In trying to disarm Democrats' calls for tax increases, Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines said he hoped the GOP suggestions will spark a dialogue with the majority party. In recent weeks, Republican leaders have been releasing economic stimulus proposals and education reforms. The GOP will next unveil budget reforms.

"Would Democrats take all of these? I doubt that seriously," Villines said. "But many of these are common sense and I think they could. The important step is for them to meet up and talk about what do they want to do and what are their reforms. They really have no reform except for a series of tax increases."

GOP leaders from both houses proposed a short-form review of the environmental process for infrastructure bond projects and suggested state government adopt a spending method known as "zero-based budgeting." Under that idea, the state would have to justify its spending rather than factor growth and cost-of-living increases into existing programs.

Republicans also hoped to resurrect some of their failed bills, such as allowing competitive bidding in schools. Assemblyman John Benoit of Palm Desert estimated school districts could save as much as $300 million a year if they were allowed to contract out services.

"We could, obviously, have significant savings if we were simply allowing our local school boards the flexibility to simply ask: 'Can I get this done at a better price for our kids?' " Benoit said.

Benoit said the last time he tried to push through legislation on the issue, he was met by 600 union members and "it died."

Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill, left; Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, right. (Brian Baer/bbaer@sacbee.com)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continued his 2008 fundraising tour Wednesday by dropping in for a quick $1,000-a-head event in Fresno at the home of developer Tom Richards.

After submitting 1.2 million signatures this week to put a redistricting initiative on the ballot, Schwarzenegger is continuing his fundraising push to ensure the proposal succeeds in November. The governor has raised and given $2.1 million for the redistricting initiative this year, records show.

It seems Fresno (pop. 486,116) isn't on the list of "those little towns" in California that Schwarzenegger mentioned last week. The governor suggested that some California legislators need to expand their worldviews because their hometowns lack, among other things, airports.

Despite Fresno-area Assemblyman Mike Villines' joking retort that "we've got bass boats, but not airplanes," Schwarzenegger made use of Fresno's airport. Which, by the way, is dubbed "international."

Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill, who Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, in part, credited with his decision to drop the recall of Sen. Jeff Denham, said the decision, "eliminates an unnecessary distraction in an already contentious budget year."

Here's Cogdill's full statement:

“I applaud the wisdom of Senator Perata in making this decision. This eliminates an unnecessary distraction in an already contentious budget year. This will allow us to focus on doing what voters expect from us: achieving a balanced, responsible budget.”

Here's Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's full statement on why he's dropping the recall of Sen. Jeff Denham:

"Like all of you, I've been worried a lot about the economy - falling home prices, rising gas prices - and how hard it's getting for people to find a job.

You put everyone here on notice - and I don't think people are going to forget that anytime soon."

Dianne Feinstein, California's senior U.S. senator, has been a loyal backer of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. But Feinstein, after Clinton lost North Carolina by a wide margin and squeaked out a win in Indiana, is asking the New York senator to explain her path to victory in the Democratic primary.

“I, as you know, have great fondness and great respect for Sen. Clinton and I’m very loyal to her,” Feinstein told The Hill, a Washington D.C. newspaper. “Having said that, I’d like to talk with her and [get] her view on the rest of the race and what the strategy is.”

“I think the race is reaching the point now where there are negative dividends from it, in terms of strife within the party,” Feinstein said. “I think we need to prevent that as much as we can.”

Check out the full story.

School districts, community colleges and redevelopment agencies understated property tax payments, costing the state at least $63 million between 2005 and 2007, according to the Controller’s Office.

“These reporting and calculation errors resulted in the state unnecessarily spending millions of dollars to backfill schools and community colleges for a portion of funds they did not receive or received and failed to report,” state Controller John Chiang said in a statement.

According to Chiang, here’s how it should go:

When a redevelopment agency (RDA) is established, a base property valuation is determined. As the area is redeveloped, property values grow. Twenty percent of the property tax growth above the base level goes to low- and moderate-housing projects. The RDA passes through a portion of the remaining additional property tax revenue to other affected taxing entities based on various formulas established by the Legislature.

"More alarming is that not only did these errors hurt the state's strained general fund, they also shortchanged low- and moderate-income housing projects and other local entities that provide critical services, such as police, fire districts and libraries," Chiang said.

Last year, the Legislature directed Chiang to assess whether property taxes were properly distributed and reported for purposes of offsetting the state’s obligations for school funding.

After two phases of review, the controller’s office found K-12 school districts and community colleges were improperly reporting property taxes passed through to them from redevelopment agencies.

Becky Maze, the wife of Assemblyman Bill Maze, is running for her husband's seat -- and using his old "Elect Maze State Assembly" signs.

The Fresno Bee's Lewis Griswold writes about the controversy:

"The people talking to me are specifically using the word 'deceitful,' " said Republican candidate Bob Smith.

"I am being frugal," she said. "I haven't tried to hide the fact it's me that's running. I am Maze. My husband is Maze, and so am I."

The Mazes are hardly the only family tag team running for office. The Bee rounded up some of the other all-in-the-family candidates last fall.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez says he wouldn’t change a thing about his speakership.

The Los Angeles Democrat, who will step down next week after four years as leader, said Tuesday that he has no regrets.

“If I could do it all over again, I’d do it all over again – and I’d do it the same way,” Núñez told reporters in his final news conference as leader of the lower house.

The 41-year-old lawmaker said he is proud of the role he played in raising California’s minimum wage, raising money for school construction and passing landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Núñez said he is not certain what he will do after he is termed out in December. He expects to spend at least two years in private industry before deciding whether to run for public office again, he said.

“This has been an incredible, incredible experience for me,” Núñez said of his Capitol career.

Núñez commented only indirectly on controversy that erupted after disclosure that he had spent tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds in recent years at upscale retail firms and on overseas trips.

“So I like good wine, OK,” he told reporters. “I don’t mind staying in a five-star hotel. I bet when you all travel, that’s where you stay.”

He was smiling.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia has been one of the more colorful Capitol characters during her six-year stint in the Assembly.

Today, wearing a bright pink cardigan, the Cathedral City Republican took part in the 34th Annual Capitol Frog Jump.

Bee photographer Brian Baer snapped this photo of Garcia as she met her prince-to-be, Sir Hoppington, for the first time.

For those of you new to Capitol Alert's caption contest, here’s how it works:

1. Look at the picture.
2. Write a caption by midnight Thursday.
3. E-mail it in.

When you send in your thoughts to captions@capitolalert.com, feel free to request anonymity. But only those willing to have their real names published can win the grand prize: a $25 gift card to Starbucks.

(Read the official legal rules here.)

By the way, Garcia's Hoppington lost the contest with a total jump of 6 feet 3 inches.

Assemblyman Jim Beaall's Alcohops entry leaped to the victor's circle among lawmakers with a jump of 9 feet and 2 inches.

Happy captioning.

Here's some good fiscal news for California's budget, for a change: state Controller John Chiang reports the state collected $1.4 billion more in personal income taxes in April than expected. That puts the General Fund $738 million above the governor's January projections.

Chiang warns the state isn't out of the woods. "While this is very welcome news, these numbers should not lure us into a false sense of security," he reports.

Here's his full statement:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Tuesday that he will ask lawmakers to lease the California Lottery when he issues his revised budget proposal next week.

The governor spoke to reporters after celebrating a $70 million donation to the California Community Colleges, offering the lottery lease as a "creative" solution to raise revenues for schools and other state services.

Schwarzenegger said last week the budget deficit could be as large as $20 billion in the next fiscal year, though he conceded Tuesday "the numbers change all the time."

"I will be making a proposal and it will show that we will have some severe cuts," Schwarzenegger said, "and also I will recommend to go and be creative and look for revenues, because we have the lottery out there. And as you know, I have now for a long time recommended that we use the lottery, that we license it out, and we really can produce much more money for the state, for education and other areas. And I think that now because we are in an emergency situation, legislators are looking at it in a much more serious way, which I welcome.”

Gubernatorial press secretary Aaron McLear said there have been no final decisions on what the May revision will include.

Sen. Dave Cogdill outlined his determined stance that this is “no time to raise taxes” to balance the budget, citing the state’s sagging economy and ongoing mortgage crisis in a wide-ranging interview with The Bee Capitol Bureau

Cogdill, the new Senate Republican leader, suggested California’s 2008-09 budget could be patched together through a mixture of cuts and borrowing from unspent money the state currently controls, including in voter-approved accounts for transportation, mental health and pre-kindergarten services.

“This economy is struggling,” Cogdill said. “To put tax increases on people at this time makes absolutely no sense to us.”

He specifically cited unspent funds controlled by the First 5 Commission, funded by a voter-approved tobacco tax, totaling $2 billion that he believed could be used for the budget. He also said earmarked transportation and mental health funds, both approved via ballot measures, could be siphoned away to balance the books.

Asked whether such internal borrowing would just put off California’s structural deficit to another year, Cogdill replied that “given the difficulty of this year, I’m not so sure that that is a bad strategy.”

He said his goal remained to pass the budget on time and has been meeting weekly with Speaker-elect Karen Bass, Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.

But, he cautioned, it is “important to get the right budget, not just an on time budget.”

Other interview highlights:

•Cogdill, who was the Senate Republican point man on water issues before ascending to the leadership post this spring, said the state faces an upcoming water crisis and that California’s tendency to legislate in crises – instead of in advance – was “one of the frustrations” he faced.

“I fear that the water crisis that is looming will make the energy crisis pale in comparison,” Cogdill predicted.

•Cogdill said the recall attempt of Sen. Jeff Denham, organized in part by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, was a “major distraction” and said the effort was a “blatant attempt at a power grab.”

He predicted the recall would be defeated.

•He endorsed the redistricting initiative pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is announcing today that it has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

•As for the governor’s recent comments about small town legislators, Cogdill said he was “not too exercised.”

“We probably do need to get out a little bit more,” the Modesto Republican said. “We all can benefit from those things.”

He was quick to add that his rural-dominated district is “populated by some of the better people in the world.”

Sacramento developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, the Democratic financier whose family spent nearly $10 million backing Democrat Phil Angelides in the 2006 governor's race, has donated $25,000 to the redistricting measure backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Tsakopoulos is one of the first Democrats not allied with the governor to donate to the campaign. (Reed Hastings, a Democrat and founder of Netflix, was appointed by Schwarzenegger to the Board of Education. He donated more than $140,000 to the measure.)

In other redistricting news, Schwarzenegger, along with former Gov. Gray Davis, representatives from Common Cause and other initiative backers have scheduled a "major announcement" about the campaign's "signature gathering efforts."

They will presumably announce they have gathered more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot at the 2 p.m. event at the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder's Office in Norwalk.

Good thing that Assemblyman Roger Niello doesn’t make his living racing bicycles.

A recreational bike ride went awry Sunday, leaving the Republican lawmaker with a broken clavicle.

Niello came to work Monday in a sling, which he expects to tote around for about six weeks.

The accident occurred when he returned to his Fair Oaks home after pedaling around Lake Natoma. He glanced at a gauge on the bicycle, then lost control when a wheel hit the curb beside his driveway, sending him sprawling, Niello said.

“I’ll survive,” he said, smiling.

(And, yes, he WAS wearing a helmet, Niello said.)

• Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, along with a small bipartisan delegation of lawmakers, is heading to Mexico later this week to meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Going along for the trip will be Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, Assemblyman Kevin DeLeón, D-Los Angeles, and Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria.

The speaker's office reports "the visit is a result of Calderón’s invitation to visit Mexico City after the Mexican president spoke before a joint session of the legislature on February 13, 2008."

• Senate candidate Joe Nation unveiled his first television ad of the campaign. In it, Nation, a former assemblyman, stakes out the environment as his top issue.

• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the creation of the first Capitol wireless Internet "hot spot" -- in room 1190, the press conference room. They are currently working on turning the Capitol basement cafeteria into another publicly accessible Wi-Fi hot spot.

He also announced "five other Wi-Fi access points are in the pilot phase." They are:

Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Wi-Fi access in the 2nd floor cafeteria

Department of General Services
707 3rd Street
West Sacramento, CA 95605
Wi-Fi access in the lobby

Office of State Publishing
344 North 7th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Wi-Fi access in the lobby

A coalition of health care providers, including the doctors, dentists and hospitals, will announce a lawsuit to prevent the Legislature and governor from cutting reimbursement rates for health providers by 10 percent.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed the 10 percent Medi-Cal reimbursement cut when he unveiled his January budget. Lawmakers approved the cuts as part of the mid-year budget spending cuts.

The cuts represent the largest mid-year reductions lawmakers agreed to.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, speaking to the Sacramento Press Club earlier this year, complained reimbursement rates - the amount paid to providers for medical treatments for Medi-Cal patients - have lagged behind federal standards. He threatened a lawsuit in his appearance.

Today's health coalition announcing the suit includes the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, California Dental Association, California Association for Adult Day Services, American College of Emergency Physicians, Cal. Chapter, California Pharmacists Association and California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.

In today’s Bee, I wrote about the growing trend of state lawmakers opening ballot measure accounts, particularly those legislators aiming for – or in – leadership positions.

Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the next leader of the state Senate, said in an interview that while he doesn’t control such an account yet, he likely will.

“Certainly when I become the leader and responsible for the election and reelection of my Democratic colleagues I am going to want all the legitimate tools at my disposal to do my job,” the Sacramento Democrat said.

Donations to ballot measure accounts, unlike reelection accounts, can be limitless.

“I’ve chosen to take part in this system because I believe I can do a whole lot of good,” he added, though he hardly endorsed the role of money in California's political system.

“Should the public be concerned about the link between money, politics and government? The answer is yes.”

You may be seeing the first shots fired by 2010 governor wannabes.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner responded to Lt. Gov. John Garamendi's letter criticizing his new insurance regulations with a sharply worded retort, writing he was "disappointed that the work product you left behind was flawed and needed to be fixed."

Poizner pulled no punches in response to Garamendi’s letter . "Given that your letter was received by the press corps before I received a copy, I can only conclude that it was a press release written in the first person," he wrote.

Garamendi attacked Poizner for "actions that you have taken to undermine important consumer protections." The current and former insurance commissioner are jostling over regulations drafted by the Department of Insurance under Proposition 103.

In his letter Garamendi admitted he had "not had time to fully analyze" Poizner’s changes, but "wanted to react to your precipitous process you are following with the same immediacy with which you embarked on it."

Poizner pounced on that. "I applaud your candor in admitting that you are acting in ignorance," he wrote. "Rest assured that I will give your comments commensurate consideration."

He accused Garamendi of crafting last-minute regulations, adopted in his final months in office, that were “more about legacy building and partisan politics than good public policy.”

“Consumers and insurers both deserve a process that is effective, efficient and transparent. Regretfully, this is far from what you left me,” he wrote.

“In closing, I note that you repeatedly use the word "disappointed" in regard to the manner in which the Department and I have addressed this issue. I, too, am disappointed. I am disappointed that the work product you left behind was flawed and needed to be fixed. But, even more so, I am disappointed by the cavalier attitude you display in making inflammatory pronouncements about changes you admit that you have not reviewed. The public deserves better.”

Read the full letter below (and Garamendi's letter here):

By Jim Sanders

Mariko Yamada’s bid for the seat of termed-out Assemblywoman Lois Wolk is getting a hefty boost from an independent expenditure group sponsored by teacher and labor groups.

The California Teachers Association contributed the first $250,000 last week to the effort, called Working Families for Progressive Leadership, whose stated goal is to support Yamada and oppose her opponent, Christopher Cabaldon.

CTA is joining forces with California State Council of Service Employees, California School Employees Association and Service Employees International Union to spearhead the independent campaign, records show.

Cabaldon also has gotten substantial independent support, $350,000, from the EdVoice education group that he led before declaring his candidacy.

EdVoice is financed by some of the state’s wealthiest philanthropists, including developer Eli Broad and Donald G. Fisher, founder of Gap Inc.

Yamada, a Yolo County supervisor, and Cabaldon, West Sacramento mayor, are vying in the June 3 Democratic primary for Wolk’s seat representing parts of Yolo and Solano counties, from Benicia to Winters and West Sacramento.

Sen. Dean Florez, who took offense to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments earlier this week about small-town lawmakers, today announced he was introducing a resolution calling on the governor to take the high school exit exam.

"Given the governor’s distasteful comments, what’s unanswered is whether he can make the grade," said Florez in a long and chiding statement.

"For the leader of our great state to suggest that rural Californians have no vision -- of an airport or of a highway -- is demeaning in a very personal way for the people who live in rural California," he continued.

Florez's office proudly noted the senator is from Shafter, population 14,000, in the Central Valley.

Aaron McLear, a Schwarzenegger spokesman, responded that “Sen. Florez is purposely misrepresenting the governor's statements.”

“I would suggest that Sen. Florez’s constituents would be better served if their senator was more focused on providing solutions to the budget than on grabbing headlines with frivolous resolutions,” McLear said.

On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger encouraged lawmakers "from those little towns" to travel the world on other people's dime to see things like "an airport," "a highway that maybe has 10 lanes" or even "a highway on top of a highway."

Schwarzenegger was speaking at a conference with billionaire Michael Milken on infrastructure and answering a question about innovations he had seen in his worldwide travels and what he had tried to bring back to California.

“And that’s why I always encourage the legislators in Sacramento, because some of them come from those little towns," Schwarzenegger said. "You know what I’m saying? They come from those little towns, and they don’t have that vision yet of an airport or of a highway that maybe has 10 lanes. Or of putting a highway on top of a highway. They look at you and say, ‘Well we don’t have that in my town, what are you talking about?’ So they are kind of shocked when you say certain things."

Schwarzenegger's off-the-cuff comments about small-town lawmakers drew laughs from the audience at the Beverly Hilton, though they received a cool reception from rural legislators in Sacramento.

Florez, a media-hungry Democrat who plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2010, continued, "I hope that he accepts this challenge and that he doesn’t cower behind some excuse."

Florez claimed his resolution, SR 28, "is a serious effort."

"And after he takes the exam, maybe he’ll think twice about the massive cuts to education funding he's proposing -- he just may have to return to school to brush up for the test,” he concluded.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata gave an extended interview with the Associated Press this week about his role in the recall of Sen. Jeff Denham. Perata said one motivation was to get Democrats closer to being able to pass a budget with tax increases.

"If I have an opportunity of picking up a Democrat who would support a balanced approach to solving the budget problem, I'm going to do that," Perata said.

Perata contrasted Denham, who held off voting for last year's budget during a 52-day standoff, with Sen. Abel Maldonado, the moderate Santa Maria Republican who sided with the Democrats.

"In terms of someone who is willing to look at the overall health of the state of California as opposed to narrow ideology, Maldo's a good contrast to Jeff," Perata said.

Denham and his GOP colleagues have made the argument that they was right, that the budget was out of balance. The state deficit ballooned in the months following the passage of the 2007-08 budget.

Perata dismissed those arguments. "It's immaterial whether or not he was right that there was a deficit coming," he said. "The fact of the matter is we now have a huge deficit now, and he has taken the 'No, I won't tax, it's got to be all cuts.'"

A Denham spokesman said Perata just wants to "install a puppet" in order to "massively raise taxes."

Read the full AP story.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received gobs of national love last year as the Republican cover boy for environmentalism. His post-partisan message in 2007 played particularly well as President Bush's popularity sunk to new lows.

That was last year.

Sure, Schwarzenegger still gets national attention, but Time Magazine left him off its 2008 Time 100 list, a compilation of what it dubs "The World's Most Influential People."

The governor previously made the cut in 2007 "for his efforts to restore Teddy Roosevelt's conservation tradition to the G.O.P." and in 2004 for being "as big a political and cultural presence as anyone."

With most of the nation's political attention on the presidential race, all three remaining major-party candidates made the list of "leaders and revolutionaries." The only other U.S. leaders are President Bush, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The Time 100 list is here.

Former baseball star turned author and steroids exposer Jose Canseco has joined the growing number of Californians to lose their home due to foreclosure.

But the case of Canseco, who earned millions as an athlete, is a bit different than your average missed house payment.

Canseco announced on the syndicated TV show "Inside Edition" that he stopped making payments on a $2.5 million, 7,300-square foot home in Encino.

"You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, 'OK, let's assume it is $35 million.' People have to understand that $35 million, you're paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you're taking care of your whole family." (AP)

Canseco authored a 2005 book, "Juiced," on steroid use in baseball. His follow-up book, "Vindicated," came out recently. He has been working recently with federal investigators looking into steroids allegations.

He realizes his foreclosure is, shall we say, a bit different.

"What about other families that we're hearing on TV, that they're saying, 'We have nowhere else to go,'" he said. "I mean, that is amazing. I've got books, we're now trying to produce the movie to both.

"Like I said, my situation was a little more different than most. I decided to just let it (the house) go, but in most cases and most families, they have nowhere else to go."

Jose Canseco, right, with former Oakland A's star Mark McGwire. Photo from 1990 World Series. AP file photo

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a Democrat, sent a strongly worded letter today to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a Republican, criticizing Poizner for recent moves by the Department of Insurance.

Garamendi, who served eight years as insurance commissioner, attacked Poizner for "actions that you have taken to undermine important consumer protections."

The two are both considered likely caniddates for governor in 2010.

Read the full letter here.

You can't put too much faith in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's deficit numbers these days, but in an interview with Patt Morrison of KPCC Radio, the governor said he learned this week of "a few billion dollars that came in unexpected."

On the same day Schwarzenegger aides explained the governor's latest deficit figure had ballooned to $20 billion, the governor learned privately that tax receipts might be improving. In the KPCC interview, Schwarzenegger said Department of Finance Director Mike Genest told him Tuesday "we just got some good news the last few hours."

"And I said, 'What is that?' " Schwarzenegger explained. "He says, 'Well, there actually, there is a few billion dollars that came in unexpected.' So, you know, we budget, you deal with numbers, and so it changes all the time."

Schwarzenegger has been throwing out numbers left and right lately, most recently a $20 billion deficit figure that represents the worst-case scenario. He told KPCC his strategy is to "always look for the worst, and then we can always dial back from there."

"So I think it's better to just take the approach and say, let's take the worst of circumstances, and then go and go from there," he said, "rather than always painting a perfect picture, and then the revenues are not there."

Schwarzenegger is expected to decide on a concrete deficit projection May 14, when he issues his revised budget.

Los Angeles has been dethroned as the sootiest city in America, according to the American Lung Association, topped by Pittsburgh as the urban area with the most particle pollution in the area.

Overall, LA still ranks as the most polluted city in the country.

The AP has the story.

Pittsburgh overtook Los Angeles in the category that measures short-term particle pollution or soot. Los Angeles, the country's longtime soot and smog leader, has enacted aggressive measures to tackle sources of pollution, resulting in a substantial drop in particle pollution levels, said Janice Nolen, the Association's Assistant Vice President of National Policy and Advocacy.

"It's not that Pittsburgh has gotten worse, it's that Los Angeles has gotten better," Nolen said. "If the trend continues, Pittsburgh will top two lists and LA will only be leading the nation in ozone."

Other California cities on the polluted list include Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia-Porterfield and Hanford-Corcoran.

The campaign to recall Sen. Jeff Denham has released its second television ad of the campaign, another hard-hitting spot targeting Denham for pay raises he took in "secret" during the budget crisis.

Denham came into office in 2002 with a voluntarily reduced salary and continued to turn down pay raises until 2006, when he turned down on raise while accepting another. He repeated the pattern in 2007.

"Denham took the raises politicians didn’t deserve," the ad accuses.

Capitol Alert first reported the pay hikes in January.

The pro-recall forces should have the funds to air the ad. They have received $850,000 in contributions in the last week, including $450,000 from the California State Council of Service Employees, $300,000 from AFSCME and $100,000 from the California Democratic Party.

Watch the anti-Denham spot below: