Where's California's top elections official? If you guessed that she was in Baghdad earlier today, en route to Kuwait and then off to a location undisclosed by the Department of Defense, you'd be correct.
Bowen, the California secretary of state (a job that normally entails no foreign-government relations), is one of five state elections officials traveling with the Department of Defense in the Middle East to examine the voting process for troops.
More than 70,000 California voters serve in the military and or live overseas.
After riding a C-130 to Baghdad, Bowen dialed into a conference call to share the details of her trip, where she said she's studying, "how we can work better with the military to make voting easier... for overseas voters."
"I've been encouraging the many Californians I've met to get their ballots in," Bowen said.
She even "got to watch one of our officers post her vote by mail ballot today," she said.
Bowen's office said the Department of Defense (which is paying for the trip) organized the mission for the elections officials from five states, including Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.
She'll continue to travel in the Middle East today, but said she couldn't share just where.
Overall, Bowen concluded, "a very interesting and dusty trip."
The bill signings are coming fast and furious on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's last day to sign legislation in 2008. So far he's acted on nearly 100 bills, vetoing 34, including single-payer health care and legislation to curb balance billing and health care rescission.
More than 200 bills remain.
Schwarzenegger started the day with an event to celebrate signing SB 1420 by Sen. Alex Padilla to require chain restaurants to post calorie content of menu items.
He also signed SB 441 by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, which requires vending machines on state property to have roughly one-third of food and beverages sold meet accepted nutritional guidelines by 2011.
Earlier in the morning, Schwarzenegger announced signing more than a half-dozen veterans related measures.
They included:
SB 1401 by Senator Joe Simitian (D- Palo Alto)
AB 3083 by the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs
SB 1353 by Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair)
SB 1534 by Senator Jim Battin (R-La Quinta)
AB 190 by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles)
AB 2049 by Assemblyman Lori Saldana (D-San Diego)
AB 3065 by the Committee on Veterans Affairs
SB 1495 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego)
Schwarzenegger followed that up with four crime measure signings, all authored by Republicans. "Protecting Californians has always been my top priority," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
Those bills are:
SB 1187 by Senator Jim Battin (R-La Quinta)
SB 1302 by Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto)
SB 1546 by Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley)
AB 3038 by Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Costa Mesa)
In the mid-afternoon, Schwarzenegger signed legislation by Senate leader Don Perata to appropriate $842 million in water bond money approved by voters in 2006. He had vetoed similar legislation last year.
"I am glad the Governor has come around and realizes what a mistake he made a year ago in vetoing legislation to tackle California's water problems immediately with currently available bond money," Perata said in a statement.
Schwarzenegger called the funding "a band-aid measure" that "will not solve our long-term water supply problems," despite signing the bill.
Schwarzenegger signed four other water-related measures:
AB 2882 by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis)
AB 3030 by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica)
AB 2356 by Assemblyman Juan Arambula (D-Fresno)
SB 27 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto)
Then came the health care legislation.
Schwarzenegger vetoed the best-known bill, Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single-payer universal health care legislation, SB 840.
In his veto message, he wrote, "I cannot support a bill that places an annual shortfall of over $40 billion to our state's economy."
Schwarzenegger also vetoed a Perata proposal to curb balance-billing -- the practice in which insurance companies charge patients directly while disputing coverage with an HMO.
Perata's legislation was SB 981.
"I am surprised that a Governor who aggressively pushed for health care reform would veto a measure that would have ensured a fair, uniform standard for handling disagreements over emergency room bills," Perata said.
The governor also vetoed Assemblyman Hector De La Torre's AB 1945, which aimed to curb the rescission practice, whereby patients are removed from an insurance company's coverage after they get sick.
Schwarzenegger called it a "deplorable practice" in his veto message and said, "My Administration proposed comprehensive legislation to address this problem."
Of the De La Torre bill, Schwarzenegger complained, "This bill was written by the attorneys that stand to benefit from its provisions."
The California Medical Association, which sponsored the bill, called the veto a betrayal.
"The governor's veto betrays the promise he repeatedly made to Californians to protect them from insurance companies canceling their health insurance when they need it most," said Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the CMA.
Schwarzenegger did sign several health-related measures his office highlighted, including:
SB 541 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara)
AB 211 by Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento)
SB 697 by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco)
AB 1203 by Assemblyman Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista)
AB 2569 by Assemblyman Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles)
SB 1379 by Senator Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego),
"Californians deserve a financially sustainable and comprehensive health care reform plan that promotes prevention, shares responsibility, covers all Californians, contains costs and keeps our emergency rooms open and operating," Schwarzenegger said.
Here's the rest of the bills the governor had acted on by 3:30 p.m.
Bills signed:
SB 53 by Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) - Department of Railroads.
SB 381 by Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) - Voter registration.
SB 1062 by Committee on Local Government - Validations.
SB 1117 by Senator Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) - Hot Spring Valley Water District.
SB 1161 by Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) - Petroleum underground storage tanks: cleanup.
SB 1175 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) - Developmental services: regional center housing.
SB 1220 by Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) - Housing: Multifamily Housing Program: veterans.
SB 1276 by Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) - Vandalia Water District.
SB 1510 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) - San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
SB 1531 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) - Peace officer training: autistic persons.
SB 1548 by Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) - San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District: city selection committee.
AB 31 by Assemblyman Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) - Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2008.
AB 346 by Assemblyman Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Alcoholic beverages: labels.
AB 433 by Assemblyman Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Food Stamp Program: categorical eligibility. See attached signing message.
AB 545 by Assemblywoman Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Hills) - Judges' retirement.
AB 578 by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) - Energy: distributed energy generation: study.
AB 638 by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) - Student financial aid: California Physician Assistant Loan Assumption Program.
AB 1245 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Alcoholic beverages.
AB 1461 by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) - Health insurance: liability: alcohol and drug abuse.
AB 1894 by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) - Health care coverage: HIV testing. See attached signing message.
AB 1898 by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - Flood control subvention funds: Napa River.
AB 1903 by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) - Liability: flood control and water conservation facilities.
AB 1908 by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) - Dixon Unified School District: school farm property.
AB 1915 by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) - State Highway Routes 49 and 74: relinquishment.
AB 1948 by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - Education finance.
AB 2162 by Assemblyman Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) - Bay-Delta Sport Fishing.
AB 2293 by Assemblyman Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) - Alcoholic beverage licensees.
AB 2326 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) - State Highway Routes 1 and 107: City of Torrance.
AB 2439 by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) - Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program: fees.
AB 2494 by Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) - Housing-Related Parks Program.
AB 2641 by Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) - Military service: protection: mediator.
AB 2680 by Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia) - Counties: water bond loans.
AB 2729 by Assemblyman Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) - Hazardous substances: underground storage tanks.
AB 3016 by Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) - Personal income taxes: contributions: California Military Family Relief Fund.
Bills Vetoed:
SB 527 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) - Autism Spectrum Disorders: screening.
SB 840 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Single-payer health care coverage.
SB 973 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) - California Health Benefits Service Program.
SB 981 by Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) - Health care coverage: noncontracting emergency physician claims.
SB 1102 by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) - California Bay-Delta Authority Act.
SB 1198 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Health care coverage: durable medical equipment.
SB 1253 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) - Sex offenders: assessments.
SB 1360 by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) - Flood protection.
SB 1391 by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) - Recycled water.
SB 1415 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Patient records: maintenance and storage.
SB 1440 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Health care coverage: benefits.
SB 1475 by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) - Autism pilot project.
SB 1634 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) - Health care coverage: cleft palates.
SB 1738 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) - Medi-Cal: Frequent Users of Health Care Pilot Program.
SB 1778 by Committee on Veterans Affairs - County veteran service officers: funding.
AB 2 by Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) - Health care coverage.
AB 16 by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - Human papillomavirus vaccination.
AB 30 by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - Health care coverage: phenylketonuria: inborn errors of metabolism.
AB 368 by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) - Hearing aids.
AB 1806 by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) - Fishery resources: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
AB 1887 by Assemblyman Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Health care coverage: mental health services.
AB 1945 by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) - Individual health care coverage.
AB 1946 by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) - Hazardous materials: water quality: enforcement.
AB 1962 by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) - Maternity services.
AB 2046 by Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) - Water supply assessments: groundwater.
AB 2220 by Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) - Health care service plans: emergency room physicians and surgeons: contracts.
AB 2262 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Child protection: safe surrender.
AB 2479 by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) - Bottled water: labeling requirements.
AB 2504 by Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) - Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: tourism and marketing plan.
AB 2686 by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) - Santa Ynez Valley Water District.
AB 2828 by Assemblywoman Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista) - Veterans' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Fund.
AB 2970 by Assemblyman Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) - State Water Project: delivery capability report.
UPDATED California's budget number crunchers square off tonight in a softball battle, pitting the Schwarzenegger administration's finance team against the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The game is set to start at 6 p.m. in McKinley Park, but the teams are still missing one key ingredient: an umpire.
"Who wants to be the ultimate fiscal arbiter?" asks H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the finance department, who encourages a would-be ball and strikes caller to e-mail him.
For our money, gimmick calls, accelerated baserunning and triple flips on the base paths are encouraged.
UPDATED : So it looks like Ryan Rauzon, communications director for California Forward, a group dedicated to helping fix California's budget dysfunction, has volunteered to umpire the game.
"I want a high scoring game to match next year's deficits so strikes are going to be hard to come by," Rauzon said.
On tough calls, he'll dial in California Forward's Leon Panetta and Jim Mayer on his blue tooth to "call the plays remotely," he jested.
Peter Sperling has plunged another $2 million into the ballot effort to expand renewable energy requirements in California, bringing his total giving to $7.5 million.
He made a $2.5 million donation on Sept. 3.
Sperling, the son of John Sperling, the billionaire Arizonan and founder of the University of Phoenix, has been the chief financial force behind the measure, which has reported contributions from only Sperling and campaign manager Jim Gonzalez, a former San Francisco supervisor.
The measure, Proposition 7, would require the state's utility companies to generate at least half of their power from renewable resources by 2025.
The current legal goal is 20 percent by 2010.
The state's biggest utility companies, PG&E and Edison International, are opposing the measure and have donated more than $27.5 million to the cause. Sempra, an energy company, has contributed another $104,000.
The Proposition 7 campaign is set to be the most expensive on the Nov. 4 ballot, though late fundraising by Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban, could push it over the top.
With the Dow closing down a record 777 points on Monday after Congress thumbed down a $700 billion bailout package for the financial industry, take a look at how the California delegation -- the nation's largest -- voted.
Overall, the delegation cast 29 aye votes and 24 no votes. A majority of both Republican (10 to 9) and Democratic lawmakers (19 to 15) from the state supported the bailout package.
The plan failed the full House of Representatives 228 to 205, with 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats in opposition. A total of 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans backed the plan.
The vote clearly did not split along ideological lines with liberal Rep. Lynn Woolsey voting against the bailout, while fellow liberal Democratic Rep. Howard Berman voted in favor.
Likewise for Republicans, some conservatives like Rep. John Campbell voted in favor, while others like Rep. Duncan Hunter and John Doolittle voted no.
Proponents of banning same-sex marriage have rolled out their first TV ad - and it stars San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaiming gay marriage is "going to happen, whether you like it or not."
Newsom, of course, brought the issue to the forefront of national consciousness in 2004, when he tried to legalize same-sex marriages in San Francisco. That move was stopped by the courts, but it set in motion a legal battle that culminated in the California Supreme Court legalizing such unions earlier this year.
"This door's wide open now," Newsom says in the opening clip of the ad. "It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."
Outraged conservatives placed Proposition 8, which would strictly define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state constitution, on the Nov. 4 ballot. The measure would overrule the court's decision.
The Newsom ad, which you can watch on the Yes on 8 campaign site, is the first TV spot in favor of the measure.
"Acceptance of gay marriage is now mandatory," an announcer intones in the spot.
Frank Schubert, the Yes on 8 campaign manager, wrote supporters that the campaign has reserved $10 million in TV ad time in the final five weeks of the campaign.
"California, meet San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom!" Schubert wrote to supporters.
In only 30 seconds, the ad levels numerous charges, including that "churches could lose their tax exemption" and suggests a future of "gay marriage taught in public schools."
Steve Smith, a senior consultant to the No on 8 campaign, accused his opponents of "trying desperately to change the subject so they can get onto some ground that they can win."
"They are losing by, depending on which public opinion poll you want to believe, somewhere between 10 and 15 points," Smith said.
The most recent Field Poll showed Proposition 8 losing 38 percent to 55 percent.
Smith called the churches and schools charges "red herrings" that are "misleading."
As for borrowing Newsom's face, Smith conceded, "It was a nice creative device."
The No on 8 campaign unveiled their first TV ad last week.
A conservative faction of the California Republican Party has postponed a vote on whether to endorse a recall of GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The California Republican Assembly, a conservative wing of the party, voted on Saturday to gather more information before taking a position on the recall drive, which the state's prison guards union launched earlier this month.
"There was no one that loved the governor, but there were the practical question of 'Is this for real?'" said Mike Spence, the organization's president.
Capitol Alert reported the conservative GOP group would consider backing recall last Thursday.
Any vote to support a recall has been postponed until at least January, after a "fact-finding committee," as Spence described it, makes a report.
Schwarzenegger's political team has characterized the recall as an effort by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association to extract a raise by intimidating the governor.
Julie Soderlund, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, had predicted the vote would fail.
"We feel confident that the California Republican Assembly shares our opposition to a union's demand for an additional $1 billion in taxpayers' money," said last week.
The governor didn't escape the Anaheim state Republican convention completely unscathed from GOP frustration with the moderate self-fashioned "post-partisan" governor.
Schwarzenegger earned the ire of the GOP base this summer when he actively supported a plan to balance the state budget through a temporary sales tax hike. But Schwarzenegger could convince no legislative Republicans to go along with his plan.
The party adopted a resolution praising those lawmakers and poking at the governor.
"We commend our Republican Legislators for refusing to raise taxes and standing against the growth of government and we encourage Governor Schwarzenegger to stand with our Republican Legislators in the future and join their fight against raising taxes and the growth of state government," the resolution said.
Former Republican presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hinted at the state GOP convention that Meg Whitman might dip her toes into California's political waters in the coming years.
Speaking to the GOP party activists, Romney said of Whitman, the billionaire former CEO of eBay who has been rumored 2010 candidate for governor, "Meg would be here this evening if she were not out working for Sen. (John) McCain."
Whitman is a senior adviser to McCain.
Romney then said, according to PolitickerCA.com, that, "I don't think he'll get a chance to listen to her, because you need her here in California" in the future.
If anyone would know Whitman's plan, it would be Romney. Whitman left her post at eBay and became a top adviser to him until he dropped out of the presidential sweepstakes earlier this year. McCain then recruited her for economics advice.
Google, perhaps the world's best known search engine, has come out against Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The Internet company made the announcement - no surprise here - on its official company blog.
Despite the fact that "we do not generally take a position on issues outside of our field, especially not social issues," writes Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google. "...It is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8."
The measure would place a ban on same sex marriage in the California constitution. Voters approved a similar statute in 2000, but the state supreme court overturned that decision earlier this year, legalizing gay marriage.
Google isn't the first company to come out against the measure. PG&E donated $250,000 to the No on 8 campaign earlier this summer and San Francisco-based Levi's Strauss & Co. announced last week they would co-chair the businesses against Proposition 8 campaign.
Don't get out the powdered wigs just yet, but The Bee's Dan Weintraub is moderating a conversation with Bee readers about what is needed to get California's oft-dysfunctional government back on track.
In Sunday's Forum section, three contributors discussed ways to reform and reshape the state's government, including a constitutional convention.
This just in: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed 46 more bills and vetoed 27 others.
Bills Signed:
SB 107 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) - Wave pools.
SB 111 by Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) - Property tax: seismic retrofitting: tax assessments.
SB 157 by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) - Alcoholic beverages: winegrower's license.
SB 462 by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) - State claims.
SB 491 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) - State Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Committee.
SB 580 by Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) - Pawnbrokers.
SB 593 by Senator Bob Margett (R-Glendora) - Department of Transportation: retention proceeds.
SB 780 by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) - Telecommunications: universal service.
SB 1016 by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) - Diversion: compliance: per capita disposal rate.
SB 1145 by Senator Michael Machado (D-Linden) - State Compensation Insurance Fund.
SB 1146 by Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) - Tax administration: disclosure of information: FranchiseTax Board and cities.
SB 1162 by Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) - Hard plastic knuckles.
SB 1184 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Public health.
SB 1211 by Senator Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) - Alcoholic beverage control: caterer's permits.
SB 1233 by Senator Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) - Property tax: change in ownership: administration.
SB 1262 by Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto) - Sport fishing: fish hatcheries: trout.
SB 1279 by Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) - Insurance: electronic records.
SB 1406 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) - Optometry.
SB 1472 by Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) - Public employment.
SB 1502 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
SB 1537 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) - Disaster assistance: 2007 southern California wildfires.
SB 1562 by Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) - Property taxation: exemption: fruit-bearing and nut-bearing trees and grapevines: freeze, wildfire, and wind relief.
SB 1613 by Senator Bob Margett (R-Glendora) - Department of Transportation: contracts.
AB 109 by Speaker Emeritus Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) - Air pollution: alternative fuels and vehicle technologies.
AB 171 by Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Estates and trusts.
AB 642 by Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis) - Design-build: counties, cities, and special districts.
AB 660 by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston) - Railroad-highway grade separations.
AB 873 by Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) - Public utilities: procurement.
AB 981 by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) - Treasure Island Transportation Management Act.
AB 1496 by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) - Redevelopment: Treasure Island Development Authority.
AB 1674 by Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) - In-home supportive services.
AB 1780 by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston) - Mental health managed care contracts.
AB 1846 by Assemblymember Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia) - Inedible kitchen grease.
AB 1874 by Assemblymember Joe Coto (D-San Jose) - State Compensation Insurance Fund.
AB 1900 by Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) - Penalty assessments: Santa Barbara County Level II Trauma Center.
AB 1935 by Assemblymember Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) - Taxpayer contributions: California Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
AB 2001 by Assemblymember Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) - Local government: whistleblower hotlines.
AB 2125 by Assemblymember Curren Price (D-Inglewood) - Supplemental local law enforcement funding.
AB 2150 by Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) - Insurance: sales designations.
AB 2291 by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza (D-Norwalk) - Taxpayer contributions: Municipal Shelter Spay-Neuter Fund.
AB 2411 by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) - Property tax: refunds.
AB 2518 by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Taxpayer contributions: California Cancer Research Fund.
AB 2589 by Assemblymember Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) - Health care coverage: public agencies.
AB 2670 by Assemblymember by Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista) - Department of Veterans Affairs: qualified residential rental project programs.
AB 2785 by Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) - Wildlife conservation: habitat connectivity.
AB 3072 by Assemblymember Curren Price (D-Inglewood) - Tribal gaming: compact ratification.
Bills Vetoed:
SB 356 by Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair) - List of reportable diseases and conditions.
SB 986 by Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) - Pet stores.
SB 1167 by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) - Insurance: vehicle repair task force. .
SB 1218 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) - Marriage and family therapy: licensure and registration.
SB 1221 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - Health facility financing.
SB 1237 by Senator Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) - Subdivision Map Act: lot line adjustments: designated remainders and omitted parcels: dedications for public purposes.
SB 1326 by Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) - Vector control.
SB 1335 by Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair) - Infrastructure financing districts: City of Colton: Agua Mansa area.
SB 1376 by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) - State Teachers' Retirement System.
SB 1491 by Senator Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) - Electric utilities: remotely controlled devices: programmable communicating thermostats.
AB 13 by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) - Hospitals: staffing.
AB 117 by Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Transportation authorities and districts: contracts.
AB 152 by Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-San Jose) - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
AB 547 by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) - Medical Board of California: licensure fees.
AB 659 by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) - Child Care: City and County of San Francisco: individualized county child care subsidy plan: continuity of services.
AB 697 by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) - Financial assistance: relocation of retailers. .
AB 734 by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - Apprenticeship oversight.
AB 885 by Assemblymember Charles Calderon (D-Montebello) - Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
AB 1133 by Assemblymember Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) - Bail bonds: forfeiture.
AB 1290 by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza (D-Norwalk) - Fictitious business name statements.
AB 1519 by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) - Human remains: commercial display.
AB 1751 by Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar) - Vehicles: nuisance abatement: impoundment.
AB 2132 by Assemblymember Guy Houston (R-San Ramon) - Wildlife: hunting.
AB 2179 by Assemblymember Warren Furutani (D-Gardena) - Air quality: diesel fuel.
AB 2467 by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) - State preschool: information.
AB 2861 by Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) - Emergency services and care: psychiatric emergency medical condition.
AB 3013 by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D-Woodland Hills) - Judgment liens: continuation.
California's courts are set for a makeover after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation today authorizing $5 billion in lease-revenue bonds to finance new court construction and renovation.
The legislation, SB 1407 by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, would hike fees and fines on traffic and parking violators, out-of-state lawyers and convicted criminals across the state
"Improving our state's aging court facilities has been an integral part of my promise to Californians to rebuild our infrastructure and increase public safety," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron George has pushed for the bond.
Schwarzenegger also signed AB 3018 by former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, which creates a Green Collar Jobs Council.
The governor signed two pre-school related bills, SB 1629 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and AB 2759 by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento.
Schwarzenegger also signed SB 1455 by Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill, which allows Gold Star license plates for families that have lost loved ones in war.
In her first television ad, Democratic Assembly candidate Fran Florez takes aim not at her Republican rival, but the world's most populated country: China.
"State government is doing a lousy job," Florez says in the ad. "They spend our tax money on trade with China. Well, they're trading away our jobs."
The word "China" flashes on the screen in Asian-looking script twice during the 30-second spot, ushered in with a gong-like noise.
"Since 2001, they lost 325,000 California jobs and China took them," Florez says.
The ad is airing throughout the district, which includes parts of Kern, Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties, said Florez campaign manager Bob Sanders.
Job loss in a big issue in the San Joaquin Valley where there is "one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation," said Sanders.
"If the state is going to be in the job creation business, it should in California and not in China or other foreign countries," he added.
The shop of Sacramento political consultant Richie Ross designed the ad, Sanders said.
Watch it below:
Here's the complete script:
State government is doing a lousy job.
They spend our tax money on trade with China. Well, they're trading away our jobs
I'll oppose state government spending more money and losing more state jobs.
I'm Fran Florez.
Fran Florez for Assembly, choice of California's nurses, teachers and firefighters.
California taxpayers have shelled out more than $220,000 to pay for gasoline used by the state's lawmakers in the first seven months of the year, according to a report by the Associated Press.
California is the only state in the union that provides lawmakers gas credit cards. There is no means to audit whether the cards are being used just for gas -- or that the cars are being driven for state business, Don Thompson of the AP reports:
On top of free gas, California lawmakers also get state-issued vehicles, another perk that most states avoid.
The fuel card given to lawmakers is supposed to be used "for legislative purposes," but there is no way to check if they use it for public business or private travel.
Lawmakers pull up to the pump, swipe the gas card and never see the bill, which is sent directly to the Senate and Assembly rules committees. The taxpayers take over from there.
"I trust them," said Jon Waldie, the Assembly Rules Committee's chief administrative officer.
The gas cards come atop state-paid cars, $116,208 annual salary and $170 per diem for travel and living expenses.
Here are the top five gas guzzlers in 2008, through July, according to the AP:
- Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-Pleasanton, $5,139.84
- Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, $5,135.37
- Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, $4,612.95
Florez, the report says, reimburses the state for much of his gas spending, the only lawmaker to do so.
There's also some fodder in the story for the local congressional campaign between Democrat Charlie Brown and Republican Tom McClintock:
Sen. Tom McClintock's legal residence is in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles. But McClintock, a Republican, lives in Elk Grove, a suburb just south of Sacramento. He charged nearly $200 on gasoline for the vehicle he drives in Southern California, but more than $500 on his Sacramento vehicle in the first seven months of the year.
McClintock, who is running for a Northern California congressional seat, did not immediately return a call seeking an explanation about why he charged taxpayers $500 for driving near the state capital, where he has no constituents.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his lawmaking pen Thursday, vetoing major mortgage legislation and signing a bill to mandate criminal background checks on emergency medical technicians.
You can read more about the bills and the governor's reasoning on his press releases page.
What he vetoed:
SB 1240 by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) - Real estate: brokers and salespersons.
AB 529 by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Mortgages: adjustable interest rates: notification.
AB 1333 by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) - Payment of utility charges.
AB 1830 by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) - Lending
AB 1867 by Assemblymember Rick Keene (R-Chico) - Real estate appraisers.
AB 2586 by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Residential tenancies
What he signed:
SB 133 by Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) - Title insurance: title solicitors.
SB 158 by Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) - Hospitals: patient safety and infection control
SB 870 by Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) - California Housing Finance Agency: resolution
SB 891 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) - Health facilities: Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Pilot Program
SB 997 by Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) - Emergency medical services: certification and licensure
SB 1058 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) - Health facilities: bacterial infections
SB 1065 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) - Home financing programs
SB 1055 by Senator Michael Machado (D-Linden) - Taxation: cancellation of indebtedness: mortgage debt forgiveness
SB 1141 by Senator Bob Margett (R-Glendora) - Emergency medical services: public aircraft.
SB 1461 by Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair) - Real estate licensees
SB 1604 by Senator Michael Machado (D-Linden) - Escrow Agents' Fidelity Corporation.
SB 1660 by Sen. Gloria Romero (D-East Los Angeles) - Teachers: compensation
SB 1675 by Senator Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) - Veterans' Revenue Debenture Act of 1970
AB 55 by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) - Referral fees: information technology and training services.
AB 69 by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) - Mortgage lending: reporting
AB 180 by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) - Mortgages: foreclosure consultants
AB 978 by Assemblymember John J. Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes) - Care facilities.
AB 1141 by Assemblymember Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) - Controlled substances.
AB 1340 by Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) - Guardians and conservators.
AB 2702 by Speaker Emeritus Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) - Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund: hospital and physician and surgeon reimbursement: Los Angeles County.
AB 550 by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) - Property taxation: business property: audit.
AB 990 by Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) - Spud Point Marina.
AB 1927 by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston) - Vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians.
AB 2044 by Assemblymember Michael Duvall (R-Yorba Linda) - Insurance licensees.
AB 2111 by Assemblymember Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) - Physical therapy: regulation.
AB 2321 by Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) - Transportation funding: County of Los Angeles.
AB 2454 by Assemblymember Bill Emmerson (R-Redlands) - Real estate: Recovery Account
AB 2619 by Assemblymember Charles Calderon (D-Montebello) - Civil actions and proceedings.
AB 2917 by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) - Emergency medical services personnel
AB 2956 by Assemblymember Joe Coto (D-San Jose) - Insurance: agents and brokers.
AB 3078 by Committee on Revenue and Taxation - Taxation: tax administration: group returns: real estate withholding requirements: penalties: income apportionment.
AB 3079 by Committee on Revenue and Taxation - Taxation: State Board of Equalization: administration.
California Republicans who consider themselves the party's conservative "conscience" will consider bucking their own party's governor this weekend to endorse the proposed recall of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The board of directors of the California Republican Assembly will gather during the state party's convention in Anaheim for the recall vote.
"It's one of those issues that we need to talk about," said Mike Spence, the president of the arch-conservative organization and consistent Schwarzenegger critic. "The governor has been a failure when it comes to fiscal issues of California."
Earlier this month, the well-heeled state correctional officers' union filed paperwork to begin the process to recall Schwarzenegger. So far, the governor and his political team have derided the recall as the pet project of a special interest looking for a raise.
"I will not be intimidated by anybody that is demanding more money than the state can afford and that demands deals more than the state is wanting to give," Schwarzenegger has said.
The state's prison guards have been working without a contract for two years and are seeking higher salaries, among other concessions, from the Schwarzenegger administration.
"This recall is about one group and one issue," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Julie Soderlund. "We feel confident that the California Republican Assembly shares our opposition to a union's demand for an additional $1 billion in taxpayers' money."
But the governor's argument becomes harder to make if the ranks of those backing the recall expands.
A CRA endorsement of the recall is far from a sure thing, though he group has had strained relations with Schwarzenegger since 2003. That year, the organization endorsed Republican Sen. Tom McClintock over Schwarzenegger in the recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis.
An endorsement would require a two-thirds vote of the board of directors of the California Republican Assembly. The more than a half-dozen directors (out of more than 60) surveyed by Capitol Alert were split on the issue.
Karen England, a board member and the executive director of the Capitol Resource Institute, a nonprofit that pushes socially conservative causes, said she was "leaning towards" supporting the recall.
"He may have an 'R' next to his name but he certainly doesn't stand for Republican principles," England said.
"We need to stand up and tell people, this guy doesn't stand for me," said Tom Hudson, a CRA board member and chairman of the Placer County Republican Party.
But Steve Frank, a conservative activist and board member, can't get past the fact that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association is sponsoring the recall drive.
"This is a silly attempt by a union that is so corrupt that it shouldn't be taken seriously," Frank said.
Even those CRA members likely to oppose the recall endorsement have few kind words for the governor.
Roberta Wright, a Redding Republican, said she is "very disappointed in the governor but I would not be in favor of a recall."
Sandra Gray, a CRA vice president, said a recall is "very, very expensive" for the state and "by the time you would get signatures and an election...he would be almost out anyway."
Not that she's a Schwarzenegger fan.
"I think," she said matter-of-factly, "he's not a Republican."
The recall itself is also far from reaching the ballot. The prison guards union still must draft its petition and collect more than 1 million signatures to qualify for the ballot.
At the union's convention in Las Vegas last week, President Mike Jimenez asked members - in reference to the governor - if they were ready to kick "kick his ass."
"Hell, yes!" they shouted back.
But signature gathering is expensive.
"We have a finite budget we are not the bottomless pit of political action. We recognize that this is a very powerful man," CCPOA spokesman Lance Corcoran said. "We are going to put the necessary resources in order to get this done."
Asked why his GOP group would consider joining forces with a union to take on a Republican governor, Spence said, "We supported the recall of Gray Davis because of the way he mismanaged his budget. Over the last five years we have more debt, more spending and a bigger structural deficit."
The organization's board of directors is set to meet on Saturday in Anaheim.
Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of Berkeley could be Congress' next Black Caucus chair, according to The Hill newspaper.
"The official vote won't take place until after the elections in November, but several members say Lee (D-Calif.) is the only lawmaker running for the post," the paper reports.
Lee is best known as the only member of Congress to vote against going to war in Afghanistan in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001.
Heal the Bay has issued its annual report on the state of California beaches.
The good news: 87.6 percent of beaches merited an "A" grade.
The bad news: "Among Governor Schwarzenegger's line item vetoes in the approved budget is a complete elimination of state beach water quality monitoring funds for local entities."
The spending totals $984,000, according to the organization.
"It's incredibly difficult budget yet but we were caught by surprise since no one had ever mentioned this program was in jeopardy," said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, calling the decade-old spending "the state's most effective water quality" program.
"The most anyone expected was a 10 percent cut," Gold lamented.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger line-item vetoed more than $510 million in spending out of the final budget approved by state lawmakers.
While the governor hasn't addressed each line item specifically, he said the overall cuts were made to boost the state's budget reserve. "We need a bigger reserve than what they have given me," Schwarzenegger said.
"Every single cut is painful," the governor acknowledged.
Gold, though, wasn't satisfied. "Obviously a million bucks isn't solving the state's multibillion dollar budget crisis," he said.
In some areas, such as San Diego County, the cut amounts to the entire budget for water quality monitoring, Gold said.
Check out Heal the Bay's chart of which counties have the cleanest -- and dirtiest -- beaches. Of the 24 beaches that received an "F," 18 are in Los Angeles County.
Photo: Surfers on the beach at Asilomar in Pacific Grove on Monday November 26, 2007. Credit: Randall Benton, Sacramento Bee
• Former Senate President Pro Tem John Burton may be getting back in the political game.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week the San Francisco Democrat is dipping his toes into the water to run for chair of the California Democratic Party.
"I think there's truth to the matter that there's a rumor to that effect,'' he said.
Hmmmmmm...
The current chair, Art Torres, is set to serve until next April, when Democrats will pick a replacement at the state convention.
Other candidates in the race include current party vice-chairman Alex Rooker. Los Angeles County Party Chairman Eric Bauman has also been mentioned as a candidate.
Rooker has developed a long endorsement list, which includes incoming Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and a number of legislators and members of Congress. It was unclear how Burton's entry into the race would affect those endorsements.
• The California Republican Party is shipping actor/activist Jon Voight all across the state to campaign headquarters to rally the GOP troops today. He starts the morning in Burbank, hits Sacramento at the noon hour and then begins snaking south again, through San Leandro, Fresno and finally Santa Monica.
• H.G. Reza has an interesting story in the Los Angeles Times about how a parole fight has sparked an internal GOP fight, with former Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and former Republican National Committeeman Tim Morgan on one side and the former GOP party Chair Michael Schroeder's family on the other.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced action on a handful of other legislation late Wednesday, including a bill prohibiting businesses working in Sudan from bidding on state contracts and charter school legislation.
The Sudan legislation, by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, is AB 498.
Schwarzenegger announced signing two charter school bills (SB 658 by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles and AB 2033 by former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez). Both relate to charter school financing.
The governor also vetoed legislation by Education Committee chair, Assemblyman Gene Mullin. Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that Mullin's AB 2115 would "create state mandated costs for charter schools ... which were created to be free from many of the laws governing school districts."
Let the bill-signing season begin. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed SB 28 by Sen. Joe Simitian to ban text messaging while driving.
The bill starts off with a $20 fine for offenders, with the fine escalating to $50 after the first offense. The law takes effect Jan. 1.
Two years ago, Schwarzenegger signed Simitian legislation to require drivers to use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones.
"I am happy to sign this bill because it further encourages safe and responsible driving," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
As for you scofflaws planning to read Capitol Alert on your mobile device (at m.capitolalert.com), be forewarned that reading a mobile electronic device is also a violation.
The big Southern California rally featuring Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been set for Oct. 4, with estimates for attendance running as high as 15,000.
The rally is being paired with two big-dollar fundraisers, one each in Southern and Northern California.
Palin had originally been scheduled for a rally this week in Orange County, but that was postponed so she could attend the United Nations meeting in New York.
The new rally will be at the Home Depot center in Carson, a city sandwiched between the Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach.
VIP tickets to the rally will be available to Republicans who make at least 100 phone calls on behalf of presidential nominee John McCain, with general admission tickets for everyone else available at GOP headquarters offices across California. The party will offer some day-of-event tickets, as well.
Other folks are available for dunking as well, including Dan Dunmoyer, the governor's cabinet secretary, Dave Gilb from the Department of Personnel Administration (any laid off temporary workers or CCPOA members with time on their hands), Matt Bettenhausen, director of the Office of Homeland Security, and Kim Belshe, head of Health and Human Services.
(Gilb is out sick today and won't be at the event.)
Each year, the final state budget decisions are not hammered out by rank-and-file lawmakers but by the select group known as the Big Five: the governor and four legislative leaders.
Meeting behind closed-doors in the governor's office (six times this year), the leaders negotiate the final package before presenting their tentative deals and decisions to their full caucuses.
Reporters stake out the annual confabs, hoping for nuggets of news.
This year, the San Jose Mercury News' Edwin Garcia brought along a video camera to document the experience.
From the twisted truths (announcing no deal when there is a deal or progress when there wasn't), Garcia documents the history of the meetings and their peculiarities.
The San Francisco fundraiser who funneled state money into the campaign account of former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was sentenced to one year and one day in prison on Tuesday.
A federal judge sentenced Julie Lee, after she was found guilty of mail fraud and witness tampering in July.
In part because of the money funneling scandal, Shelley resigned as secretary of state in 2005.
Republican candidate Tony Strickland is leaning on the support of Erin Brockovich, whose fight against PG&E was the subject of a 2000 movie starring Julia Roberts, in his bid for state Senate. Brockovich stars in a new pro-Strickland TV ad running in the Santa Barbara-area Senate district.
"I'm a consumer advocate and a Democrat, but I'm also an independent thinker. And so is Tony Strickland," Brockovich says, staring into the camera. "Look, we don't always agree, but who does? Tony listens, he's open to new ideas. He gets it done. And that's good enough for me."
Brockovich's fight against PG&E made famous by the 2000 film, "Erin Brockovich," a hit at the box office for which Roberts nabbed an Academy Award.
Ventura County Star columnist Timm Herdt) got Strickland's Democratic opponent Hannah-Beth Jackson on the phone, who said she was "a little surprised" by Brockovich backing her opponent.
While Brockovich says she is a Democrat in the ad, she writes on her blog that she's ready to leave the party and become an independent.
"I am ready to turn because both parties are acting foolish and judgmental and attacking," she writes.
She also has kind words for GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
"I am proud to be a member of the same Strong Woman's Club that Sarah Palin is in." Brockovich writes.
Watch the Strickland ad below:
Photo: Brockovich after testifying at the state Capitol in March, 2001; Credit: Rich Pedroncelli, AP
Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, who is being forced of the Legislature by term limits this year and has been squabbling with her party's leaders, is planning a final act of defiance -- supporting the Republican candidate for her San Joaquin Valley seat.
The Fresno Bee's Capitol correspondent, E.J. Schultz, broke the story of Parra's plans, which stem from her family's long-running political and personal feud with state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, and his family.
Parra's father, Pete, lost his seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors in one manifestation of the feud.
Schultz's account in the Fresno Bee continues:
Parra's support of Danny Gilmore angered Democratic Party leaders, but comes as no surprise because she has been praising Gilmore for months.
"I will endorse Danny Gilmore in the near future and I will campaign for him and do commercials," Parra said in an interview. Gilmore, a retired California Highway Patrol officer from Hanford, is running against Democrat Fran Florez, mother of state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, a longtime Parra rival.
The race will be one of the most hotly contested legislative races of the year as Republicans, who are severely outnumbered by Democrats in the Assembly, try to steal the seat.
The termed-out Parra won three Assembly elections by appealing to Republicans in the 30th Assembly District -- covering Kings County and parts of Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties. But she also relied on campaign contributions from the California Democratic Party and other Democratic lawmakers. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said Parra's move betrays that support.
"After her Democratic colleagues worked year after year to get her re-elected, spent millions of dollars, walked hundreds of miles for her, at the end of her legislative career to poke them in the eye like this, I think, is an insult," she said.
Earlier this year, Bass booted Parra from her office as punishment for withholding her vote for the state budget unless lawmakers agreed to put a bond on the ballot for water projects.
Parra stuck to her pledge and abstained on the main budget bill on Tuesday. But on Friday, she voted "yes" on two bills that finalized the budget deal.
Assembly GOP Leader Mike Villines of Clovis welcomed Parra's support of Gilmore. Assembly Member Juan Arambula, a Democrat from Fresno, is sticking behind Fran Florez, a Shafter City Council member.
Federal receiver J. Clark Kelso today rejected the state's resistance to turning over as much as $8 billion to improve prison system health care, accusing Attorney General Jerry Brown of misleading a federal judge about the state's ability to cough up the money and renewing his demand that state officals be held in contempt.
Brown, representing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller John Chiang, had told the court last week that forcing the payment would disrupt the state's already precarious finances. He made his plea a day after the Legislature failed to approve a bill that would have provided bond money to satisfy Kelso's demand.
"Filings by Defendants in other proceedings demonstrate that their cries of poverty were overblown and calculated to mislead," Kelso responded today. "The receiver has confirmed that $250 million in general fund money appropriated under AB 900 for CDCR infrastructure is, and at all times material to this matter,was unencumbered, but defendants never made it available to the receiver."
Kelso continued that "financial constraints may not be used to justify the creation or perpetuation of constitutional violations" and cited the Legislature's repeated failure to appropriation the funds. A hearing on the contempt motion is scheduled for Oct. 6 in San Francisco.
It didn't take the Assembly long to dip into the new state budget.
Minutes after taking a final vote Friday on a compromise spending plan supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to end the 12-week budget standoff, the Assembly Rules Committee decided to spend a little slice on staffers.
The committee voted 9-1 to increase the Assembly's contribution to health-care coverage for its roughly 1,200 employees.
The Assembly, responding to higher medical insurance costs, agreed to hike state contributions by up to $120 per month for a single employee, $239 for couples, and $321 for a family of three or more.
Maximum monthly state contributions for employee health insurance, beginning in January 2009, will be $656, $1,274 and $1,681 for solo employees, couples, and families of three or more, respectively.
The Senate previously had agreed to the same amounts. The Assembly needed to decide the issue quickly because it is open enrollment for aides to choose a health-care plan, said Jon Waldie, Assembly chief administrative officer.
No estimate was available of the total cost to taxpayers for footing the higher insurance premiums.
The increases do not apply to legislators because their pay and health benefits are set by the California Citizens Compensation Commission, a seven-member panel of gubernatorial appointees. Lawmakers get no pension benefits.
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It may have been so long ago you'd forgotten, but on June 17 we asked Capitol Alert readers to predict the date and time lawmakers would pass the state budget.
Our winner was only an hour off.
Lobbyist and lawyer Tim Yaryan is the proud recipient of the $25 Starbucks gift card and bragging rights at the Capitol.
He attributes his victory to "keen political insight into the psyche of the Legislature, coupled with great pessimism."
Yaryan chose 1:30 a.m. on September 16th. The budget bill cleared both houses by 2:30 a.m.
Two others picked the same date, but later in the day. (Hint for next year - nothing big ever happens during daylight hours.)
In making his prediction, Yaryan said he took into account the national political conventions and the scheduled end of session, and figured it wouldn't happen during that time frame.
"I didn't think they would get it done before Labor Day, so then it was a question of how long after Labor Day it would be," he said.
Yaryan said this is the first contest he's ever won. Small consolation, perhaps, given that in the end he said his public safety clients "got smoked like everybody else did."
"We could have done worse, we could have done better," he said. "it was just ugly for everybody."
Friends and former staff of our last governor are planning an administration reunion in November.
They've decided to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gray Davis' election as governor on November 10, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. Davis was officially first elected on November 3, 1998.
The campaign against Proposition 8, the effort to ban gay marriage, began airing its first statewide ad today.
Opponents have chosen a "personal story" approach, with the spot featuring Samuel and Julia Thoron, parents of a gay woman who would lose her right to marry if the initiative passes.
Here's a quote from the text: "My wife and I never treated our children differently. We never loved them any differently. And now the law doesn't treat them differently, either."
It's official. The final budget bills of 2008 have passed through both houses of the Legislature and are on their way to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he will likely line-item veto certain spending and then sign the spending plan.
The Assembly adjourned after passing the final pieces of the budget around 5:30 p.m. on Friday, 81 days into the fiscal year.
"I move that the Assembly adjourn -- again," said Assembly Major leader Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont.
Democrats are up and Republicans are down in the latest compilation of California voter registration, released by Secretary of State Debra Bowen today.
As total registration climbed to 16,171,772, up more than a half-million from four years ago, Democrats climbed to 43.91 percent, up more than a half-point from 2004, while Republicans dropped more than 2.5 percentage points to 32.32 percent.
That translated into big gains for the ranks of "declined to state" independents, up almost 2.5 points to 19.49 percent.
"It's inspiring to see so many people registering to vote as we head into this historic presidential election," said Bowen. "I'm sure the numbers will climb even higher as we get closer to November 4, given the excitement about this election."
The full report, including county-by-county and district-by-district breakdowns, is available here.
After three elections in 2008, California voters better start gearing up for another election in 2009. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he and the Legislature would call a special election next year for voters to approve changes to the lottery and, likely, budget reform in a press conference announcing he would sign the budget.
"Because of the lottery and various different other things, yes, we will be calling a special election," Schwarzenegger said.
The timing of a special election next year remains up in the air. In March, voters in Los Angeles, the state's largest city, are set to go to the polls for a mayoral election. Consolidating a special election with that one could save the state money.
But Schwarzenegger said Friday that "March is probably too early. It could be June."
A special election appeared likely after the initial passage of the budget on Tuesday morning, with the overhaul of the state's rainy-day fund and the changing of the state lottery both requiring voter approval.
Since 2002, Californians have had to go to the polls at least once every year except 2007.
Besides the regularly scheduled elections, there was the 2003 recall and the 2005 special election. By 2010, voters will have been to the polls in eight of nine years.
Unemployment in California continues to climb, as the percentage of the state workforce not working rose three-tenths of a point from July to August.
California is now tied for the third highest unemployment rate in the nation, with Mississippi, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only Rhode Island (8.5 percent) and Michigan (8.9 percent) are worse.
The rate in California climbed to 7.7 percent in August. Only a year ago, the state's unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.
The county with the worst unemployment is Imperial, with a whooping 24.7 percent of the workforce not working. The only county in the state with unemployment below 5 percent is Marin, one of the state's wealthiest enclaves.
Sacramento County clocks in with the state average, 7.7 percent.
Karl Rove, the chief architect of President Bush's two electoral victories, is in town today, speaking at the Sacramento Metro Chamber's annual Perspectives conference.
He joins a line-up of speakers from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to columnist Cal Thomas.
Find more information about the pricey speakers series here.
Then in October, Rove, who has become a touchstone for liberal frustration over Republican campaigns in the last eight years, heads to San Bernardino to headline a fundraiser for the local Republican club.
Former Senate GOP leader Jim Brulte will chair the dinner, where donors will be asked to give as much as $5,000 to be a "freedom sponsor" of the event.
See the invitation here. Tickets start as cheap as $150.
For both events, it could be worth going just to see if the GOP strategist makes national news.
This week, he called GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin a "political pick" and made waves on the constant cable news gab-fests.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's California campaign swing has been pushed back one week.
"With the United Nations General Assembly session in New York next week, Governor Palin will participate in meetings with Senator McCain and other leaders," the McCain campaign wrote to supporters, in an e-mail that Red County posted.
Chairs of the Bay Area event must pledge to raise or donate $50,000, which comes with two seats at the head table, one table of 10 for the luncheon and access to the "host committee reception" for six people with three photo ops.
In Orange County, co-chairs must pledge to give or raise $25,000.
Those donations levels don't appear to have changed for the new dates, which are October 4 in Orange County in the evening and October 5 in the morning in the Bay Area.
The McCain campaign had previously scheduled a rally -- for as many as 15,000 party faithful -- in Orange County. It's not clear if the rally will be rescheduled.
Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, speaking on radio today about the ongoing budget delay, seemed to put to rest any notion that Republicans would override a gubernatorial veto of the most controversial part of the spending plan.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has demanded that lawmakers undo a proposal, passed on a majority vote without Democratic support, that would increase state income tax withholding for personal income taxpayers.
"We do not subscribe nor do we support the idea of doing a withholding,"
Villines said on KMJ-AM's Ray Appleton Show. "I agree it's a total gimmick and would never vote for it. Not one Republican voted for that, nor would one Republican vote for that. And if there was a veto override, we would not override that piece.
"It sends the wrong message to taxpayers that we're going to use your money up front and give it to you later. That's ridiculous."
Without GOP support it is impossible for lawmakers to reach the needed two-thirds vote to override Schwarzenegger's veto. And that would leave the budget with at least a $1.6 billion hole in it.
Stop! Don't mark that ballot -- yet. California lawmakers have voted to add at least one measure, perhaps two, to the November ballot.
Here's the problem: Ballots already have been sent to 50,000 military and overseas voters, and they have been printed and are being readied for mailing to 4.6 million permanent vote-by-mail voters.
"The likelihood is extremely low that a second ballot can be successfully designed, printed and mailed in a timely fashion," Secretary of State Debra Bowen told the governor and legislative leaders in a letter released Thursday to the media.
The issue arose from the Legislature's hurried passage of a package of nearly two dozen budget-related bills in a marathon, nearly 15-hour session that ended at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Assembly Bill 1526 specifies that it be placed before voters on Nov. 4. It would give the Legislature more control over after-school programs funded through a 2002 initiative championed by now-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Assembly Bill 1654, to alter the state lottery, requires placement on the ballot "at the next statewide election."
Both bills will become law if signed by Schwarzenegger.
Bowen noted in her letter that voting will occur in less than 50 days and "putting any additional measures on the ballot at this point would jeopardize the integrity of the election."
"Taking the unprecedented step of creating a second ballot is also unwise because it will be confusing to millions of California voters who will vote by mail this election," Bowen wrote.
State officials apparently are sympathetic.
"We're looking at all the options to fix this," said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met with legislative leaders for a half-hour this morning on the state's budget crisis, with no apparent breakthrough.
Senate President Don Perata, who emerged with the other leaders from the governor's office at noon, was tight-lipped, saying only that Schwarzenegger has conveyed his demands for averting a veto of the budget passed by the Legislature early Tuesday, but refusing to provide details.
Perata did say, however, that the "Big 5" meeting would resume at 3:30 p.m. The legislators reportedly are willing to accede to the governor's demand for stronger language on the use of a "rainy day" reserve fund to avert future crises, but he's also critical of the main feature of the legislative budget, an "acceleration" of tax payments to provide an infusion of cash
The tax payment plan was devised as a way around Republicans' refusal to vote for new taxes, even the temporary sales tax that Schwarzenegger has advocated.
Mike Jimenez was re-elected president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association this morning in Las Vegas. Read Andy Furillo's story here.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders will continue closed-door talks over the state budget at 11:30 a.m. according to the speaker's office.
Dynamics have changed since lawmakers confidently predicted an override of the governor's expected budget veto. Read Jim Sanders' explanation here.
Remember the parolee who got the state correctional officers' union in an uproar when the members learned their president, Mike Jimenez, gave the guy a job?
Well, he isn't a parolee anymore.
He's an inmate.
Turns out that the San Bernardino offender identified as Raul Gomez, 21, was arrested in Upland on July 30 for assault and battery, corrections spokesman Oscar Hidalgo said today.
The Board of Parole Hearings will conduct a revocation proceeding on Sept.23.
Jimenez is running for re-election as president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The election will be held Thursday in Las Vegas.
Today was a busy day for proponents of the redistricting measure on the November ballot: They grabbed endorsements from two potential GOP candidates for governor in 2010 and from the state conference of the NAACP, snagged a $1 million donation and made a Web ad blasting the state's prison guards union.
The backing of the NAACP is perhaps the most significant.
Opponents of the Proposition 11 have already trotted out the support of various civil rights groups, which have questioned whether minorities would be drawn out of legislative seats under the ballot measure.
Alan Clayton, a redistricting expert with the Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Association, told the Contra Costa Times back in July:
"Democrats have their reasons for opposing this -- they want to keep their power," he said. "But our reasons are the potential reduction of minorities in the Legislature. It could take the clock back in terms of political power in the Legislature that Latinos and African Americans have secured."
Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP, however, said in a statement that Proposition 11 "will give voters in all communities a strong and united voice so our elected officials will have to listen to us and really work to effectively address the issues we all care about."
Huffman's organization has a longhistory of backing ballot measures that support her consulting business and her organization.
Insurance Steve Poizner announced he was endorsing the measure. There is little surprise there, as Poizner spent $1.75 million of his own money in 2005 supporting a similar redistricting measure. Poizner filed paperwork earlier this week to formally explore a run for governor in 2010.
Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and a rumored 2010 Republican candidate for governor, also endorsed Proposition 11.
Poizner also announced that Charles Munger Jr., a major Republican donor, would give $1 million to the Proposition 11 campaign. Back in 2005, Munger donated $100,000 to a redistricting measure.
Lastly, the campaign is seeking to capitalize on the recent money given to its opponents by the state's prison guards union, which donated $577,000 to Senate leader Don Perata earmarked to oppose Proposition 11.
Of the state's 120 lawmakers, all but two were in Sacramento for the early-morning vote Tuesday on the budget.
Democratic Assemblywoman Nell Soto of Pomona, who is elderly and ill, has been missing for months.
But Assemblyman George Plescia, a La Jolla Republican, was traveling in Italy.
Plescia's office did not return multiple calls from Capitol Alert for comment.
Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines said through a spokesman that he had left Plescia's travel schedule up to the lawmaker himself.
"Whatever decision Assemblyman Plescia makes, Mr. Villines supports," said Villines spokesman Morgan Crinklaw.
Michael Gardner of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Plescia had planned the trip months ago, along with several other lawmakers:
But they cancelled, leaving Plescia to attend the only remaining official event, a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, according to Plescia's chief of staff, Todd Cranney.
In a typical year, lawmakers would be long gone from Sacramento by mid-September, with the session scheduled to end in August. But this year's budget set a new record for tardiness.
Several lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have missed out on significant events due to the state's record-long budget impasse.
Schwarzenegger had to skip a prime-time speaking role at the Republican National Convention. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, the state's first female African American speaker, had to miss the Democratic National Convention and the nomination of the country's first African American major-party presidential candidate.
But Plescia, apparently, stuck with his European travel plans despite the standoff.
After a budget deal was quickly struck over the weekend, lawmakers passed a budget in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Plescia was not there.
It is not clear if the La Jolla Republican plans to return to the United States before lawmakers are likely to gather later this week to attempt to override Schwarzenegger's expected budget veto.
Only two years ago, Plescia himself served as leader of the Assembly Republicans.
But his caucus-mates ousted him in favor of Villines in late 2006, a move to take a firmer line against the Democratic leadership and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Plescia is termed out of the Assembly this year, and no Senate seat is in his immediate future. He is one of seven Republicans who have filed paperwork to explore a run for lieutenant governor in 2010.
Actor Brad Pitt said today that he will donate $100,000 to beat the November ballot measure that would outlaw gay marriage.
The Los Angeles Times' celebrity reporter Tina Daunt has more details, including this gem: "Pitt's donation marks the largest thus far to the anti-Prop. 8 campaign by an A-list celebrity."
Here's Pitt's statement:
"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8."
The state Assembly has agreed to pay former aides of Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally $190,000 to settle claims that the Compton Democrat violated employment laws.
Husband and wife Jason and Tamara Mitchell began working for Dymally in 2002. Jason Mitchell was terminated in September 2004, according to the lawsuit, and his wife five months later. They claimed Dymally violated state law by telling them they could not take more time off work for medical reasons and retaliated when they complained to Assembly officials.
Jason Mitchell suffers from kidney failure and lupus, according to a 2005 lawsuit, and required occasional doctor and hospital visits.
Under the settlement reached Monday, the Mitchells agree to dismiss all claims against Dymally and the Assembly. The $190,000 payment includes $72,000 for lawyers' fees.
In his formal response, Gov. Arnold Scwharzenegger decried the recall sponsored by the state's prison guards union as "special interest politics at its worst" and said, "It's offensive that one special interest is using a recall to get more money."
Under California law, the proponents of a recall must first file a petition to recall, including a statement about why they are trying to remove the governor from office.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association filed its petition last week, accusing Schwarzenegger of "leadership failings and inept management."
The governor then files his formal response. We've reprinted it below:
This recall petition is special interest politics at its worst. It's not about the people of California; it's an intimidation tactic by the prison guards union to force Governor Schwarzenegger into giving them a bigger contract. The bosses want the same sweetheart deal Governor Davis gave them after $3 million in campaign contributions. When Governor Schwarzenegger ran for office he said if special interests tried to push him around he would push back.
The Los Angeles Times said this union "is fooling no one." The Sacramento Bee called it a "self-serving grab for power and money." The San Diego Union-Tribune says it's a "bullying tactic." The San Jose Mercury News calls this an attempt to "pressure" the Governor to "give away the store like his predecessor."
Even Democrat lawmaker Jackie Speier said this union has "a lock on the Legislature. ... They telegraph loud and clear: 'If you cross us, we'll take you out.' "
It's offensive that one special interest is using a recall to get more money. California faces a financial crisis and this union's leadership wants $1.3 billion more from taxpayers. Governor Schwarzenegger refuses to be intimidated and will do what's best for California, not a special interest.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to meet with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders at 1:30 p.m. today to discuss the state budget, according to Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.
The meeting was requested by the legislative leaders, a day after the governor promised to veto the budget the Legislature passed.
The governor had scheduled a 2 p.m. budget rally in Fresno -- a city that just so happens to be sandwiched in the districts of both Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines and Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill.
McLear said the governor still plans to attend the rally after the meeting.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had scheduled an afternoon budget rally beginning at 2 p.m. in Fresno -- a city that just so happens to be sandwiched in the districts of both Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines and Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill.
But he has since agreed to meet with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders at 1:30 p.m. today to discuss the state budget, according to Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.
McLear said the governor still plans to attend the rally after the meeting.
It is not the first time during this budget standoff that someone has headed to Fresno to grab the attention of the GOP leaders.
Back in July, the California Health Care Partnership aired a TV ad pleading for lawmakers to "stop the health care cuts." They bought time solely in the Fresno media market.
Republican Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, became the first lawmaker who voted for the budget to announce she will not vote to override the governor's veto.
Runner issued a statement late Tuesday saying she is "committed to finding a compromise which benefits Californians now and protects their future."
Here's Runner's statement in full:
"I voted in favor of the budget compromise proposal early this morning because Californians needed us to put an end to the stalemate and provide them with the services that have been long overdue. Even though this spending plan is not the best solution to California's budget shortfall, it is a step in the right direction as it has no tax increases and it begins to implement common-sense budget reforms.
"Although I voted for this budget, I stand with the Governor in his decision to utilize his veto power and I will not vote to support an override of his veto. I am committed to finding a compromise which benefits Californians now and protects their future. I welcome any suggestions by the Governor to make this not perfect budget even better and look forward to working with my fellow legislators to find a solution that all Californians deserve."
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is bucking the Democratic and Republican leadership of the Legislature and standing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's planned veto of the state budget.
Schwarzenegger is "correct to veto the proposed budget...because it does nothing to solve the structural deficit, nothing to fund or to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our poorly performing education system, the prison system or address the need for affordable health care," said Garamendi.
Garamendi, who is serving in his first term as lieutenant governor, is running for governor in 2010.
Here is his full statement:
"The Governor is correct to veto the proposed budget as it does not meet the minimum investment that California must make to maintain its economic competitiveness. All levels of education remain on a starvation diet that is sapping the strength of tomorrow's workforce and leaving California employers with insufficient skilled workers, ill-prepared to compete in the world's economy. Furthermore the most vulnerable in our society, the poor, the aged, the blind and the disabled are denied the basic needs that they deserve. We are the sixth wealthiest economy in the world - we can and we must do better - for our future and our children's future.
This budget "kicks the can down the road" because it does nothing to solve the structural deficit, nothing to fund or to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our poorly performing education system, the prison system or address the need for affordable health care. It uses accounting gimmicks and borrowing to plug the hole, a hole that is guaranteed to be only bigger and deeper next fiscal year.
It's time for Californians to take a stand together. We must modernize our economy, stabilize our budget, reform and fully fund our education programs, establish a universal health care system, address the threat of climate change and adapt our water and transportation systems to the reality of the new and changing environment.
We must reestablish the successful California tradition of investing in both the public and the private sectors. We cannot allow a continuation of the gridlock caused by the Republicans' refusal to adequately fund those investments that create economic growth and social advancement. The two-thirds vote requirement must end along with the ideology that we can continue to cut essential services and education and end up with a vibrant economy and a peaceful society.
The Legislature should return to serious daily negotiations and adopt a budget that invests in California's future. The Republican's have already agreed to a tax hike for every Californian who receives a pay check and for every California Corporation. A 10% increase in tax withholding is nothing more than a tax increase. This flawed budget affects those least able to put food on the table. California's working families deserve real solutions and vital investments which ensure a better tomorrow."
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vow to veto the budget state lawmakers passed earlier this morning, the ball is back in the Legislature's court.
Republicans and Democrats alike appear poised to override his veto.
"If he does, both the Assembly and the Senate will immediately return to session and consider overriding his veto," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said Tuesday.
And she predicted it would pass.
"If we bring 120 legislators up here to override a veto, I'm, I'm pretty confident we're not going to have difficulty doing that and we would do it in rapid fire," she said.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata told senators before they adjourned at 1 a.m., "We will be asking you to come back" for an override session if the governor vetoes the spending plan.
Referring to Republican senators, Perata then told reporters, "I've been told they're prepared to vote for override."
In a statement issued after the governor's announcement, Perata said, "Frankly, a veto simply puts the governor in the starring role in California's financial disaster."
Of course, Schwarzenegger is a Republican and those are the comments of the Democratic leaders.
But Schwarzenegger's relationship with lawmakers of his own party is distant, at best. In a recent interview with a German magazine, he said California Republicans are "just so out there."
In an interview with a Los Angeles radio station Tuesday, Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill said, "I believe that as a Legislature we'll override the veto."
Cogdill was even more defiant after Schwarzenegger made his veto threat official. "It is a mistake and I will vote to override the Governor's veto, as should every other legislator who approved this budget," he said in a written satement.
Assembly Republican leader Mike Vililnes issued a statement saying "not getting your way is no reason to the veto the state budget."
In a curious twist of California law, it takes a two-thirds supermajority to pass a state budget. The exact same margin is all it takes to override a gubernatorial veto.
Still, such overrides have been exceedingly rare in modern California history, with the last one nearly 30 years ago, during Jerry Brown's governorship.
But Democratic and Republican lawmakers could be poised to write a new chapter in California's budgeting history.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference at the Capitol to "discuss the budget" among increasing indications that he will veto the budget passed by the Legislature early this morning, setting up an override battle with lawmakers.
UPDATED: At the news conference, Schwarzenegger said he would veto the state budget passed by lawmakers. Read more. Also, lawmakers appear poised to override.
Schwarzenegger's office also distributed a compilation of news media criticism of the budget as an expedient plan that doesn't solve long-term budget problems - another indication that a veto is likely.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, the Senate's Republican leader, told a Los Angeles radio talk show that the Senate "most definitely" would override the GOP governor if he vetoes the budget.
"I believe that as a Legislature we'll override the veto," Cogdill said.
In the final tally, the budget passed with room to spare in the Assembly and with the cushion of a single vote in the Senate.
In the Assembly, 15 Republicans joined all 46 of the 48 Democrats to vote for the budget. The Republican Assembly members backing the spending plan were:
Anthony Adams
Greg Aghazarian
John Benoit
Sam Blakeslee
Paul Cook
Chuck DeVore
Bonnie Garcia
Guy Houston
Bob Huff
Rick Keene
Roger Niello
Sharon Runner
Audra Strickland
Van Tran
Mike Villines
Eleven Republicans voted no. Six abstained, including Assemblyman George Plescia, who was absent.
On the Democratic side, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra bucked the leadership - and every Democratic lawmaker present - in abstaining. Assemblywoman Nell Soto of Pomona, who is elderly and ill, was not present.
The final tally was 61 to 11, with 8 abstentions.
In the Senate, the final vote was 29 to 11.
Twenty-four of the 25 Democrats voted in favor of the plan. The sole "no" vote was from Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto.
Five Republican senators supported the budget. They are: Sen. Jim Battin, Sen. Bob Dutton, Sen. Dave Cogdill, Sen. Dave Cox and Sen. Tom Harman.
Of the three demands that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made in his letter to state lawmakers on Monday, two were met.
But the third -- without which the governor's office said the rainy day fund has a "fatal flaw" -- would control when lawmakers could withdraw funds from the reserve account.
Specifically, Schwarzenegger wanted transfers out of the rainy day fund to occur only when the state's revenues fall below projected spending.
But Democrats balked at that.
"Without this restriction, the rainy-day fund turns into nothing more than a slush fund that can be raided at any point and up to any amount," Matt David, Schwarzenegger's communications director, said in a sharply-worded statement after the Democrats made their position clear.
In his letter to the legislative leaders, Schwarzenegger made clear that without all three of his demands, "I can not sign this budget."
Lawmakers passed the budget. The next move is the governor's.
One of the significant "trailer bills" that passed in the wee hours of Tuesday morning is an exemption for high tech companies from paying overtime to salaried workers who earn at least $75,000 per year.
The bill, AB 10, is one of the few whose amendments are actually posted online.
According to brief analysis prepared by the state Senate, "computer software employees" that earn "not less than $75,000 per year" would be exempt from current laws defining an eight-hour workday and 40-hour work week.
People around the Capitol referred to the legislation as "the Cisco bill," a reference to high-tech giant Cisco Systems Inc.
Corrected Speculation about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's threat to veto the newly passed state budget swept through the Capitol today, matched only by speculation over whether Republicans would join Democrats in voting to override such a veto.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata told senators that if Schwarzenegger does veto the budget, "We will be asking you to come back" for an override session and later told reporters that he believes Republicans are ready to join Democrats.
"I've been told they're prepared to vote for override," Perata said. Other legislative leaders, including Republicans, refused to speculate.
*For the record, the last time the Legislature mustered two-thirds votes in both houses to override a gubernatorial veto was in 1979 when then-Gov. Jerry Brown's vetoes of two bills and eight budget reductrions were overridden by the Legislature, according to data compiled by the Assembly speaker's office.
Brown had a number of vetoes overridden, most famously his rejection of a bill reinstating the death penalty. No governor since has suffered an override.
* The original version of this item said the last veto override was July 2, 1979, but Assembly clerks have discovered several others that came later that year.
The following is a list of statements issued by lawmakers in reaction to the passage of the 2008-09 state budget -- 78 days late.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata:
"It's a defensive budget. We prevented the most egregious painful cuts to the innocent of our communities and we were able to keep education whole. We did not worsen the problem by doing more borrowing."
"But having said that, next year the tax increase will be needed once again. The Legislature won't have all these accounting tricks to plug the holes. We've done exactly what the Governor didn't want to do: We have simply rolled the problem into the next year. But he couldn't get any of the Republicans to vote for a tax increase and so that is where we stand."
"I didn't want to answer one more phone call or run into one more person in my district who was crying, literally, because their child care program had quit or somebody was not receiving the service that they need. We were hurting the very people that Democrats come to Sacramento to serve, so it was time to end it."
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles:
"This isn't a budget we should be thrilled about, it's not the kind of budget we should have and it's not the kind of budget we will have. But it ends the delay. It stops the pain. It allows the wheels of real reform to start moving."
"This budget takes a balanced approach of revenue and spending solutions. We funded education at a stronger level than any of the competing plans and held to the fair conference committee line on health and human services. And we rejected unworkable spending straitjackets and an unconscionable sales tax cut that would have blown massive holes in future budgets.
"The tyranny of the minority when it comes to budgeting for this state and providing for our future must end. When the majority of Californians and the majority of their duly elected representatives support a responsible budget but that budget can't overcome the 2/3 hurdle then there's something wrong. With this year's record-setting budget delay the anti-tax, anti-government, anti-services crowd has overreached and overestimated the patience of the people. And that will help lead to the change we need."
"California relies on a revenue structure designed for the 1930s. Make no mistake, that too is about to end."
Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto:
"This is a compromise that makes sense for California. Today, the legislature passed a spending plan that will protect jobs and not raise taxes - which is something Republicans have asked for all along. Our priority has always been to help Californians struggling with higher prices and an uncertain job market. We feel very strongly that any tax increase would be a fatal blow to our already weakened economy. Today the legislature passed a budget that protects education and public safety without raising taxes."
Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis:
"This budget compromise does not raise taxes on California's hard working families and ends the stalemate that has hurt many in our state. While this compromise includes Republican priorities, including fully funding our schools and protecting public safety, it leaves many tough decisions unresolved. We cannot sit back while our budget problems grow out of hand again. We must continue to approach our long-term budget problems with urgency and work together to make the fiscally-responsible decisions that will get California back on track."
Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento:
"I want to thank Senator Perata for his outstanding leadership in fighting for the principle that California needs ongoing revenue to support vital public services.
As the next leader of the State Senate, I will fight for a multi-year agenda to change the way we finance state and local government in California. Anything less fails our schools, our economy, the health care system and the environment. The people of this great state deserve better.
We will not settle for simply talking about 'budget reform.' It's time to take this fight directly to Californians, because it's the people who have the most to lose if we don't fix this dysfunctional budget process."
Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro:
"This budget protects, at the basic level, key programs serving our children, elderly and persons with disabilities. While tonight's budget may get us through the next nine months, we have not solved our structural problems and we will likely face a continuing deficit next year. Further, Republicans have used the budget process to undermine critical environmental and labor laws. It seems clear that we will not achieve long-term solutions as long as the two-thirds vote requirement allows the minority party to hold the State hostage."
Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley:
"This budget is not a win for anyone. No tax hikes are a given in the current state of this economy, with gas prices and basic commodities at record highs and thousands of homes falling into foreclosure. The thing is - we could have negotiated this deal back in June."
"This budget doesn't fix anything. It's going to put us right back at Square One next year, but the deficit will be much higher."
Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks:
"While this budget compromise ends our state's record budget deadlock, much work remains in the coming months to solve our long-term budget problems once and for all. Strengthening our rainy day fund is a good first step that will help us save for the future, but the only way to truly end the budget madness is by limiting state spending, which will force the Legislature to stop overspending. Republicans will continue to fight for budget reform until a true spending limit is established."
Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert:
"In the midst of an already-suffering economy, we have successfully protected Californians from one of the largest tax increases in State history.
"I propose that we continue the momentum and unity from this compromise and examine how government services can best be delivered with our limited resources. I am prepared to begin working on next year's budget, starting immediately. It is time to get serious about duplicitous and wasteful spending; it is time to implement public private partnerships; and, it is time to invoke a real spending cap that will put an end to rollercoaster spending cycles."
Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa:
"It's been a long, strange trip getting to this day. This budget prevents real harm to real people. If Republicans had their way, basic services for the most vulnerable of Californians would have been decimated. Because of Democrats, this budget protects in-home care for seniors and safety nets for the poor and disabled. We also shot down the Republican plan for a spending cap, which made about as much sense as a cap on need.
This budget and the delay in adopting it show the extreme dysfunction of our budgeting process. Because they hold veto power under California's two-third vote requirement, Republicans intentionally held the state hostage in return for extremist demands. In the end, we had to make tough choices to satisfy some demands of the minority party. Unfortunately, this tyranny of the minority ensures that we'll face other extremist demands next year."
Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita:
"Yesterday I voted in favor of a balanced budget that does not raise any taxes on hardworking Californians," said Smyth. "Although it is not a 'perfect budget' by any means, it is a compromise, in the spirit of bi-partisanship, with my democratic colleagues and shows that you can balance the budget and fully fund education without tax increases."
"In addition to fully funding education, it also does not include early release of prisoners, something my Republican colleagues and I fought hard for. This budget also takes no funds from either Proposition 1A dollars relied upon by local governments or Proposition 42 dollars relied upon for local and state transportation improvements. I will continue to keep working hard for the reforms we need so that we, as a state, can live within our means in the future."
Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael:
"The longest budget impasse in our state's history is hopefully coming to a close. I wish I could tell you that Legislators rose above partisan differences and developed a fiscally sound budget that reflects the spirit of compromise and the best interests of California. In fact, this was much more of a temporary truce that avoids hard choices and pushes serious fiscal problems into next year. Candidly, it's not a good budget. But given the unwillingness of legislative Republicans to consider any new revenues to help bridge a $15 billion deficit, and the deep irreparable damage facing health clinics, child care centers, developmental services providers, schools and community colleges and small businesses if we had not ended the impasse, there was little choice. This budget deal was as good as it was going to get this year."
In one of the symbolic gestures of Monday night's budget debate, lawmakers agreed to close the so-called "yacht tax" loophole.
Under current law, owners of luxury vehicles, like yachts or private aircraft, only had to keep their purchases out of California for 90 days after buying them to avoid state taxes.
That has allowed owners of such crafts to escape taxes to the tune of $21 million annually, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The new proposal, included in a budget trailer bill, would increase to one year the time that a purchase would have to remain out of state lines to escape taxation.
Democrats hounded Republicans over blocking the loophole closure earlier this year, in both floor debates and TV ads.
"It's good to put the yacht tax to bed," said Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, before the vote.
Several key elements of the final budget proposal will require voter approval, making it all but certain that lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - should he sign off on the budget - would need to call a 2009 special election.
The first part of the budget package that would have to go to the ballot is the "lottery securitization." That would boost payouts to lotto players and, theoretically, boost overall lottery revenues. Lawmakers would borrow against those future revenues to fill in $5 billion in the 2009-10 budget and another $5 billion the next year.
The second part that would have to go to the ballot is the stricter requirements for the state's "rainy day" fund. Lawmakers only agreed to two of the three demands Schwarzenegger laid out for his signature, raising the specter of a budget veto.
In a Monday conference call with editorial writes, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said such an election might occur in March of 2009, consolidated with the mayoral election in Los Angeles, the state's biggest city. (Hat tip: Chris Reed of the U-T.)
Senate leader Don Perata also talked about going to a "special election," though he was bearish on the lottery plan's chances of passage.
"If it goes on the ballot in the special election, I'm doubtful that there's going to be a lot of people that will support it. And if education doesn't support it, it won't pass at all. So this really a high risk budget"
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has provided a list of three demands to legislative leaders to strengthen the "budget reform" element of this year's budget in order to earn his approval.
"For me to be able to sign a budget, the following 3 changes must be made to the current budget reform proposal," Schwarzenegger wrote in a letter sent to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill on Monday afternoon.
All three of his demands relate to beefing up the "rainy day" account, known in budget terms as the "budget stabilization fund."
In their tentative agreement, Democratic and Republican lawmakers had pledged to increase the size of that fund from 5 percent of the state's General Fund to 10 percent.
But Schwarzenegger demanded the fund be increased to 12.5 percent.
That request appears to have been met. The Senate has distributed a document with highlights of the compromise, which included the 12.5 percent figure.
Schwarzenegger also insisted any transfers out of the rainy day fund could occur when the state's revenues fall below projected spending. (The governor defines that as "prior year spending with Gann Factor adjustments.")
UPDATE But Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said late Monday that Democrats would not acquiese to that demand.
The Schwarzenegger administration reiterated its stance, saying a rainy day fund without the limits on transfers piece had a "fatal flaw."
"Without this restriction, the rainy-day fund turns into nothing more than a slush fund that can be raided at any point and up to any amount," said Matt David, Schwarzenegger's communications director.
The last demand is that the Legislature's 3 percent deposit into the rainy day fund can only be suspended when money is being transferred out of the fund, or when the fund reaches its 12.5 percent cap.
"Without these changes, I can not sign this budget," Schwarzenegger wrote in the brief memo.
Schwarzenegger had hoped for the unilateral authority to make mid-year spending cuts when revenues drop below spending. But lawmakers refused to give up that authority, ceding only some "statutory powers" for such cuts.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner made official Monday what's been expected for months: He's formally exploring a run for governor in 2010.
The state's only Republican statewide officeholder besides Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will file paperwork today to open an exploratory committee to succeed Schwarzenegger in two years. The move is the first formal step taken to enter the race.
"I am taking the first formal step toward running for governor in 2010 because I believe in California and I understand that meeting the challenges of the 21st century requires new and innovative ideas," Poizner said in a statement.
Poizner, 51, sold a high-tech business in 2000 for $1 billion and has spent more than $24 million of his own money to launch his political career.
A socially moderate, pro-choice Republican, Poizner has gone to great lengths to woo the conservative base of the Republican Party, touting himself as a fiscal conservative.
In fact, he "announced" the exploration of his run for governor through the Web site of conservative GOP party leader Jon Fleischman, shortly before noon today.
"I told Commissioner Poizner that while this news was hardly unexpected, that it was certainly exciting, and of course when he told me that FlashReport readers were going to be the very first to officially get the news, I was very pleased!" Fleischman writes.
Last Thursday, I profiled some of Poizner's efforts to line up conservatives in the printed Sacramento Bee:
In the last 20 months, Poizner has zigzagged the state, lending himself as the headline speaker at fundraisers for more than 60 Republican clubs. The proceeds don't go to Poizner.
"Just by being available as a speaker for events, he has been a huge help to local parties because they can sell tickets, they can get people there, they can raise money," said Luis Buhler, the vice chairman of the California Republican Party in the Bay Area.
...
Poizner's travel itinerary is replete with campaign-building events.
Last week, he hobnobbed at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as vice chairman of the California delegation. Today, he'll headline a fundraiser for a Republican candidate in a competitive Assembly race.
He traveled to Israel with President Bush this spring. And he seems to find himself on stage whenever Sen. John McCain makes a California campaign swing.
In announcing his run for governor today, he also rolled out the endorsements of 21 sitting GOP lawmakers, roughly 40 percent of the 47 Republican members.
His backers include Sens. Sam Aanestad, Roy Ashburn, Jim Battin, Bob Dutton, Tom Harman, Bob Margett and George Runner. And in the Assembly: Anthony Adams, Joel Anderson, John Benoit, Tom Berryhill, Sam Blakeslee, Jean Fuller, Ted Gaines, Bonnie Garcia, Guy Houston, Kevin Jeffries, Alan Nakanishi, Jim Silva, Cameron Smyth, and Van Tran.
Poizner is the second Republican to jump into the race. Former congressman and director of the Department of Finance Tom Campbell filed paperwork earlier in the summer.
Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay (and a billionaire herself), is also considering a run. A top adviser to Sen. John McCain, Whitman has repeatedly said she won't look seriously at the race until after the presidential election.
On the Democratic side, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi have both opened exploratory committees. Other Democrats -- from Attorney General Jerry Brown to Sen. Dianne Feinstein to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell -- are said to be eyeing the contest.
Photo Credit: Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee, February 2008
The state's legislative leaders announced a tentative agreement to balance the state's budget on Sunday.
But they still have to present the plan to their own members. And the governor has yet to sign on.
Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary, told The Bee administration officials were analyzing the proposal, "but have concerns that budget reform may not be strong enough."
Both the Senate and Assembly have floor sessions scheduled for 4 p.m. today. Both houses are expected to immediately retreat into closed-door party caucuses, when they will discuss the details of the budget plan.
Peter Camejo, the Green Party politician who ran for governor in 2002, 2003 and 2006 and was Ralph Nader's running mate in the 2004 presidential race, died over the weekend. He was 68.
It became clear throughout Thursday that the gov had no Rep votes. I spoke with Ashburn who wasn't willing to go up without a stable mate. Margett apparently refused the gov.
Late afternoon, I told the gov I saw no point in going to the floor only to prove what we all know: Reps won't go on a tax. And he has no truck with them to get them.
I said we urgently need a budget - let's see if I can work on a deal with Reps that is no tax, no borrowing. He agreed.
So Denise, Mike and I will work today with Cogdill and Dutton. And tomorrow. And Sunday, or until whenever there is a deal.
We'll then bring in the assembly leaders to show them what we're sending them. And then we go to the floor the moment we have mocked-up language ready.
The gov still insists on a budget reform amendment as a condition of his signature. We'll see. As of yesterday morning, he was back to his most draconian version, which is not acceptable.
Darrell and I met with the ed coalition. They were unwilling to support taking up the gov's budget. Too much risk for not enough gain. The tax cut bothered them (a la fate of car tax) and they view the budget amendment as end of days. (They are not certain it could be beaten on the ballot).
On "what's next" they were divided. CTA didn't like borrowing because 98 doesn't benefit. SEIU was OK with borrowing. AFSCME and CMA more to armageddon option on the
theory their members are being "bled out".
(SEIU - as many of you know- has been calling selected members to ask them not to vote. But the entire "revenue coalition" were working the phones. Opposition to our strategy, but none of their own).
That brings us current.
We'll remain on call of the chair day-to-day. 12 hour notice. Realistically, nothing over the week-end.
We'll do our best to hold the line on borrowing. The gov's recall gives him extra motivation to join us. Gray Davis wasn't dumped because he didn't have budget reform.
As an aside, there was hope in the horseshoe to still get the lottery on the November ballot! Well, no, that's not possible.
So there you have it. Lemme know if you have questions.
Diane, Erin, pro tem and budget staff have worked themselves to exhaustion. We gotta get this done if only to prevent them from being institutionalized!
The Capitol press corps continues to shrink, as Bill Ainsworth, an 18-year veteran reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune, is taking a buyout and will leave at the end of this month.
Ainsworth spent seven years writing for The Recorder, a San Francisco-based legal paper. The last 11 years, he's been with the Union-Tribune.
Ainsworth, who was raised in suburbs of Sacramento, said he grew up with "this idea that state government was important. And I still have that idea -- despite everything."
As newspapers financial losses have mounted, coverage on the Capitol has waned.
The San Francisco Chronicle and Orange County Register are each down to a single reporter, and bureaus from the Bakersfield Californian to the Stockton Record have closed up shop entirely.
"It takes a lot of effort to cover the story of the day -- that's time consuming and exhausting, but if you only have those people you simply don't have enough others to look more deeply into issues that are very important," said Ainsworth.
The Bee Capitol Bureau has shrunk in recent months, as well, with John Hill on leave for a fellowship at the University of Michigan, Andy Furillo working from the courthouse and Judy Lin departing for the Associated Press.
Ainsworth may not be the only Union-Tribune reporter to take the buyout. Ed Mendel, who has covered the Capitol since 1980, has also applied, though he has yet to be approved.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who we reported earlier today had been silent on the hot-button gay marriage measure, today announced her opposition to the ban on same-sex unions.
Here's her statement, in full:
"Proposition 8 would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. I oppose it as a matter of equality and fairness.
"The right to marry is fundamental. It provides social stability, economic equality, and the ability to make decisions for a spouse in a time of crisis.
"If Proposition 8 were to pass, not only would it eliminate the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples, but it would also create a complicated legal quagmire for those who have exercised this right under the California Constitution, as adjudicated by the Supreme Court of the State.
"The views of Californians on this issue have changed over time, and as a State, I believe we should uphold the ability of our friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are gay and lesbian to enter into the contract of marriage.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who famously called San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's brief legalization of gay marriage in 2004 "too much, too fast, too soon," still hasn't taken a position on Proposition 8, the gay marriage measure on the November ballot. Bay Area Reporter.
Fresno Mayor Alan Autry is joining the ranks of radio gabbing mayors. From the Fresno Bee:
"It is going to be a lot of fun," Autry said. "I may be pretty good. I may be good. I may be mediocre. I may be horrible at it. But I will guarantee you I will be real and we will have fun."
The show will air on KYNO, AM 1300, starting the last Monday in September. It will air 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.
Bill Cavala, a veteran Democratic strategist, has a snickering suggestion to balance the budget: Turn the process over to an independent commission.
A critic of redistricting reform in general, and Proposition 11 in particular, Cavala writes:
We could have the State Auditor appoint a group of unknowledgeable citizens, five registered Republicans, five registered Democrats and four decline-to-state a party registrants. (This would practically guarantee the Commission would be older, richer homeowners and likely to be white. Adding the DTS registrants would lower the overall interest in government of the Commission.). The Commission would have the authority to pass a budget and raise or cut taxes by majority vote -- as long as at least three of the Democratic and Republican Commissioners agreed.
A failure to agree would send the budget to the Supreme Court, which would appoint a small group of staffers who would agree in private.
The beauty of this system is that it bypasses elections. No candidates standing for office midst adversarial proceedings. No messy contributions from groups and individuals with axes to grind. No pressures put on the Commission by voter blocs.
No partisan squabbling - remember, any disagreement sends the issue to the Courts.
Of course, this deep into the fiscal year without a budget, Cavala is hardly the only one with snide ideas. In the Santa Barbara Independent, Jerry Roberts, citing "sources close to my imagination," writes about the future of the standoff.
Sept. 15: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tries again to break the logjam, offering a new plan to boost revenue through "special user fees on Botox, body oil, and bikini waxes." Republicans and evangelical leaders promptly denounce the "beauty tax" proposal as "an ungodly effort to pass the metrosexual agenda."
Oct. 15: GOP leaders unveil new budget-cutting plan, saying the state can save billions by building new prisons adjacent to public high schools, so graduates can go directly to jail. "By incarcerating everyone at 18, we can save billions on higher education and get new efficiencies in our corrections system," says Assembly Leader Mike Villines. "It's a win-win for taxpayers."
Nov. 1: Arnold asks presidential candidates to suspend campaigning in order to mediate budget deadlock. Barack Obama begs off, saying he can't interrupt his Maui vacation, while John McCain says he will come "as soon as Governor Tree Hugger starts poking some holes in the sea bed." Paris Hilton releases a new YouTube campaign video; wearing 5-inch heels and a T-shirt reading. "I'm skinnier than Maria Shriver," she says she will come to Sacramento if she gets comped to party at Frank Fat's.
And one of those Republicans, Rep. John Campbell, is vying to head the Republican Study Committee, the influential House conservative caucus in Washington D.C. Orange County Register.
Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor and Sen. John McCain's vice presidential pick, is making waves in California. She's urging a veto on port legislation. And she's planning two end-of-the-month fundraisers and a massive rally planned in Orange County.
Palin will headline one fundraiser in the Bay Area, at the home of Stacey and Tom Siebel, and another in Orange County, at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.
Capitol Alert has posted the fundraisers here and here.
Chairs of the Bay Area event must pledge to raise or donate $50,000, which comes with two seats at the head table, one table of 10 for the luncheon and access to the "host committee reception" for six people with three photo ops.
In Orange County, co-chairs must pledge to give or raise $25,000.
At both events, the money will be divided as such: "The first $10,000 will go to the California state party's federal account, the next $28,500 will go to the RNC, the final $2,300 will go to the Compliance Fund."
Meanwhile, Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Palin won't just be buck-raking in the Golden State. GOP officials are planning a rally for as many as 15,000 in Orange County.
Finally, in today's Los Angeles Times, Patrick McGreevey reports that Palin penned a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- the day before her selection as the GOP vice presidential nominee -- urging him to veto legislation to impose a fee on cargo containers moving through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
"For Alaskans, a very large percentage of goods [90% or more] shipped to Alaska arrive as marine cargo in a container," she writes.
With the state budget stalemate 73 days old, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, has become the first lawmaker -- Democratic or Republican -- to officially endorse the budget compromise put forth by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The moderate Central Valley Democrat said, "I have decided to break ranks with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues. I am rejecting both sides' budget proposals and will vote for the taxpayers."
"It's time for someone to step across the partisan divide and on to responsible common ground. I am doing so, and I invite Democrats and Republicans to join me," she added.
The governor's office welcomed the move.
"The assemblywoman is right," said Aaron McLear, a Schwarzenegger spokesman. "Both Republicans and Democrats should step across the partisan divde to end this impasse."
But hours after issuing her initial statement, Galgiani issued a "clarification":
"Let me make it clear: I would support the Governor's budget proposal if it reached the floor of the Assembly. However, I remain confident that my Democratic colleagues will craft a budget in the next few days, and I will continue to stand with them to protect education and the taxpayers."
Schwarzenegger's spending plan is anchored by a three-year 1-cent sales tax hike. After three years, the tax would drop by 1.25 cents. The Schwarzenegger administration has pitched that aspect of the plan to Republicans as a "permanent tax cut."
The state Senate is set to met at noon Friday, though it is not clear if the upper house will consider the governor's plan.
Four budgets have been put up for votes; they all failed. Schwarzenegger has urged that his plan be put up for a vote.
Here's Galgiani's original statement, in full:
Today, I have decided to vote for taxpayers.
The Governor is asking for short-term pain in exchange for long-term gain.
I have decided to break ranks with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues. I am rejecting both sides' budget proposals and will vote for the taxpayers.
A short-term 3-year increase of 1 cent in the sales tax along with cuts in expenditures will get California out of this fiscal mess. This short-term increase will be followed by a long-term permanent reduction in sales taxes - 1/4 cent below today's sale tax rate.
On balance, taxpayers come out ahead and we can put California on a permanent path to lower taxes and more responsible budgeting.
The stalemate has grown stale. It's time for someone to step across the partisan divide and on to responsible common ground. I am doing so and I invite Democrats and Republicans to join me.
Photo Credit: Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee, August 2008
California's economy is continuing to slip, with five straight months of job losses, and state revenues are falling below projections, the state Department of Finance reported today in its monthly economic report.
August revenues were $124 million below the projections that the Department of Finance made in May when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a revised state budget. He's since proposed a third version of the budget, and he and state lawmakers are locked into a record-long stalemate on how to close a $15.2 billion deficit.
The economic bulletin noted that nine of the state's 11 major sectors shed jobs in July and the other two showed only small gains.
The new report is similar in tone to the one that Controller John Chiang released earlier in the week. It's
available here.
Education leaders held a news conference today to lament California's missing budget, saying the uncertainty of funding and the lack of certain checks being cut is hurting the state's students.
"Education is suffering," said Jack O'Connell, the state's superintendent of public instruction. "Our students are suffering."
The state budget is a record 73 days late. As a result, many bills are going unpaid, most notably for schools' categorical programs.
Speakers from various school unions said the uncertainty of funding had led to ballooning class sizes, as districts prepare for potential budget cuts, with more problems to come as more and more checks are withheld during the budget delay.
Worst of all, lawmakers seem nonplussed, said Bob Wells of the Association of California School Administrators.
"If you look at the fact that our doors are open and our students are showing up, teachers are showing up in the classrooms, you can get the impression that things are fine," said Wells. "This sense of relaxed attitude toward the budget that exists here in Sacramento somehow has to get shaken up."
The so-called Education Coalition has endorsed the Democratic budget plan floated by the leaders of the Assembly and Senate that would raise taxes on wealthy Californians. But that plan has found no traction in the Legislature.
The speakers invariably criticized the GOP budget plan that Democrats in both houses voted down this week.
"Republicans in the Legislature want to mortgage the future of our children," accused O'Connell, a Democrat.
Assembly Democrats have issued a report on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed August budget. Read it here. And here's a summary.
The state's correctional officers' union, meanwhile, filed a copy of the notice of intention to recall Schwarzenegger on Wednesday with the Secretary of State's Office, moving the process forward.
Anthony York at Capitol Weekly has more on the politics behind the recall:
"On one hand, the last seven governors have had recall papers served against them," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. "On the other hand, only the last two servers were really, really, really rich."
Gary Jeandron, a Republican Assembly candidate in AD 80, which includes Palm Springs, has endorsed Proposition 8. As Donald Lathbury at the California Majority Report writes, "A California Republican running for the Assembly is opposed to marriage equality. Typically I wouldn't waste my energy writing out that sentence."
But Jeandron's district is home to a large gay and lesbian population and his endorsement has already made the local news.
In another Assembly campaign, the FlashReport's Jon Fleischman says Democrats are increasingly targeting AD 10, the Sacramento-area seat currently held by Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi.
Finally, John Myers of KQED sat down with Schwarzenegger this week -- and he has posted the full audio of his interview on his blog.
Ever since the California Taxpayers' Association endorsed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget -- which includes a temporary 1-cent sales tax hike -- conservative Republicans have gone on the offensive to discredit the 82-year-old taxpayers organization.
The president of a rival taxpayer association said the group had been "rolled" by the governor.
A regional vice-chairman of the Republican Party mocked them as "TaxCal."
And on Tuesday, 31 of the 32 Assembly Republicans co-signed a letter blasting the group for making "a cynical political calculation" in supporting the governor's plan, which calls for the a permanent quarter-cent sales tax decrease after the three-year hike.
The board of Cal-Tax, as the group is known, voted 28-19 on Friday in favor of the governor's plan. Representatives of California's largest corporations dominate the group's board.
"As an association representing taxpayers, we have not arrived at our position lightly," said Teresa Casazza, president of the group, in a statement. The endorsement hinged on "meaningful budget reform" and an "economic stimulus plan" accompanying the tax plan, she said.
That, however, did not fly with GOP lawmakers.
"While your vote will not change our position on the ill-conceived tax increase," wrote the Assembly Republicans to Cal-Tax, "it will open the business community up to tax increase proposals that target your specific industries."
Schwarzenegger is trying to pry loose GOP support for his budget plan a record 72 days into the fiscal year. He met privately with Assembly Republicans on Tuesday and with Senate Republicans last Thursday.
But the governor's relationship with GOP lawmakers is icy, to say the least. In an interview with a German magazine this week, Schwarzenegger said of California Republican party leaders, "I have almost no contact with them. None -- because they're just so out there."
At Tuesday's meeting, Assembly Republicans wore name tags so Schwarzenegger could identify them.
Publicly, he's brandishing the Cal-Tax endorsement to urge them to support his plan. "It's time for legislators to follow the lead of Cal-Tax," he said in a statement Friday.
Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to discredit the group.
After the Cal-Tax vote, Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, wrote an op-ed accusing the business-backed group of being "rolled" by pressure from the Schwarzenegger administration.
"In the really tough political battles, they have rarely been there for working Californians," wrote Coupal, dredging up the group's opposition in 1978 to Proposition 13, which limited property taxes.
Calling the organization "the mouthpiece for corporate California," Coupal said "they squeal like a stuck pig if elected leaders propose tax increases on them", but "cave" to new taxes on everyday workers.
Jon Fleischman, a regional vice-chairman of the California Republican Party who published Coupal's column on the FlashReport, created a mirror site for the group: TaxCal.org.
"It speaks volumes about TaxCal (our new name for the group) that now, during a time when pro-taxpayer groups are rallying behind our strong Republican legislators, that they have broken ranks and embracing bigger, fatter state government," writes Fleischman. "This is exactly the time when you get to learn who are real taxpayer advocates, and who are not."
David Gilliard, a veteran California Republican strategist, said the divide between Cal-Tax and other Republicans has "been festering for a long time."
"They're fighting for whatever the Chamber of Commerce is fighting for," Gilliard said of Cal-Tax.
Representatives from Cal-Tax declined an interview. But Casazza, the organization's president, issued a long statement saying, "This one disagreement over a compromise budget plan does not change our commitment to fighting for taxpayers."
"We are now in our third month of the new fiscal year -- it's time for a compromise," she said.
As for the Democrats, they are mostly standing on the sidelines, though most hope GOP lawmakers eventually embrace a temporary tax hike.
"My standard political philosophy has always been when your opponents are beating each other to smithereens, don't intervene," said Garry South, a Democratic strategist. "Just stand there and watch."
Five California members of Congress dot the list of the "most corrupt" lawmakers in Washington, according to the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
This year, just as last year, California has more members on the list than any other state in the union.
Last year, the Californians included were Republican Reps. Ken Calvert, John Doolittle, Duncan Hunter, Jerry Lewis and Gary Miller.
Hunter, who is retiring, didn't make this year's list.
But Rep. Laura Richardson, whose housing and financial woes have been heavily covered, made the cut. She is one of only seven Democrats among the 24 lawmakers the group identified.
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra may have been in the political news in August, after she was tossed from the Capitol for bucking the Democratic leadership.
But she's in the men's magazine news in September, with Maxim, that bulwark publication of scantily-clad women, naming the Hanford Democrat as one of "the world's hottest politicians."
Parra snagged the #4 slot on the list, finishing two spots behind would-be GOP VP Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.
"Nicole has the looks to mask her ferocious bite., Maxim says. "She recently gave her party the ol' eff you after refusing to vote for a Democratic budget bill that screwed her hometown out of a better water supply. Her punishment? The assembly speaker has now moved her office out of the Capitol building. (If you need a desk, Nikki, we have one for you!)"
Parra is one of two California electeds to make the list. Republican Rep. Mary Bono ranked seventh. Maxim on Bono:
"She's been nothing less than a maverick in the House, voting with her party on economic and education issues and against it on issues of LGBT and stem cell research. Ah hell, we're even willing to give her a pass for sticking with Sonny Bono despite the knowledge that he'd been in Cher for six years."
Speaking of Parra, Capitol Alert reported back on August 18 that her remaining legislation was put on hold following her refusal to vote on the Democratic budget proposal.
Well, at the end of session she ended up with one bill (AB 994) passing with her name on it.
One resolution (ACR 114) was amended to strip her as the author. The same thing happened to AB 856.
Photo credit: AP photo, Casey Christie, December 2003
Here is the text of the recall petition the California Correctional Peace Officers Association filed today against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE RECALL PETITION
TO THE HONORABLE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: Pursuant to the California
Constitution and Section 11020, California Elections Code, the undersigned registered qualified voters of the State of California hereby give notice that we are the proponents of a recall petition ( and that we intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of Governor of the State of California and to demand election of a successor in that office.
The grounds for the recall are as follows:
Catastrophic leadership failings and inept management, including, but not limited to, repeated acts of untrustworthiness, gross fiscal mismanagement jeopardizing funding for schools, infrastructure, public safety and other essential services; reckless borrowing, saddling taxpayers and future generations of Californians with billions of dollars in new debt; breaking your promise to "cut up the credit cards" and oppose new taxes; failure to reform California's correctional system, causing a federal takeover of prison health care and costing taxpayers an estimated $8 billion; using state workers as "scapegoats" for your leadership failure and threatening their rights and financial wellbeing; soliciting and accepting special interest money at levels never before seen in California history'; betraying voter trust and mortgaging our children's future; and leaving California in far worse shape than before your election.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would consider working in a McCain or Obama administration, though not before his term ends as governor. Fred Thompson delivered a speech written for Schwarzenegger at the GOP national convention. And the governor doesn't know how much money Maria Shriver has.
Those are among the many tidbits we learned from an interview the governor had with Der Spiegel, the German magazine.
Not that it is much of a surprise, but the governor's relationship with California Republicans is strained, to say the least.
"Think about the Republicans from California that are running the party. I have almost no contact with them. None -- because they're just so out there," Schwarzenegger said, when speaking about the "hard-core individuals" that attend party conventions.
The governor missed out on the St. Paul festivities, but passed his speech along to former GOP presidential candidate and fellow actor Fred Thompson. "The speech I would have given is the one that Fred Thompson gave," the governor said. "I gave him my speech because I did not go to the convention."
He called Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin a "feisty" and "good looking woman" who was "entertaining to watch."
And you can take the actor out of Hollywood, but you can't stop him from glancing at the box office statistics.
Schwarzenegger, who once scolded California Republicans as "dying at the box office," said of Palin, "She had 37 million people watching her -- almost as many as Obama during his convention speech. That means that McCain has made a fantastic choice."
Asked about Sen. John McCain's recent gaffe about not knowing how many homes he owns, Schwarzenegger said, "I don't know how much money Maria has from her family and I can care less. That's not on my radar, so to speak."
Of Barack Obama's candidacy, the governor thinks "It's incredible that a black man has the chance to become president of the United States."
"When I came to this country, blacks still had to sit in the back of the bus, and when I went to the bar to get a drink, there was still a different section of the bar that was for blacks," he said.
On taking a post in a McCain or Obama administration:
"Yes I could imagine that, but the only thing I cannot imagine is leaving Sacramento and leaving it to someone who would replace me. I have a plan of what I want to accomplish by the time I'm finished and that to me is more important -- fulfilling that dream and that promise -- than taking on any position in Washington."
As for political campaigns, the governor said they are very rarely about the issues.
"People will remember some funny lines; people will remember some attacks or funny things that happens."
Photo credit: AP Photo, Rich Pedroncelli, September 8, 2008
Although the state's revenues dipped below expectations in August, state Controller John Chiang says the state will have enough cash to meet its current legal obligations through October, even if the state budget stalemate continues.
Chiang released the monthly cash flow report today as the state Assembly pondered votes on one or more of the competing budget plans.
Personal income taxes came in $79 million under projections in August and sales taxes were $335 million below projections, Chiang reported, while corporate taxes were $41 million above expectations.
Although Chiang can make some payments, including the state payroll, others, especially to medical care providers, cannot be made without a budget in place. Chiang said he held up payments totaling $4.25 billion in July and August and without a budget cannot make $7.6 billion in payments this month.
"While August receipts were lower than expected, the state will still have sufficient cash to make its payments through most of October," Chiang said. "However, this record-breaking stalemate is pushing child care providers, nursing homes and small business owners dangerously close to their breaking point."
Two Sacramento Republicans are among the principles in a new independent effort that hopes to air TV ads to pump up the campaign of Sen. John McCain and undercut the bid of Sen. Barack Obama.
Of course, that's not quite how they'd put it, but the New York Sun reports:
The organization's slick Web site includes a 30-second video (click on "MEDIA") that shows images of war and misery around the world as an announcer gravely warns of the dangers of putting America in untested hands.
"It's not always the world we dream of. It can be belligerent and unpredictable, where an unsure response can have lasting consequences for generations," the announcer says over a montage that includes a plane crashing into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and video of an American flag fluttering at the gutted site after the terrorist attacks. "No matter how eloquently spoken, hoping for change won't change the world. Only the strength of experience can do that."
A hat tip to Frank Russo of the California Progress Report, who pointed out the New York Sun article on the "Leadership for America's Future" organization.
Among the California Republicans involved are GOP strategist Ray McNally and GOP attorney Tom Hiltachk. The group is organized as a federal 527 committee, meaning it can air political ads, but can't expressly argue for a particular candidate.
From the Sun:
One of the partners in that firm, Raymond McNally, told The New York Sun last night that no solid funding was lined up for the so-called 527 group. "We wanted to get this up and running, have something for people to look at and kick the tires," Mr. McNally said. He said he was inspired to start the group after traveling to Iraq and Israel earlier this year.
"I came back believing the election is about how we conduct ourselves internationally. There's a lot at stake because countries like Iran are sitting there and are not going to be happy until they incinerate Israel," Mr. McNally said. "It's not just domestic issues that will decide America's future."
Hiltachk made an appearance on the national radar screen last year for his role in pushing a would-have-been California ballot measure to apportion the state's electoral votes by congressional district.
Democrats decried the move as a partisan ploy to break up the winner-take-all system in a state where Democratic presidential candidates have won since 1992.
The measure was officially abandoned this February.
If you watched Sen. Abel Maldonado's speech during last week's Republican National Convention, one thing, besides his fiery rhetoric and larger-than-expected gestures, stood out: He was chewing gum.
The Internal Affairs column of the San Jose Mercury News is on the case:
Maldonado, whose district runs from Santa Maria to Saratoga, sheepishly confirmed the sticky situation two days after his big speech. He explained it like this: In the minutes before his speaking role, Maldonado was pacing nervously backstage while listening to Mexican crooner Marco Antonio Solis on his iPod. Maldonado's mouth was getting dry, and he didn't have water, so he put a stick of gum in his mouth.
"I couldn't take it out once I was up there," Maldonado said. "I made a mistake," he added, invoking a phrase rarely used by politicians.
But then, it's not like this was the first time Maldonado chewed his way through a big event -- Maldonado's chewing habit also was on prominent display next to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a televised news conference near the Summit fire in May.
The California Chamber of Commerce today declared its opposition to a $9.95 billion bond issue on the Nov. 4 ballot to begin building a high-speed rail system, saying it would be too costly.
"There are other projects that mitigate congestion that should be a high priority," chamber president Allan Zaremberg said in announcing the business organization's opposition to Proposition 1A.
It's a rare break for the chamber from Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed the proposed "bullet train" that would link the northern and southern portions of the state.
The chamber did, however, endorse another Schwarzenegger-backed measure on the November ballot, Proposition 11, which would remove legislative redistricting from the Legislature's purview and give it to an independent commission, saying it would make the Legislature "accountable to the voters."
Proposition 11 is drawing heavy opposition from Democratic politicians, who saying it would be a Republican power grab.
Other CalChamber ballot measure positions:
--Proposition 2, which would impose new standards for treatment of farm animals, oppose.
--Proposition 3, a bond act to refurbish and expand children's hospitals, support.
--Proposition 5, a measure to reduce imprisonment of nonviolent offenders, oppose.
--Proposition 6, the "Safe Neighborhoods Act," neutral.
--Proposition 7, a measure to encourage solar energy, oppose.
--Proposition 10. a measure to encourage alternative energy, oppose.
--Proposition 12, a bond issue for veterans home loans, support.
The chamber took no position on Proposition 4, which would require parental notification before a minor obtains an abortion; Proposition 8, which would reinstate a California law barring marriage between same-sex couples; and Proposition 9, aimed at blocking releases of prison inmates before their terms are served.
With the state's prison guards union threatening to launch a recall, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he would not be intimidated by the union.
"I will not be intimidated by anybody that is demanding more money than the state can afford and that demands deals more than the state is wanting to give," Schwarzenegger said. "So the prison guard union is not going to intimidate me with their kind of action."
"This is a different governor sitting here," he added. "I will not get intimidated."
Schwarzenegger was swept into the California governorship four years and eleven months ago in a dramatic recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis.
Davis' close relationship with labor unions, including the CCPOA, was one Schwarzenegger's critiques of the then-governor.
"The money comes in, favors go out, the people lose," Schwarzenegger famously said.
Schwarzenegger political adviser Adam Mendelsohn harkened back to that theme, issuing a stinging statement, accusing the CCPOA of "selfish tactics worthy of a schoolyard bully."
"It should not be forgotten that prior to the Governor's election this very same union used their money and influence to buy a 37 percent raise at a time when the economy was faltering and the state was struggling to make ends meet," Mendelsohn said. "When he came into office, the Governor put an end to those days and because the Governor has stood firm, CCPOA has resorted these types of heavy-handed ploys to buy off and coerce our leaders into doing their bidding."
Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said on Monday the union was beginning the process to recall Schwarzenegger.
"We are 100 percent committed and we've never been shy about investing in our commitments," Corcoran said.
After clearing several legal hurdles, the union would likely have to dedicate more than $1 million to gather the 1,041,530 signatures to qualify a recall for the ballot.
Corcoran insisted the recall "is not about money." The state's correctional officers have been working without a long-term contract for more than two years.
"We recognize that the state is in horrible financial straits," Corcoran added, saying the union would be wiling to put off raises in exchange for improved working conditions. "Our prisons are horribly overcrowded."
The son of Assemblywoman Anna Caballero was arrested in late August for the armed robbery of a Salinas cell phone store.
Miguel Martin Urgana, 22, is currently in jail facing charges that include two counts of second-degree robbery, use of a firearm, commercial burglary and attempted carjacking, according to the Salinas Californian.
The paper got in touch with Caballero, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Youth Violence Prevention, about the arrest on Friday.
"In terms of Miguel, he is my son, he is my adopted son," Caballero told the paper. "That's true."
But the former Salinas mayor, who is also an attorney, said she has no intention of playing a formal role in her son's legal defense or using her political position to help him in any way.
"I love my son, but he is in a lot of trouble right now, and he is going to have to face the music," she said. "My heart goes out to the victims."
Juan Uranga said agrees with his wife. He said a lot of people are ready to help his son when he is ready.
"Before you can help any body that person has to want to help him or herself," Juan Uranga said. "I know he is in trouble and I hope he does the right thing."
...
Caballero said she and her husband adopted Miguel when he was one, but he hasn't lived with them for many years.
"I haven't had any communication or seen him for a long time, over a year," she said.
Caballero said that she "assume(s) he'll be appointed a public defender and they will be in communication with me, but I haven't received any communication."
She said she's interested in helping her son overcome his problems - but only if he wants her help and is willing to take responsibility for his life.
"I'd like to see what he is willing to do to help himself, and then I will be there as a parent," Caballero said. "I emphasize as a parent, not as an Assembly member or as a lawyer."
In addition to her post as chair of the Select Committee on Youth Violence Prevention, Caballero's biography on her official Assembly Web site says before coming to Sacramento she "served as the Executive Director of Partners for Peace, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the community together to prevent gang violence and focus on literacy, early childhood education, and providing services to families."
Under pressure -- including from California lawmakers -- America's leading women's professional golf association dropped its proposed policy to force players to speak English.
First proposed at the end of August, the policy drew immediate criticism from Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley, who said, "This decision sends the wrong message to our young people."
Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, the chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, jumped in with some snide words.
Meanwhile Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, sought a legal opinion on whether the policy would violate federal law.
On Friday, the tour relented on the policy, which had been called discriminatory.
"The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy," said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens in a statement. "We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions. After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008."
The American Civil Liberties Union reported donating $1.2 million to defeat Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, on the November ballot.
The $1.2 million donation is the single largest check written to the campaign, though Equality California, a gay-rights group, and the Human Rights Campaign, a similar group, have bundled more total donations.
"So thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude," a bikini-clad Hilton says in the ad. "And I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead."
Now, NIck Leibham, a long-shot Democratic challenger hoping to unseat GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray, compares the incumbent congressman and the blonde celebrity.
The ad first hit the airwaves in San Diego on Thursday night, right before McCain's convention speech.
"What do Brian Bilbray and Paris Hilton have in common?" the ad asks. "Well, they both do nothing."
It's not the sexiest committee under the dome, but as of December it will be Tony Mendoza's. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass announced Thursday that the Los Angeles Democrat will be the next chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña is the current chair. She is the new assistant speaker pro tem.
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped legislators Wednesday for taking time off despite the budget crisis, or earning per diem while making no progress on a deal, there's one thing he forgot to mention:
The governor squeezed in three fundraising events last week -- two in Sacramento, one in the Bay Area -- despite the state's failure to pass a spending plan more than two months after the start of the fiscal year.
Money raised from the events will support the governor's legislative and ballot initiative agenda, including a November ballot measure to alter how the state's political districts are drawn, spokeswoman Julie Soderlund said.
But Schwarzenegger canceled plans to appear this week at the Republican National Convention and he is "100 percent focused on getting the budget done," Soderlund said.
"He has canceled out-of-state travel plans, and he's been in Sacramento, focused on getting the budget done," she added. "He hopes that lawmakers will (engage) in that process with him."
Soderlund said the governor's compromise proposal -- anchored by a 1-cent sales tax increase that would fall to below current levels after three years -- is a sensible proposal that "takes ideas from both parties and moves the discussion forward."
"It's unacceptable to the governor that more than 60 days after the start of the fiscal year, there's not a budget in place," she said. "And he's focused on that."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today praised Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech to the GOP convention Wednesday night, saying she "hit the ball out of the park."
Schwarzenegger was asked for his reaction during a news conference in Burbank in which he once again demanded that the Legislature end its weeks-long stalemate on a state budget. He was accompanied by law enforcement and health care representatives who said the budget delay is disrupting vital services.
Schwarzenegger called Palin, the governor of Alaska, "a straight 10" and "a great contribution to the ticket."
Regular bills (not urgent) chaptered into law by Oct. 2 can take effect on Jan. 1. After that, bills signed by the governor as late as Nov. 30 may still be able to take effect -- but not until a year later, Jan. 1, 2010.
"There is a scenario where that could occur," said Dotson Wilson, the Assembly chief clerk. "At this point that has only been discussed in theory."
On the same topic, Anthony York of Capitol Weekly reports that "confusion deepens," though he reprints the relevant code sections of the state Constitution.
GOP political strategist Mike Murphy, who served as an adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. John McCain, was caught disparaging the pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as vice president in off-the-cuff -- and Murphy thought off-the-air -- remarks on MSNBC.
In a segment with conservative columnist Peggy Noonan and NBC commentator Chuck Todd, Murphy said of the pick, "You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical."
As for Noonan, who had written in a column Wednesday that "the Sarah Palin choice is really going to work, or really not going to work," she said, "The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and (inaudible) the picture."
Noonan later apologized and explained herself -- sort of -- on the Wall Street Journal's Web site.
Following are the prepared remarks that Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, made to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.
Good evening. Ladies and gentlemen, these are times of consequence.
As America steers her course into the 21st century, our choices have never mattered more.
Will we continue to compete and lead in the global economy? Will we create more jobs here at home?
Will we educate our children for the rigors of this new century and will we prepare our workers to remain the best and most productive in the world?
Will we power our economy and still protect our environment? Will we defeat our enemies and strengthen our alliances with other democracies?
Will we demand that government be both more efficient and more responsive? Will we demand that citizens keep more of their money and make more of their own choices, or will we decide that government bureaucracies know better than Americans and their families?
The choice America makes this November doesn't just echo for four or eight years, but will reverberate for many years to come.
In this historic election we have a clear choice between two very different governing philosophies. But we also have a choice between rhetoric and promises and a life-long commitment to service and reform.
You have heard the stories of John McCain's life, but consider for a moment how truly remarkable his life has been.
His love of country has been tested in ways few among us can imagine. He has demonstrated his maverick spirit time and again, and his appetite for reform is unmatched. He has always reached his hand across the aisle to move our country forward.
And it is the sum total of all these experiences and all these tests of leadership that have made John McCain who he is and prepared him for the presidency.
We must elect a leader with the courage and resolve to do the tough things and the character and wisdom to do the right things.
That leader is John McCain.
I know John McCain. He understands that government's highest calling is to unlock and unleash the determination, creativity and potential of every single American.
He believes that every American should have an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream.
He believes that people should be freed and empowered to make their own choices.
John McCain believes that all institutions of power and wealth - whether they are government agencies or global corporations - must be both transparent and accountable to those they serve.
Today, Americans are concerned about keeping their jobs, about keeping their homes, about the rising price of food and fuel.
They are concerned about whether they will be able to find or afford the right health care.
They are concerned about whether they or their children will have the skills and education they need to compete in the 21st century. They wonder whether government will stand by their side or get in their way.
I know John McCain. And if we make the right choice, in 2013, American families will keep more of their hard-earned money. Small and large businesses alike will be creating jobs here and spurring robust economic growth, because America will once again be a great place to build a business.
Workers will be able to seek retraining to ensure they have the latest skills.
John McCain will simplify the tax code and reduce the tax burden.
Innovation and entrepreneurship will be rewarded.
He will empower individuals and companies to create wealth, opportunities and jobs.
American families will have real choices about how to ensure their children receive a quality education. They will have real choices and access to affordable health care.
I know John McCain.
And in 2013, America will be more energy independent because of his determination that we must power our own country and his long-standing commitment to protecting our environment.
He will create a cap-and-trade system that will encourage the development of alternative energy sources.
He will help advance clean coal technology and nuclear power. And all this will both create jobs and lower the cost of energy.
I know John McCain. He will demand that the federal government be transparent and accountable to the American people.
In his first year in office, he will subject every government agency to a top to bottom review and post the results on the Internet for all Americans to see.
He will eliminate wasteful spending, veto bills laden with pork, and achieve a balanced budget by 2013.
Many people talk about changing Washington.
John McCain has the knowledge, the guts, and now in Sarah Palin, the partner he needs to actually get it done.
I know John McCain.
I have seen him with our wounded veterans, far away from the cameras.
I have seen his eyes fill with tears of gratitude for their service.
He knows the cost of war in a deeply personal way, and as both a son and a father of warriors.
He knows that our liberties and our freedoms only come with the sacrifice of brave men and women.
John McCain will bring our troops home with victory and with honor.
He will not negotiate with brutality, and he will never shrink from calling evil and aggression by their names.
John McCain has the courage of his convictions and the wisdom to act on them.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to say:
I know John McCain. I am proud to support him.
As a woman, I support him because I know he values the contribution of women to our families and communities, to our economy, and to the governing and protection of our nation.
As a business-person, I support him because I know his programs will strengthen small business, foster growth and create jobs.
As a Republican, I support him because I think he embodies both the best traditions and the bright future of our party.
Most of all, I support him as an American.
Electing John McCain is the choice we must make.
We are choosing a leader of courage and resolve, character and wisdom. He will do the tough things, and he will do the right things.
He is the choice we must make for our families. He is the choice we must make for our nation.
And he is the choice we must make for the next generation.
Following are the prepared remarks that Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and rumored 2010 GOP candidate for governor, made to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.
Good evening, and thank you for your kind welcome.
It's an enormous privilege to speak to you tonight. As a young girl growing up on Long Island, as a wife and mother who raised two boys in my beautiful home state of California, and even as president and CEO of a Fortune 500 company, I never dreamed I'd have the honor of speaking to my fellow Americans at such a critical moment in our nation's history.
When I was growing up, opportunities for women were still limited.
When I went to college and graduate school, I lived in environments that had just recently admitted women, and were still getting used to having us around.
And when I began my business career, female executives were still a novelty.
Many of our male colleagues questioned whether we'd make it. But my parents, especially my mom, inspired me.
She'd constantly remind me that I could be anything I wanted to be, I just had to earn it.
Mom believed in me, as any mother does.
She also believed in America.
She knew if I worked hard and delivered the results, I would succeed in this remarkable nation.
And so, from an early age, I was an optimist about America.
America is a nation fueled by freedom, with an abiding sense of justice and fairness, guided by the spirit that we should all have the opportunity to achieve our greatest dreams.
And I am a Republican because our party understands that America's success - the success of her people - comes not from the size of its government, but from the character of its citizens, the strength of its communities, and the nobility and truth of its ideals.
Tonight delegates from this convention will choose our nominee.
We are proudly the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan - and today, we are proudly the party of John McCain.
I've known Senator McCain for several years.
And the more I've gotten to know John, the more my admiration for him has grown.
John's pride in America and his belief in its spirit are electrifying.
And I can say with certainty that when he's sitting in the Oval Office - in every decision he makes - President McCain will put his country first.
For John, putting country first is the calling of a lifetime.
He lives by a code of honor unmatched by anyone in American politics.
And on the most important duty we place on a president - John is more prepared to lead than any person in America.
America faces enormous challenges abroad - but we also face great challenges here at home.
It would be foolish to deny what we all know to be true.
Our economy is struggling and Americans are hurting. We live in a time of economic anxiety and hardships.
The cost of everything from gasoline to groceries to health care has gone up, while the value of our homes and our investments has gone down.
Mortgages once thought to be safe are now threatened, and industries that were once strong are now dying. Since John began his campaign he's heard the concern in your voices and your stories - the stories of hardworking Americans who believe that politicians are out of touch and out of ideas. That may be true of some politicians, but it's not true of John McCain. John's a different breed.
He understands hardship in a way that few of us have ever known.
And, as he has shown this week in supporting the great people of the Gulf States, he has a unique ability to identify with those who face their own struggles.
Most important of all, Senator McCain and Governor Sarah Palin - the real agents of change in this campaign - have solutions for the challenges we face.
In its first 100 days, a McCain administration will put this nation on a path toward energy independence.
John is a man with extraordinary determination - and he will use that quality to push relentlessly for the right energy policies - from lifting the ban on offshore drilling, to building more nuclear reactors, to promoting conservation and alternative forms of energy.
Energy independence will stop massive amounts of money from going to our enemies abroad; it will lower gas prices at home; and it will reduce the harm to our planet's climate.
Energy independence must be our generation's moon shot - and John McCain and Sarah Palin will lead us in that historic effort.
Senator McCain and Governor Palin will also lead us in another vital effort: lowering your taxes.
In his first 100 days in office, they will put forward proposals to double the size of the child tax exemption, putting more money in your pockets.
They will push Congress to reduce business taxes, so that entrepreneurs and especially small business have the money they need to expand and create jobs.
They will offer tax incentives to every individual and family in America to buy health insurance.
And John McCain and Sarah Palin will simplify our mind-numbing tax code, so that filling out your taxes is not a dreaded annual nightmare.
Our Democratic opponents view raising taxes as the measure of their compassion and fairness.
John understands the truth.
Higher taxes encourage wasteful spending, demonstrate government's inability to choose among competing priorities, and destroy your prosperity.
As president, John McCain will be guided by the simple beliefs that having worked long hours to earn your money, you should keep more of it; and that government shouldn't spend more than it takes in.
The same kind of frank, common-sense conversations every American family has - about the need to balance the checkbook, living within your means, and tightening the belt during hard times - are the conversations John will have with members of Congress.
Now, Republicans know that John's solutions rest on a set of principles that are true and tested and enduring.
Foremost among them is his belief that there is no challenge that cannot be overcome by individual freedom.
Government has a vital role to play in the life of our country. And it should be effective and efficient in meeting those fundamental responsibilities.
But Republicans understand that government does not create wealth or prosperity - individuals do.
America is all about the inspired individual - men and women who are free to pursue dreams and ambitions in a society that encourages creativity, industry, advancement, and risk-taking.
John McCain doesn't want to tax success and achievement, he wants to encourage it.
He doesn't want to redistribute our national wealth, he wants to increase it.
He doesn't want more big government, he wants much more self-government.
John McCain understands that you know what's best for your money, your family, your community, and your life.
John's principles run like a golden thread throughout our history.
This has made America's story the greatest and proudest and most hopeful of any in history.
Make no mistake - Americans today face tough challenges.
Sometimes there is a temptation for us, having borne freedom's burden for so long, to grow tired.
But when Americans have faced their greatest hardships, they have written history's greatest chapters.
We're going to do so again.
The solutions to the problems of our time are found in the ingenuity, spirit, determination, and decency of the American people.
All we need is a leader who recognizes this and who can, by virtue of his character and his love of country, call us to do great things.
When the American people cast their vote for the candidate they believe can best protect our nation, restore our standing in the world, and expand prosperity and opportunity to every willing heart, they will do as they have done in the past - they will put country first.
They will choose John McCain as our next president.
Following are the prepared remarks that state Sen. Abel Maldonado made to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.
Buenos noches, ladies and gentlemen.
My father, the man I admire most in the world, came to America in 1966 with nothing.
He worked in the fields where he met my mother.
Today, they have a farm on which our whole family works.
We do not get one penny of crop subsidies.
The highest grade my father completed was fourth grade.
But there's also an education that comes from working with your hands in the dirt.
My father knows more about economics than Senator Obama does with his degrees from all those fancy schools.
My father would be a very good teacher for him.
My father knows first-hand about the basics of economics.
We were sharecroppers.
Growing up, that's how we lived and survived.
The tax increases put forth by Barack Obama would take a bigger share of people's labor than the landowner takes from the sharecropper.
That is not right.
That's not right.
We must never become a nation of sharecroppers for the government.
Yet you've heard from Senator Obama himself all the massive amounts of new spending he plans.
To get the money, he says he will tax the rich.
There aren't that many rich!
Watch out, America, when someone says he's going to tax the rich, you can always bet the middle class will get hit.
When you try to soak the rich, the poor and the middle class get wet.
My father could also teach Senator Obama about growth and prosperity.
After years working for other people, my father started with one-half acre of strawberries of his own.
Today, he exports strawberries and broccoli and lettuce all over the world.
Yet Barack Obama wants to erect trade barriers.
On top of high gas prices, on top of the rising cost-of-living, putting a tariff on foreign goods will increase the price of the products we buy at the store.
That is basically a tax on working people.
I don't think the people who shop at Wal-Mart consider themselves rich.
Senator Obama, come work on our farm.
Come get your hands dirty with real work.
And, on your break sitting in the shade of my father's pick-up truck, he will teach you about economics.
I think you will be a very fast learner.
Finally.
When I was young, my father would put our family's bank savings book in the middle of the kitchen table and say to us,
"You see this little book? This is how much we have in the bank. It doesn't have much money in it today, but it will grow because we have strong values. We respect hard work. And we have good credit."
An America of strong values that respects hard work and good credit is the America of my father, and it is the America of John McCain.
John McCain believes in encouraging hard work, not taxing it.
John McCain believes in opening markets, not closing them.
You know, John McCain and my father would be good amigos.
Ladies and gentlemen, viva the immigrant story.
Viva the America of my father.
Viva the America of the next president of the United States, El Presidente John McCain.
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura is in St. Paul covering the Republican National Convention. And so far he's spotted at least three California lawmakers making their rounds there: Sen. Dick Ackerman, Assemblyman Van Tran and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garica.
Also in Yamamura's convention notebook blog: all the tribes paying for convention events, and just how far away the delegates' hotel is.
Meanwhile, KQED's John Myers is also in St. Paul and has posted this fun video of all the swag that delegates get to take home, including, believe it or not, GOP Kraft Macaroni and Cheese:
Peter Sperling, the son of John Sperling, an Arizona billionaire and founder of the University of Phoenix, contributed another $2.5 million this week to push for a ballot measure to expand renewable energy production in California, bringing his total giving to $5.5 million.
Sperling is the biggest donor to the Yes on Proposition 7 campaign, which qualified for the November ballot largely on the strength of the Arizonan's wallet.
The measure would require the state's utility companies to generate at least half of their power from renewable resources, such as wind and solar, by 2025. Under current law, utilities must produce 20 percent of energy from renewables by 2010.
The Proposition 7 campaign could well be the most expensive on the ballot, with the billionaire Sperlings on one side and the deep-pocketed utility companies, such as PG&E and Southern California Edison, on the other.
Those two companies have already deposited more than $27 million to defeat the measure.
Read more about the utilities' opposition and the environmental groups siding with them in this Capitol Alert story from July.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today rejected the idea of a temporary spending measure while the budget debate continues.
"We cannot afford a temporary fix," he said in a letter to legislative leaders. "Legislators should not be devising band-aid solutions like continuing appropriations."
See the full letter here:
Dear Speaker Bass, Senator Perata, Mr. Villines and Senator Cogdill,
It is irresponsible not to have a budget more than two months into the fiscal year and 80 days past the legislative deadline. California is now headed into unknown territory, but what we do know is that some state checks will not be cut and that state services will be impacted.
We cannot afford a temporary fix. Legislators should not be devising band-aid solutions like continuing appropriations. What legislators should be focused on is passing a budget - the best way to ensure that state payments are made.
This delay in the Legislature could cost California more than a billion dollars, because we are losing another month of budget solutions included in the compromise budget I proposed. Assembly Bill 207 would require the state to take out a short-term loan that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars - maybe more than a half-billion - and would dig our budget hole that much deeper and make our cash situation that much worse.
The best way forward is to vote on and approve the compromise budget I proposed two weeks ago.
With no deal in sight, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has cancelled plans for an Assembly floor session on Wednesday, instead opting to hold a hearing on the Republican budget proposal.
The budget committee hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., her office reports, with the Legislative Analyst's Office and the Department of Finance invited to attend.
Billionaire liberal financier George Soros has donated another $400,000 backing the ballot measure that would loosen penalties and expand rehabilitation programs for nonviolent drug offenders in California.
The $400,000 donation comes on top of the $1 million Soros gave earlier this year to Proposition 5.
The Nov. 4 ballot measure would lessen the charge for marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction, expand drug treatment programs in the state and overhaul parole laws.
Soros has played a financial role in at least two other past California ballot campaigns, giving $1 million to Proposition 36, the successful 2000 drug treatment initiative, and nearly $500,000 to pass the state's medical marijuana law in 1996.
The No on 5 campaign has raised little more so far -- reporting roughly $20,000 in contributions -- though it has received the high-profile support of actor Martin Sheen, best known in the political world for playing the president on the "West Wing" TV series.
Sheen's son, actor Charlie Sheen, has faced drug abuse problems.
"Fighting drug addiction is an issue that is very close to my heart," the elder Sheen said in a statement released by the campaign. I believe in rehabilitation and not incarceration. But successful rehabilitation needs accountability and so often demands direct intervention in the life of someone who is addicted to drugs, rather than waiting for them to seek treatment 'when they are ready.' "
Sheen hasn't donated to the No on 5 effort, according to state records, but he will serve a co-chairman of the campaign.
In the last crazed days of session, bills are often gutted and amended -- sometimes even without the knowledge of the purported author.
Apparently Assemblyman Lloyd Levine and his staff were sick of responding to questions about AB 1400 (which was gutted with Levine added as the author on Aug. 29) and AB 1489 (which was gutted with Levine added as the author on Aug. 28).
So they put up the sign seen above on the office door in the waning days of session. "We know nothing," they pleaded.
The 2008 budget impasse in the Legislature is the latest in California history, with today marking Day 64 of the fiscal year without lawmakers approving a spending plan.
Here is a roundup of responses from media-types, bloggers, lawmakers and lobbyists, about what the stalemate means and when it might end.
"Like Michael Phelps," says Health AccessAnthony Wright of the record. "Except not."
Joe Mathews of the New America Foundation sees a "doomsday scenario" plotted by GOP lawmakers.
"The party is already terribly unpopular in the state. There's little hope of any change in that. Nearly all of the Republican legislators are insulated from being kicked out of office in November by a gerrymander. And Republicans have little hope of gaining any new seats from Democrats because of the same gerrymander," he writes. "Republicans already have thrown their best-known, best-liked politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger, under the bus, all but dismissing him as a Democrat. The California GOP is stuck at the bottom of the pit. So why not blow up the state? There's nowhere to go but up."
Meanwhile Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his staff are preparing for a protracted fight that could reach into the fall, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"The governor's office held a meeting last week with two former state finance directors and former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte, seeking advice on how to make it to November or beyond without a budget," the paper reported on Monday/
Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, says its a fight amongst Democrats, not just the GOP vs. Democratic lawmakers.
"The budget sides are almost as equally polarized between the Assembly and Senate Dems themselves as it is a Reep vs Dem thing. Now with the 'distractions' behind us of the Dem convention and the deadline for legislation, with the 2 houses holding the others bills hostage, exchanging a few at a time each day, the budget should be the only focus," LaMalfa writes on the FlashReport.
The Assembly is set to met on Wednesday, but "I don't see an agreement that soon," says LaMalfa.
Senate leader Don Perata is blaming the governor for failing to corral GOP votes.
"It's very difficult when a two-thirds majority requires Republican votes that a Republican governor can't get," Perata told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is a compromise, but (Schwarzenegger) is going to have to enforce that compromise."
The governor, meanwhile, wants his August budget plan put up for vote.
"Since Sen. Perata's budget failed and the Republican budget is likely to fail, leaders in both parties should put the governor's compromise budget up for a vote," said Lisa Page, a Schwarzenegger spokesman, also told The Chronicle. "It is a fair, middle-of-the-road compromise and he would sign it today."
As for the governor's threat to veto all bills if there's no budget, Anthony York of Capitol Weekly muses in The Roundup, "Wouldn't that just be incentive for Republicans to hold out until the end of the month?"
"If you had any doubt this whole process is an immature circus, that should just about eliminate it," concludes Brian Joseph, a reporter for the Orange County Register. "This is nuts."
Shane Goldmacher and The Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get e-mail alerts for breaking news, as well as exclusive previews of Capitol happenings and stories in tomorrow's Bee.
