Yesterday, it was a Capitol full of strippers. Tomorrow is the governor's new budget.
But today belongs to Karen Bass.
Karen Bass will be sworn in today as Assembly Speaker, the first African-American woman to ever lead the legislative body. Bass is expected to announce today that Alberto Torrico will be her Majority leader, a post that was actively sought by both Kevin De Leon and Fiona Ma.
The SacBee's Jim Sanders catches up with the speaker-to-be. Sanders asks if there are any differences between Bass and Nunez, the former amateur boxer. "I did martial arts. … So I'll kick, he punched."
But another major difference will be Bass's approach. ""It seems to me to make the most sense that I stay focused on the budget, continue with my agenda of foster care and then promote the agenda of other members versus taking on major issues myself."
Bass kicks off her reign with an op-ed in the LA Times . "On Wednesday, one day after I take office as speaker, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will unveil his revised budget. It will reflect the state's revenue picture after the April 15 income tax deadline. By all accounts, it will not be good news. The word "disaster" has been mentioned.
"I believe part of that job has to involve looking at
the big
picture. We have to ask the question of whether a tax structure
that
was established in the 1930s is sufficient to meet the needs of
Californians in 2008.
"I believe we need an answer to that
question that is developed outside the day-to-day give-and-take in the
Legislature. That's why I will be establishing an independent
commission to examine California's tax structure. This will be a
bipartisan group of California's brightest, working together for one
year to develop recommendations on how the Legislature
can identify
more consistent sources of revenue; 12 other states already have such
groups."
And Dan Walters says his farewells to Fabian Nunez .
"None of Núñez's seven predecessors had more than a momentary impact; indeed, a few of them were there scarcely long enough to change the I-love-me plaques in the speaker's ornate office. But Núñez, elected as a first-termer in the hope that he could bring some stability and accomplishment to the Assembly, does have a record of sorts.
"It's a record of some legislative successes – especially after his mutually frosty relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger melted into partnership and personal friendship – and an array of failures.
"He and Schwarzenegger forged agreement on billions of dollars of infrastructure bonds, anti-global warming legislation and raising the state's minimum wage, among other things. But they failed abjectly on expanding health insurance coverage. Promises on education and political reform went unfilled.
"Often, Núñez was his own worst enemy. His early days as speaker were marked by a tendency to butcher syntax, leaving listeners wondering whether he really knew anything about the topics on which he was expounding. He later became more polished, but his association with Schwarzengger's movie star lifestyle led to some excesses, such as spending many thousands of dollars of campaign funds on high-flying foreign travel."
"Núñez's successor, Karen Bass, is unlikely to match his record. She inherits a huge budget deficit and will hold the speakership for no more than two years because of term limits, making her an instant lame duck. "I can't see past the budget," Bass said Monday, essentially setting limits on herself."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has dumped his plan to release about 22,000 lower-risk inmates from prison before they complete their terms, The Bee's Andy Furillo reports.
"The revised budget he will present on Wednesday will jettison the plan, which would have freed prisoners doing time for crimes such as drug possession and car theft who had less than 20 months to go on their terms.
"Assembly Public Safety Committee Chairman Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana, welcomed its demise.
"'I'm sure the governor realized that up and down the state, no one wants to see prisoners released early,' Solorio said. 'I was an early advocate for dropping that plan, and I'm glad that he's realizing people need to serve their time.'"
"In a sign that lawmakers aren't pleased with the recent Highway 99 casino deal, the state Senate on Monday passed a bill that would prohibit the governor from negotiating gambling compacts with Indian tribes until they have qualified gaming land, reports the Fresno Bee's E.J. Schultz.
"Senate Bill 1695 by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, passed on a 31-4 vote with bipartisan support. The vote was the latest rebuke of Gov. Schwarzenegger's deal with the Mono Indians of North Fork Rancheria, which has also drawn criticism from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
"The tribe still needs federal approval to put a casino on land along Highway 99 just north of Madera. That didn't stop the governor from announcing a compact two weeks ago that would allow for 2,500 slot machines at the targeted site -- which is about 35 miles from the tribe's traditional homeland.
"Because the deal already is signed, the Florez bill would not affect the casino. But state lawmakers still must approve the compact, and Monday's vote suggests the tribe might face an uphill fight."
No, no. Sisyphus faced an uphil fight . North Fork is toast.
And now it's time for today's Roundup Trivia Question: What do EdFund and UC have in common? Execs at both places have mastered the art of securing golden parachutes for themselves, reports the Bee's Judy Lin.
"The executive staff of EdFund, the student loan guarantor the state plans to sell to a private investor, has crafted its own severance package worth more than $3 million.
"According to a copy of the severance agreement obtained by The Bee, seven members of EdFund's executive staff could each receive two years' worth of salaries, bonuses and medical coverage.
"They would be entitled to as much as $20,000 each to help them find new jobs. EdFund would also be on the hook for any "golden parachute tax" they would have to pay the state and federal governments.
"The severance package, which requires approval from EdFund's board of directors, is raising eyebrows in the Capitol. Sen. Bob Margett, a Republican from Arcadia who sits on the Senate budget subcommittee on education, said the package smelled of "cronyism."
And just what does cronyism smell like, Senator? On second thought, we don't wanna know...
Steve Harmon tries to unravel the mystery that is Don Perata.
"Perhaps sensing that few in the media would accept his explanation at face value for why he was dropping his bid to remove a Republican colleague from office, Senate leader Don Perata declared pre-emptively 'there was no quid pro quo.'
"It was an interesting insight into the Oakland Democrat's thinking of how he's viewed: that anything he does must have an ulterior motive and must be plumbed for deeper meaning.
Unlike who, exactly?
"Among the curious onlookers at the surreal scene — on the steps of the Capitol, after hours and put together in a matter of 20 minutes after a cryptic advisory was sent out — were a handful of Democratic legislative staff members who were themselves trying to make sense of Perata's abrupt decision to back down from the recall drive he launched against Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, for voting against last year's budget.
"What do you think this is really about?" one staff member asked.
"No simple explanation could cover the range of possibilities tied to his decision, though Perata tried. He insisted that the only reason he gave up the recall bid — for which he and the state Democratic party had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars — was so that he could enter upcoming budget negotiations without a partisan cloud looming.
"Perata said the gravity of the state's finances didn't hit him until recent conversations he had with state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and state Controller John Chiang.
"Perata's decision to drop the recall bid shows his political flexibility, said Democratic strategist Darry Sragow.
"I'm told it was unlikely to succeed, that it was an expensive uphill climb," Sragow said. "The prospects were not looking particularly good, coupled with the need to get Republican votes on the budget, so it made perfectly good sense to pull the plug. I think he gets credit for being flexible.
"He's a political leader who plays chess pretty well," Sragow added. "He can think in complex terms and several moves ahead."
Too often, however, he plows ahead with his political agenda, critics say, without regard to consequence.
"Millions of dollars have been wasted and public attention has been distracted from critically important issues by a recall attempt that's been seen as a personal vendetta," said Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring. "How Perata ultimately reconciles that with his own legacy will be interesting to see. But clearly this was seen widely as an abuse of power and an abuse of the process."
LA Observed observes that the LA Times has bucked its publisher and opposed Proposition 98. "Proposition 98 is sold to voters as an anti-eminent domain measure, "but really carries the long-standing agenda of interests that want to extinguish rent control and block water and air quality laws," says today's L.A. Times editorial opposing the initiative. That answers the question of whether the Times would go against the maximum owner. Sam Zell's mobile home business, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc, has donated $50,000 to the Prop. 98 campaign ."
"A federal appellate court Monday affirmed a Sacramento judge's decision to lift an injunction that had halted operation of the state's multibillion-dollar unclaimed property program, reports the Bee's Denny Walsh.
"U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb ruled in October that emergency state legislation
in August cured flaws in the program that occasioned
the injunction.
"The ruling was appealed by attorney William W. Palmer on behalf of owners of property taken by the state
Controller's Office, which administers the program.
"But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled, 'The controller has hardly begun enforcing the new … law. We
cannot say, on the record before us, that
the district court abused its discretion in dissolving
the preliminary injunction.'
"Controller John Chiang said Monday he is seeking further reforms 'to ensure … banks are prohibited from sending the state safe deposit
boxes of customers with other accounts,' and interest payments on unclaimed property is restored,
a practice that was repealed in 2003."
"State agriculture officials plan to appeal a superior court judge's ruling that halts aerial spraying to eradicate the
light brown apple moth in Monterey County until an environmental impact
report can be completed," reports the Chron's Michael Cabanatuan.
"Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert O'Farrell
ruled today that the discovery of the moth - a pest that is considered
a threat to the state's agricultural economy - does not constitute a
legal emergency. He ordered
the aerial spraying of a moth pheromone pesticide stopped
until a report on the environmental effects of the
spraying operation can be completed in January.
"A.G. Kawamura, state agriculture secretary, said the state Department
of Food and Agriculture would appeal the decision immediately,
combining it with a similar decision two weeks ago
in Santa Cruz County.
"'The light brown apple moth infestation is, in fact,
an emergency that threatens our nation's food supply and our state's environment,' he said in a prepared statement."
"Scientists said yesterday that the clarity of Lake Tahoe has improved, and more importantly, the rate of decline has slowed
considerably in recent years," reports the AP.
"In 2007, the waters of Lake Tahoe were clear to an average
depth of 70.2 feet, a slight improvement from the 67.7 feet reading in
2006, according to a report by researchers with the University
of California Davis."
The Chron's Bob Egelko reports that a federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of public school uniforms. "Public schools don't violate students' freedom of expression by requiring them to wear uniforms, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Monday.
"In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Nevada school district's clothing rules against challenges from students, including a high school junior who was suspended five times for a total of 25 days for wearing a T-shirt with religious slogans.
"The Clark County School District's policies were not intended to squelch free speech, but instead were aimed at "creating an educational environment free from the distractions, dangers and disagreements that result when student clothing choices are left unrestricted," Judge Michael Hawkins said in the majority opinion.
"Dissenting Judge Sidney Thomas said the ruling was at odds with the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1969 decision that upheld a student's right to wear a black armband in protest of the Vietnam War as long as it did not disrupt the classroom. Under Monday's ruling, Thomas said, a school could prohibit such protests, or any other attire that expressed an opinion, by requiring students to wear uniforms."
Here are yesterday's top fundraising committees, brought to you by ElectionTrack:
Joe Nation For Senate: $24,200
Loni Hancock For Senate 2008: $16,200
Simon Salinas for Senate: $12,708
Bonnie Lowenthal for Assembly: $12,400
Re-elect Carole Migden: $12,200
Friends of Gabriella Holt: $11,800
Fran Pavley for Senate: $11,700
Friends of Jeff Miller 2008: $11,200
Friends of Lloyd Levine: $10,200
Looking for that perfect gift for the political junkie who has everything? Well Slate.com may have just the thing for you -- poltical ringtones. There's everything from Hillary's laugh to Rev. Wright's anti-America tirade to John McCain redirecting comments to a junior high school student that were probably meant for the entire travelling press corps.