A busy Gov. Brown acted on scores of bills this weekend, including major measures to make it harder for cities to enter bankruptcy, ban the open carrying of handguns in public, prohibit the sale of alchol at automated checkout counters, make it harder for police to impound cars at checkpoints and bar teens' use of tanning beds.
From Steve Harmon in the Contra Costa Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown capped a month of bill signings and vetoes with a frantic final day Sunday, dispatching nearly 200 of the 600 bills the Legislature had sent him in the final weeks of the legislative session."
"The governor signed bills to require insurers to offer health care coverage to autistic children, to allow children 12 and older to get the HPV vaccination without parental consent and to forbid teens under 18 from using tanning beds."
"Brown also signed legislation prohibiting the impounding of cars at sobriety checkpoints and vetoed another that would have required doctors to inform women of a condition that masks potential cancer in mammograms."
"He had until midnight Sunday to complete his work and according to his staff, was busy writing signing messages and vetoes up to the end."
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a San Francisco Democrat, drew boos at a Democratic gathering by blasting other Democratics from President Obama on down. The Chronicle's Matier and Ross have the story.
"As headline speaker at the Coastside Democrats' annual election-season kickoff, Newsom was expected to talk for about 20 minutes. Instead, as the former San Francisco mayor is prone to do, he went on for an hour."
"Among the Newsom jabs: Obama should have pushed his agenda harder when the Democrats still controlled both houses of Congress - a remark that drew a handful of boos from the audience."
"--Sacramento hasn't done enough to promote job growth - in fact, the state's efforts are "laughable" - and Texas Gov. and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry had the right idea in sending out iPhones loaded with promos about his state to CEOs."
"-- His fellow Democrats in Sacramento blew a chance to land a new federal patent office here, even though a huge percentage of the new patents issued each year come from California."
One of the bills vetoed by the governor blocked an attempt in San Diego to force Wal-Mart to perform major economic analyses when applying for a permit.
From Christopher Cadelago and Michael Gardner in the Union-Tribune: "The legislation was aimed squarely at Walmart and grew out of the retail giant’s battle with the city of San Diego."
"Senate Bill 469 would have required supercenters to address more than a dozen possible economic side-effects, such as the loss of jobs if competitors close, increased demand for public services by low-wage employees and potentially lower property values if storefronts are emptied."
"While I recognize that the merits of large-scale projects need to be carefully considered," Brown said in his veto message early Monday, "plenty of laws are already on the books that enable, and in some cases require, cities and counties to carefully assess whether these projects are in a community's best interest."
"This bill would add yet another layer of review to an already cumbersome process."
The newly drawn political maps mean that many incumbents are going to have to pull up stakes and move to a new home if they want to stay in the game.
From Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee: "Unlike members of Congress, state legislators are required to reside in the district they represent. That means physically relocating can be part of the equation as candidates scramble to settle on a seat before the nominating period starts next spring."
"After redistricting, Realtors will be among the most popular phone calls placed by legislators," Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Law School, said of this year's decennial map-drawing."
"The Sacramento region is expected to see as many as five incumbent legislators move to run for re-election. The new lines left Assemblywoman Beth Gaines in her current district, but put her husband, state Sen. Ted Gaines, in the same seat as Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale. Now the Roseville couple are considering relocating just a few miles away, to a home in a vacant Senate district, so both can run for re-election and live under the same roof."