Don your party hats,
it's May Revise day!
The Merc News's Mike Zapler
reports on the upcoming budget deliberations. "Just as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's run of financial good fortune seemed to be on the wane, billions of extra dollars unexpectedly flowed into state coffers last month, probably sparing him a protracted budget battle with Democrats that threatened to sidetrack his sweeping agenda this year.
"That's not to say that the budget debate will be easy. As the annual deliberations get under way today with the release of Schwarzenegger's revised budget, Democrats are protesting his plan to freeze welfare payments, Republicans are clamoring to hold the line on spending, and a slack housing market is dampening the outlook for next year.
"But it could have been worse. A lot worse.
"The revenue surge prevents what 'could have developed into a nasty political fight, which wouldn't have bode well' for Schwarzenegger's push for universal health care among other issues, said Republican strategist
Rob Stutzman, a former aide to the governor. Instead, Stutzman surmised, the budget looks like 'a manageable issue to deal with.'"
The Bee's E.J. Schultz writes: "A bill backed by the United Farm Workers union
would allow for workers to sign cards instead of cast ballots in union elections. If a majority of workers sign up, the union would be certified almost immediately.
"Senate Bill 180 was authored by
Carole Migden, D-San Francisco.
"'Farmworkers' lives are hard enough -- this will make the process easier for them to express themselves,' said
Richie Ross, a UFW lobbyist.
"But industry leaders say the legislation is 'undemocratic.'
"'It infringes on the very fundamental right of the farmworker to a secret ballot,' said
Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League. 'I don't believe you correct a perceived injustice by creating a bigger injustice and taking away the employee's rights.'"
Compact watchers will have their eyes on Assembly G.O. today. The U-T's James Sweeney has details. "The lack of federal oversight has become a major stumbling block in the push for ratification of those long-term deals – multi-billion-dollar compacts that would run through the end of 2030. Lawmakers are expected to ask administration officials why they did not insert the operating rules into the compacts, which is where the courts say such issues should be resolved.
"A spokeswoman for the governor said the legal landscape was not defined until last fall and may still be changed by Congress. The administration also prefers to deal with the issue in a way that applies to all gaming tribes, spokeswoman Sabrina Lockhart said.
'Even if this were addressed in the pending compacts, it wouldn't affect all tribes,”'Lockhart said. 'We want to have uniformity.'”
"An insurance giant that rarely gives to politicians
has dropped $25,000 into a fund controlled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at a time when the company wants the governor's office to embrace its legislative agenda," write Peter Nicholas and Evan Halper in the Times.
"The donation by State Farm's auto-insurance arm enabled the firm's executives to attend a private fundraising reception at Schwarzenegger's Brentwood home last month. The company has lobbied lawmakers on at least 10 bills proposed in the Assembly and Senate since January.
"By making the contribution, State Farm became part of the Governor's Advisory Committee, a status that entitles donors to attend four private meetings with the governor and be included in regular conference calls with him, according to the reception invitation.
"The April 12 donation went to the governor's California Recovery Team. Schwarzenegger has used the tax-exempt fund, which can accept unlimited donations, to promote ballot measures and otherwise pursue his political agenda."
State Farm has a longstanding policy of not making political contributions.
"'The $25,000 was accompanied by a letter from a lawyer for State Farm. 'Our analysis of the California Recovery Team indicates that our contribution will be used to support the governor's issue and legislative agenda,' the letter said.
If the money is used for anything else, State Farm wants it back."Watchdog groups said the company's rationale was unconvincing. They said the donation would inevitably be used to keep Schwarzenegger politically viable, while affording State Farm access to the highest levels of state government."
The LAT's Jordan Rau reports that
doctors are divided over the governor's proposal to tax doctors to increase health coverage. "Represented by one of the Capitol's dominant lobbies, California's physicians are respected for their successful ability to forge a united front against incursions into their field. But this year, when healthcare is the central issue before the Legislature, the profession is practicing the political equivalent of defensive medicine, grappling with their increasingly divided membership as they try to ward off proposals that would hurt them economically.
"Along with trying to block Schwarzenegger's proposed assessment, the California Medical Assn. is working to persuade Democratic lawmakers to increase Medi-Cal fees without placing a levy on doctors' incomes. The CMA, which represents about half of the state's physicians, also opposes a proposal to create a single government-run insurer out of concerns it would lead to low reimbursement rates like those from Medi-Cal.
"All these efforts, critics charge, expose tensions that physicians prefer to downplay between their roles as patient advocates and as members of a lucrative profession.
"'While lots of doctors would like to see everybody covered, when it gets down to who's going to pay, they seem no more eager than anyone else in this conversation,' said Dr.
Mark Smith, president of the California Health Care Foundation, an Oakland nonprofit philanthropy."
The LAT's Nancy Vogel writes that, while legislators are scrambling to provide benefits to National Guard members,
efforts to provide college aid have been unsuccessful. "The one thing they want most, though, is not available: state money for college. All it would take, Guard officials say, is $3 million a year, a negligible sum in the state's $130-billion proposed budget.
"California is the only state that gives no such help to those who commit to National Guard duty. Year after year, bills to change that have died in the Legislature because lawmakers faced budget shortfalls or opposed the war in Iraq, among other reasons. One aid law did pass, four years ago, but it has yet to help anyone because it hasn't been funded.
"Forty-nine states offer National Guard members benefits such as free state university tuition and stipends of $500 a semester.
"'It's the right thing to do,' said Lt. Col.
Ivan Denton, commander of recruiting and retention for the Indiana National Guard, whose state pays full tuition to state colleges for people who commit to serving several years."
The Bee's Dan Walters
looks at a recent poll on the attitude of Sacramentans toward immigration. "Statewide polls often find immigration to be a high-level concern of voters, but rarely probe the exact tenor of that concern. The Sacramento-area poll, conducted by the Institute for Social Research at California State University, Sacramento, generally confirmed Time magazine's declaration that the region (pollsters excluded Sutter and Yuba counties) is hospitable to ethnic minorities, with nearly 80 percent of respondents agreeing with that characterization.
"More interestingly, it found that
a whopping 71 percent of those polled favored proposals to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States with a pathway to citizenship, including two-thirds of whites and a solid majority (56 percent) of Republicans -- which appears to belie the noise from the Republican right about an immigration crackdown and bolster Republican leaders, such as President Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who support immigration reform that includes some version of legalization.
"At the same time, however,
strong majorities of Sacramento-area residents do not support granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, although support for licensure does appear to be growing. Two years ago, the CSUS poll found that 72 percent of regional residents opposed licensure and 25 percent were in favor; the newest poll found 62 percent in opposition and 33 percent in favor."
And Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan reports
the state has auctioned off Carole Migden's Cadillac -- the same one that had a brief encounter with a San Francisco bus .
"Once the bidding was done, the off-white 2005 Cadillac STS V6 sold for $23,000 at a Department of General Services auction on Wednesday.
"The San Francisco Chronicle reported the state originally paid just under $54,000 for the car.
"But here's hoping the car came with an accident report. The car exactly fits the description of the vehicle Migden was driving when she had a minor accident with a bus in San Francisco last June.
"'I couldn't tell you if it was the same car the mishap occurred in,' said Greg Sandin, a spokesman for DGS."
And, The AP reports, "California governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger will appear in the next Terminator sequel - in digital form.
"The actor-turned-politician, who has starred in the three Terminator movies to date, has granted studio Halycon permission to use his likeness in the upcoming movie.
"Earlier this week, Halycon entrepreneurs
Victor Kubicek and
Derek Anderson announced they have bought the rights to the Terminator franchise and are
planning to have a fourth film in cinemas by 2009.
"Anderson says: 'We'll be using computer altered stock images of Arnold. That way we can span his entire career, from the frightening '80s era Terminator to the ice cool T2 version.'
Now, can
Digital Arnold run for re-election in 2010?