Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, who is termed out, is recommending that Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Noreen Evans, who also is termed out, be replaced as head of the comnmittee, a move that apparently stems from a political dispute between the two.
From the LAT's Patrick McGreevy: "Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) recommended Tuesday that Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) be replaced as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and observers say it appears part of a political squabble between the two over the race for Evans’ district."
"Steinberg’s recommendation that Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) replace Evans as chairwoman will be considered Wednesday by the Senate Rules Committee, of which Steinberg is chairman, according to the agenda."
"Evans is prevented by term limits from running for reelection in November, and one of the early candidates for her 2nd District Senate seat was Chris Lehman, who is in charge of fundraising for the Senate Democrats under Steinberg."
A woman who who has challenged the federal government's "no-fly" list has won a major ruling in federal court.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "In the first-ever trial involving a challenge to the government's secretive "no-fly" list, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that U.S. officials had mistakenly classified a former Stanford graduate student as a terrorist in 2005 and must allow her to apply for re-entry to the United States."
"The government concedes that (Rahinah Ibrahim) is not a threat to our national security," U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in a public summary of a ruling he issued under seal because of the Justice Department's reliance on classified information. He said he would prefer to make the ruling public but would leave it sealed until April 15 so that an appeals court can consider the government's request to maintain secrecy."
Former state lawmaker Gloria Negrete McLeod, now a first-term congresswoman, is thinking of leaving the House to run for a seat on the board of supervisors in her district.
From Roll Call's Emily Cahn: "Negrete McLeod, 72, who defeated former Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., in a bruising race last cycle for California’s 35th District, has more than $900,000 stashed in an account to run for the supervisor seat. The account was created in 2010, and a majority of the funds are reportedly left over from Negrete McLeod’s time as a state senator."
"The San Bernadino County supervisor post will be open in 2014 because longtime Supervisor Gary Ovitt is not seeking re-election."
California's $68 billion bullet train project, which has suffered a series of regulatory and legal mishaps in recent months, may run soon risk going into the red.
From the LAT's Ralph Vartabedian: "California's bullet train project is facing a potential funding shortfall in April when funding agreements require the state to come up with $180 million to match federal grants, said Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), the chairman of the House of Representatives' rail subcommittee..."
"The state is currently paying its bills from $3.2 billion in federal grants. Those grants allow the state to spend some federal money before it is matched with state dollars, but by April, California will have to begin contributing its portion of funding, said Kevin Thompson, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. Since late 2012, Thompson said, the state has been drawing on the federal grants, without providing matching funds."
Organized labor is backing two hot-button ballot proposals -- limiting the pay of top executives and capping the costs of hospitals.
From the Chronicle's Carla Marinucci: "Signaling the start of an expensive political battle over health care, a prominent labor union has tapped the San Francisco political team behind Gov. Jerry Brown's successful ballot drive boosting taxes to manage a campaign for two proposed ballot measures to cap spiraling hospital costs and executives' pay."
"The 150,000-member SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West began collecting signatures this week for a ballot push that could unleash warfare with the health-care industry, and the union has now hired veteran SCN Strategies to run its campaign."