Lawmakers will decide whether or not to approve Gov. Brown's rainy-day-style $122 billion fund today.
AP's Jonathan J. Cooper reports: "California lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a state budget that boosts funding for safety net programs while socking away billions of dollars to prepare for a recession."
"The full Legislature will decide Wednesday whether to back a budget agreement reached last week by Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, all Democrats."
"Democrats have generally praised the budget as a significant investment in alleviating the harmful effects of poverty on children. Republicans warned that expanded long-term spending commitments will lead to deficits down the road."
Speaking of the budget, a hefty piece of change has been set aside for new construction of state office space in downtown Sacramento, including a likely restoration of the state Capitol's 64-year-old annex.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "The $1.3 billion plan, about $200 million less than proposed earlier by Gov. Brown as part of his 2016-17 budget, was placed in legislation Monday before the Senate budget committee, where it awaits action."
"The panel is considering more than two dozen budget-linked bills, the so-called “trailer bills” that accompany the main budget bill and contain the changes in law – and the political deals – that put the budget into effect."
"The construction project is tucked into AB 1608, a sprawling, 232-page piece of legislation that contains numerous unrelated programs – including optometry, school construction, charitable campaigns, fiscal management, medical care, safety inspections, mine licensing, and numerous others."
SEE ALSO: Budget scales back estimated use of anti-poverty credit -- Jim Miller in Sac Bee.
California seems to find itself nestled snuggly between the United Kingdom and France on the global economy ladder.
L.A. Times John Meyers writes: "A favorite bragging right of California politicians is how the state would fare were it to be its own country. On Tuesday, a new report concluded that it would be the sixth largest on the planet -- depending, though, on how one looks at it."
"Data from the International Monetary Fund shows California's gross domestic product (GDP) at more than $2.4 trillion in 2015, the only state of its kind in a list that's reserved for nations."
"California's spot on the list has fluctuated over the past decade, generally somewhere between the fifth and eighth largest world economies."
Handfuls of law enforcement officers in California's bay area are dealing with the blowback of a scandal involving the statutory rape and trafficking of an underage sex worker.
Darwin BondGraham and Aly Winston write in East Bay Express: "Celeste Guap was only seventeen in February of last year when a pimp chased her down International Boulevard. She spotted an Oakland police car and approached for help. That's when she met officer Brendan O'Brien."
"He saved me," Guap said of the lanky ex-Marine, who joined the Oakland Police Department in 2013 after graduating from the 166th police academy."
"Rather than detaining Guap as a victim of human trafficking and turning her over to guardians, she said O'Brien released her. "We flirted a little," she recalled, adding that she told O'Brien her mother was a dispatcher in the department."
A need for drone regulation gave rise to Drone Day, a demonstration Tuesday at the state Capitol that sought to educate the public on drone policy and purpose.
Sac Bee's Rachel Cohrs writes: "The monotonous buzz of tiny drone propellers filled the air on the Capitol lawn Tuesday. Drone pilots stood to the side, swiveling mounted cameras with subtle flicks of their thumbs."
"Drone Day” featured demonstrations, company booths, and University of California, Merced engineering students to promote one message: Don’t over-regulate our drones."
"We know a lot of people are really fearful of drones, and we want people to understand that they are very beneficial….There’s a lot of laws preventing people from flying them, and we really want people to feel comfortable around them,” said UC-Merced student Alexus Garcia."
Big Pharma sees a delay in a proposed ordinance that would force the funding of a large-scale drug and needle disposal program.
L.A. Daily News' Susan Abram writes: "A vote on a proposal to require the pharmaceutical industry to fund what would be the nation’s largest drug and needle disposal program across Los Angeles County stalled once again Tuesday after the Board of Supervisors delivered a mixed vote."
"The proposed ordinance was introduced last year and its intention is to give Los Angeles County residents a convenient way to dispose unwanted needles and medications from the pharmacies from where they bought them. Supporters say it would deter residents from flushing drugs down toilets or throw sharp objects into the garbage where those who sort through debris would hurt themselves. In addition, it could cut down on opioid drug abuse."
"But an amended version of the ordinance presented Tuesday appeared vague and too many questions remained, said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. She and Hilda Solis, who noted she was enthusiastic about such a program and still could be, abstained from voting."
The state has won a lawsuit for the high speed rail project, but the win means $63 million more in project cost and an additional 17 months construction time.
AP's Juliet Williams reports: "Another $63 million was added Tuesday to the cost of California's high-speed rail project and the completion date for the first 29-mile leg was pushed back 17 months to August 2019, after the state won a lawsuit that had tied up land needed for construction for 4½ years."
"Landowners in the Central Valley sought to block the controversial $64 billion project there, but a Sacramento County Superior Court judge ruled in March that plans for the system do not violate promises made to voters who approved selling nearly $10 billion in bonds for the project, allowing planning and financing to proceed."
"The lead plaintiff in the suit, Kings County, announced last month that it would not appeal, ending the lawsuit."
A new ballot measure could mean increased transparancy for future bills, requiring a 72-hour public release before final vote casting.
Ben Adler reports in Capital Public Radio: "Democrats who control the California Legislature have long opposed efforts to require bills to be public 72 hours before final votes. But now that a voter initiative is poised to qualify for the November ballot, the sands appear to be shifting a bit."
"Asm. Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) says she’s skeptical that Democratic legislative leaders truly want a 72-hour rule in place, since she’s pushed proposals like this for years without ever being allowed a vote."
"Now, suddenly, with the threat of an initiative, all of a sudden they’re scrambling to pass a bill – it’s hard to believe it wouldn’t be a significantly weakened version of transparency,” Olsen says. “I’m awfully skeptical that Democrat leadership is eager to do this, knowing that there’s a very popular measure on the ballot."
The judge responsible for the Stanford rapist's lenient sentence has been kicked off of a new sex case involving a nurse sexually assaulting a patient.
Tracy Kaplan in East Bay Times writes: "PALO ALTO -- In a sign of growing problems for the judge who ignited a national controversy by handing a light sentence to a former Stanford athelete convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious intoxicated woman, prosecutors Tuesday got him kicked off another sex case."
"Santa Clara County prosecutors filed the peremptory challenge against Judge Aaron Persky on Tuesday morning, automatically preventing him from presiding over a preliminary hearing for a Kaiser Permanente surgical nurse accused of sexually assaulting a sedated woman."
"The move came the day after Persky took the unusual step of dismissing an unrelated misdemeanor case Monday -- in mid-trial. But the controversy first began earlier this month, after Persky sentenced former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a young woman outside a campus frat party, sparing him from a prison sentence sought by prosecutors. The light sentence sparked global outrage and a looming recall threat after the victim's emotional 12-page impact statement went viral."
And now from our "Boss-2-D-2" file ...
Better brush up on your binary: you may be working for a robot in the near future.
Mirror.co.uk: "A trainee office manager is set to begin a two month trial, but this is a new starter with a difference - because Betty is a ROBOT."
"The unusual colleague is about to launch her new career at The Transport Systems Catapult, based in Milton Keynes thanks to a team from the University of Birmingham."
"Betty will carry out tasks including patrolling the offices, assessing how many staff members are in the office outside working hours, monitoring the environment by collating data on clutter, office temperature, humidity and noise, as well as checking fire doors are closed and desks are clear."