Pension reform is at the top of the to-do list in Sacramento these days but lawmakers aren't sure they'll get a deal done before summer recess.
Here's Patrick McGreevy at PolitiCal: "State lawmakers are racing to try to reach an agreement on pension reform before they leave on a monthlong summer break Friday, but one leader of the effort said Monday that sticking points remain and he is not sure a full plan will be ready for adoption this week."
"'I don’t know if we’re going to do it this month,' said Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-Gardena), co-chairman of the legislative panel that is considering Gov. Jerry Brown’s 12-point pension reform plan."
If pensions may have to wait, struggling homeowners won't. The 'Homeowner's Bill of Rights' passed both houses (picking up exactly one GOP vote) and is on its way to Gov. Brown, who has indicated he will sign the legislation.
From Jim Miller at the Riverside Press-Enterprise: "State lawmakers passed landmark legislation meant to help homeowners facing foreclosure, over the objections of critics who said the measure would hamper the state’s fitful housing recovery while doing little to keep struggling borrowers in their homes."
"The bill approved Monday, July 2, would make it more difficult for mortgage servicers to foreclose on homeowners trying to modify their loans. The legislation also would require lenders to create a single point of contact for borrowers. In addition, it would set penalties for “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents."
Three thousand Californians will move out of state if SB 1221 becomes law - that is according to Josh Brones of California Houndsmen for Conservation. The bill, by Sen. Ted Lieu bans the use of dogs in hunting bears.
From Hannah Madans in Capitol Alert: "A controversial bill that would ban dogs from being used to hunt bobcats and bears in California made it out of one Assembly committee today on its second try, but still faces fierce opposition from the California Houndsmen for Conservation."
"About 200 opponents gathered at the Capitol today to urge members of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee to vote against Senate Bill 1221 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance. It passed 8-4, and now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee."
Following in the footsteps of Stockton, ski resort town Mammoth Lakes has also filed for bankruptcy, citing a massive breach-of-contract settlement that dwarfs the town's annual operating budget.
From Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times: "The HighSierra town of Mammoth Lakes said Monday that it filed for bankruptcy because it cannot afford to pay a $43-million breach-of-contract judgment in a lawsuit brought against it by a developer."
"In a prepared statement, Mammoth Lakes officials said 'bankruptcy, unfortunately, is the only option left' for the town, whose largest creditor, Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition, had won a state court order requiring full payment by June 30, 2012."
Yesterday's bipartisan vote in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee paves the way for the state's Water Bond to be moved off the November ballot,giving Gov. Brown's tax proposal even more breathing room.
From Dan Walters at Capitol Alert: "Legislation that would shift an $11 billion water bond from the November ballot to 2014 cleared the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee Monday on a bipartisan, 5-0 vote."
"The measure, Assembly Bill 1422 by Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, won support from virtually every stakeholder in the state's notoriously fractious water issue."
"If passed, it would be the second time that the measure had been delayed and would indirectly help Gov. Jerry Brown win voter approval of his sales and income tax measure in November."
Whether or not the Water Bond moves to 2014 or stays put on November's ballot won't have any affect on mermaids -
because they don't exist. So says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which has now gone on record that “[n]o evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.” (thanks to
Slate for the tip)
Will Dive Bar appeal for a recount?