Ah, yes. The end of the legislative year approaches, and the tensions between the house begin to rise . Just listen to these comments from the Senate leader after the Assembly passed it's pared back prison reform plan Monday.
The LAT's Michael Rothfeld reports, "After more than a week of political hand-wringing, the state Assembly
approved a slimmed-down proposal to cut spending on state prisons
Monday, without a vote to spare. But the revised package
would create a
hole in California's budget and exposes the state to the ire of federal
judges demanding a plan to reduce inmate overcrowding.
"State
Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, whose members ratified a more
expansive and controversial package of corrections
cuts 12 days ago,
called the Assembly plan incomplete and indicated that
he would not
immediately hold a vote on it. Senate approval is required
before the
measure can go to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.
Steinberg,
a Sacramento Democrat, said he would work with the
governor and
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) on "further reforms that
will strengthen our criminal justice system."
"The Assembly took a good first step today, but it's not a complete package," Steinberg said in a statement Monday.
The governor's spokesman, Aaron McLear, also reserved judgment, saying in a statement that "there are still questions about how it addresses our overcrowding crisis and our budget."
Meanwhile, the Capitol is bracing for the next big fight , reports Capitol Weekly's John Howard.
"
Negotiations over a massive overhaul of California's water system picked up steam Monday in the Capitol amid an array of meetings that included a closed-door briefing for lawmakers by the Schwarzenegger administration's top water officials.
"The final proposal, an historic attempt to achieve a compromise in the state's seemingly endless water wars, is intended to be completed by the end of this week, with floor votes next week, said sources in both houses and participants in the discussions.
"Ultimately, the plan is envisioned as providing environmental protections to the delta east of San Francisco, a canal through or around the delta to move more Northern California water to the south, new storage structures, perhaps even reservoirs, and major conservation programs.
"Environmentalists are opposed to the reservoirs, but the Schwarzenegger administration and the construction industry view them favorably. Fishing interests and delta partisans oppose any plan that does not contain ironclad environmental protections for the delta, and environmentalists support conservation programs. Southern California water interests, Central Valley farmers and hundreds of public water agencies tend to favor construction of the capital projects. There has been limited environmental support for the canal, but strong support for conservation."
Marc Lifsher has some more bad news for fire victims,
and potential fire victims. "As California heads into another season of wildfires
that have been
growing more frequent and more ferocious, homeowners are facing higher
prices to insure their property.
"In the last year, some big
insurance companies have won approvals from regulators
for premium
hikes ranging from 4% to 7%. And a round of requests for similar
increases has been submitted to the state insurance
commissioner.
Is the governor considering a new bag tax ? Greg Lucas reports, "Weeks after rejecting a Democrat-backed fee proposal to keep state parks open, the Schwarzenegger administration is proposing shoppers be assessed a 25 cent fee for each single-use paper or plastic bag – up to $2.00 per transaction – to pay for a variety of state recycling efforts.
“Requiring stores to charge and remit a fee for the distribution of single-use carryout bags will help the state and local governments to offset the environmental and social costs of single-use carryout bags,” says a summary of the idea which, sources say, has been discussed with members of both the Governor’s Office and the Department of Conservation, which oversees the state’ bottle and can recycling program."
Um, we don't remember hearing this proposal from that fancy schmancy tax commission...
Speaking of which, Kevin Yamamura wants to know where those promised tax proposals are.
"Reducing California's volatility has proved so complicated that the Commission on the 21st Century Economy missed two deadlines this year. It remains unknown how much consensus the philosophically divided panel will reach before a Sept. 20 deadline set by Schwarzenegger.
The governor has made it clear he wants lawmakers to act quickly on the panel's recommendations, though Democrats have not committed to voting this year and interest groups are beginning to foment opposition.
"This is legacy stuff for the governor," said Joel Fox, executive director of the Small Business Action Committee and editor of the Fox & Hounds political blog. "One of the things he came in to do was reform the finances of the state, and this is a big piece of it. He's going to ride this horse hard and try to get it to the finish line."
Well, giddyup already, then.
And it looks like statewide budget cuts are hitting the University of California in Sacramento.
"The University of California has decided to close the doors on its Sacramento center for students learning about California government in the capital city," Shane Goldmacher reports.
"The program, which Associate Director A.G. Block estimated has served 600 to 700 students since 2004, will continue operating for those arriving this fall, run by a skeleton crew including Block, the executive director and one other aide.
"Other staff were informed of layoffs Monday, the same day several of this term’s 18 students arrived, he said."