"In the Assembly, Republicans pleaded with Democrats to put the budget up for a vote, even though Republicans plan to vote no. Democrats refused, arguing a vote would be unproductive until there is agreement on a spending plan. Later, Republican leader Mike Villines issued a statement, saying Democrats 'are afraid to debate the issue.'"
"On Monday, lawmakers will likely send [the governor] a bill that he supports aimed at improving the $9.9 billion high-speed rail bond on November's ballot," reports E.J. Schultz in the Bee.
"But to sign it, he will have to break his recent pledge
to veto all bills until lawmakers agree on a state
budget, now 39 days late.
"His office says he won't budge.
"'As the governor said, he will not sign any legislation
until a budget is passed,' his press secretary, Aaron McLear, said in a statement.
'The governor's message was clear: focus on the budget and the budget only.'
"For most bills, the threat won't matter unless the budget impasse drags on for weeks.
That's because the governor has until the end of September
to sign bills sent to him on or after Aug. 18.
"But the high-speed rail legislation – which beefs up oversight and makes rail funding more
flexible – must be signed by the end of the day Monday to make
the Nov. 4 ballot, according to a deadline given by Secretary
of State Debra Bowen."
"The California Department of Motor Vehicles is eliminating its Saturday operating hours this month , another victim of the state budget battle," write Rong-Gong Lin II and Evan Halper in the Times.
"Ordinarily, 53 DMV offices are open one Saturday morning every month,
which would have fallen on Aug. 16. But the DMV has been grappling with service cuts
since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 31 ordered the layoff of thousands of part-time employees, limited overtime and imposed a hiring
freeze.
"Customers already are reporting longer lines at some
DMV offices, with lines snaking out to the sidewalk.
The DMV has dismissed 700 employees throughout the state, or nearly 8% of its workforce.
"Department officials say more than 270,000 drivers took advantage of the Saturday service in
the last fiscal year.
"But DMV spokesman Michael Marando said keeping the offices open Saturdays requires the
assistance of roughly 1,000 of the part-time state workers the governor just laid off. It also
requires paying full-time employees overtime."
The Merc News's Mike Swift reports on the court challenge to the same-sex marriage ballot measure's title and summary.
"Depending on which side of the gay marriage debate you're on, the phrase "eliminates the right to marry" is either loaded, prejudicial speech, or a plain and simple statement of what will happen if Proposition 8, a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, passes in November."
"Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley is expected to rule today, deciding whether to accept
the Proposition 8 ballot title and summary approved by Attorney General
Jerry Brown, or to order changes based on a lawsuit
filed by backers of a constitutional ban.
"People from both sides believe the precise language
that voters will read on Election Day is significant,
and they packed a courtroom Thursday to hear arguments
made to Frawley.
"Although the judge offered few clues about how he would
rule on Brown's ballot title - "Eliminates the Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry"- it seemed likely that he will order some changes to
the language of the partisan ballot arguments filed
by Proposition 8 opponents and proponents to sway voters."
Nancy Vogel looks at the end-of-session fundraising spree.
"In just four days next week, at least 40 politicians and candidates are scheduled to hold fundraisers,
soliciting donations over cappuccino, carnitas and
cocktails, at cafes, art galleries and restaurants.
Most events are within a few blocks of the Capitol
and require a minimum donation of $1,000 to attend.
"Lobbyists -- whose clients' interests are on the line in the Legislature -- face so many opportunities to give to legislators' campaigns that some are plotting a schedule and mapping
a route.
"'You run from one to the other,' said Craig Brown, a lobbyist who represents several law enforcement
unions.
"August is traditionally a busy Capitol fundraising
month. But this year, the upcoming national political
conventions have compressed the schedule. Assembly
leaders say that they want to leave town by Aug. 22, rather than the scheduled Aug. 31. The earlier deadline gives them time to make it to
the start of the Democrats' convention in Denver on Aug. 25 and the Republicans' convention in Minneapolis on Sept. 1.
"The fundraising push in the next two weeks comes as
legislators will be casting final votes on hundreds
of bills affecting a broad range of issues such as
how insurance companies operate and whether Californians
must buy carbon monoxide detectors for their homes.
Also under negotiation is the state's annual spending plan of more than $100 billion, which will dictate the funding of public
schools and an array of state services, while potentially
imposing taxes on the wealthy, corporations or consumers."
"Legislation to make California the first state to require
paid sick leave for all workers died Thursday in a Senate committee," writes the Bee's Jim Sanders.
"Assemblywoman Fiona Ma vowed to reintroduce the measure next year.
"'I will continue to fight for the 5 (million) to 6 million California workers who fear getting sick and
losing their job,' the San Francisco Democrat said.
"Ma's Assembly Bill 2716 was one of hundreds of bills acted upon by the Senate
and Assembly appropriations committees Thursday, three
weeks before the scheduled end of the legislative session.
"AB 2716 was fiercely opposed by business interests, but its
demise apparently was due to its projected costs of
implementation and enforcement in a year when the state
faces a $15.2 billion deficit.
"The bill would have entitled full- and part-time workers to a limited number of paid sick days
each year for illnesses involving themselves or their
spouse, parent, child or domestic partner."
The Merc News's Edwin Garcia profiles John Laird, the termed-out Assemblymember who serves as chair of the Budget Committee.
"Laird, 58, has parlayed his sense of humor - along with a rare intelligence and a genuine gregariousness
- into surprising influence, especially over the budget
process. Serving the past four years as chairman of
the Assembly Budget Committee, Laird is one of the
few Democrats who works extremely well with GOP colleagues,
even though his political résumé offers everything many Republicans despise: an ultra-liberal, tax-loving, gay-rights supporter.
"Laird is in an unusual limbo this summer. He can't predict when the state budget will be completed because
of partisan bickering, and he doesn't know what his future holds after December.
"A logical choice would seem to run for Senate when
Joe Simitian terms out in 2012, but Laird's base in Santa Cruz makes up only a small portion
of the mostly Peninsula district.
"'I just don't want to go away, because I feel like I'm at the top of my game and nowhere near ready to retire,' Laird said. 'Either my congressman retires, or they reassemble our
Senate seat in four years.'"
"Californians have the right to move from one company to another or start their own business and can't be prohibited by their employer from working for a competitor in their next job, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday," reports Bob Egelko in the Chron.
"In a unanimous decision, the justices said state law
since 1872 has forbidden what are called noncompete clauses that
restrict management employees' options after they leave a company.
"Nearly every other state allows such agreements, said
Richard Frank, a San Francisco lawyer who has represented companies
on both sides of the issue.
"The ruling 'advances the strong California policy favoring open
competition and employee freedom," said Frank, who was not involved in the case. "Those have been drivers of the state's economy, especially in the technology area.'"
George Will chats with Jerry Brown about the future.
"For 80 years, a Brown has been active in California politics,
and if Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be 77 in 2010, does not run for
governor, Jerry Brown, who is now attorney general,
probably will,
although he says being governor "is an impossible task and anyone will
leave discredited."
Then why try? Because, he says, he is, in the formulation
of
the Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci, a pessimist
of the intellect but
an optimist of the will. He was 36 when he replaced a congenital
optimist, Reagan, as governor, and will be twice that
age when Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger limps back to Los Angeles.
"He says, in a "TiVo world,"
where people watch only what they select and "political news is not as
salient as it used to be," a famous name becomes more salient.
And finally, as we head into the weekend, we remind you to choose your mates carefully.
"Last night in Hong Kong, the police received a disturbing call from a man in trouble.
"Xing, a 41 year-old man, was calling from LanTian park in the middle of the night. The lonely and disturbed man had apparently thought it would be fun to have sex with one of the steel sit-up benches around the park.
"The bench has numerous small holes in it, which Xing used to attempt to satisfy himself. However, once he became aroused he found that he was stuck and could not get his penis out of the small hole.
"He panicked and called the police to help him.
"When doctors arrived on the scene they tried to release
some of the
pressure by removing some of his blood, but the penis
was so swollen
that they ended up having to cut the entire bench free
and take it,
with Xian attached, to the hospital."
Hey, we don't know if the story is real, either, but the photos
attached to the story sure make it entertaining...