California Insider

With the latest of many supposed deadlines approaching Friday, the word out of the Capitol is that the legislative language on the close-to-done workers comp bills will materialize sometime late tonight. Conference committee hearings could be held as early as Wednesday, with floor votes by Thursday. Many Republicans still fear that the Dems will try to jam the governor with bills that don’t fully reflect the terms of their deal, such as it is. But others say Schwarzenegger, having apparently gathered enough signatures to place his measure on the ballot, seems prepared to walk away if the final shape of the legislation doesn’t match what he thinks the parties have agreed to. It’s not clear that this deadline is any more real that previous ones. But the talk around the Capitol has the feel of reality this time around, a sense that this deal has to finally come together in the next couple of days or not at all.

The Finance Department report on March revenues is in, and it's got some dramatic news, in both directions. Income tax receipts were $314 million above forecast, and sales tax collections were also up, by $323 million. Corporate tax revenue, however, was way down, by $302 million, or 20 percent below the projection for the month. Overall, revenues in March were $406 million, or 9 percent, above forecast. Year to date, revenues are still $217 million less than was projected in January. Here is the full report.