Juice bill

"The governor Monday signed AB 327 by AssemblymanHenry T. Perea (D-Fresno), authorizing the state Public Utilities Commission to come up with a new formula aimed at lowering electric bills for people living in hot hinterlands, such as the Inland Empire, Central Valley and high desert, while raising them for those in the more moderate coastal climes."

"The bill gives the PUC "the authority to address current electricity rate inequities, protect low-income energy users and maintain robust incentives for renewable energy investments," Brown wrote in a signing statement."

Speaking of the governor, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed legal, non-citizen residents from serving on juries.

From the Bee's Jeremy White: "Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed legislation that would have allowed legal immigrants to serve on juries, saying in a veto message Monday that the responsibility should be reserved for U.S. citizens."

"This has been a momentous legislative session for immigrant advocates, who have seen Brown sign measures that allow undocumented immigrants to practice law, shield immigrants from labor discrimination, allow driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and bar local law enforcement from detaining immigrants who have committed nonserious crimes."

"But Brown drew the line at allowing non-citizens to preside over the legal fate of their peers, saying in a veto message that "jury service, like voting, is a quintessential prerogative and responsibility of citizenship."

Brown also has signed legislation to resolve a dispute with the federal government over the impact on transit workers of California's pension reforms. A lot of money is at stake.

From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Gov. Brown's signing of legislation to temporarily exempt some 20,000 California transit workers from public pension changes could mean at least $1.6 billion -- and perhaps more than $4 billion -- in federal funds for California."

"But the issue isn't resolved: At the same time the governor signed the legislation, the Brown administration on Friday sued the federal Department of Labor for earlier blocking the money, saying the Labor Department incorrectly said the state's new pension rules curbed workers' collective bargaining rights. The court filing can be found here."

“Bringing this lawsuit is just another step to ensure that our pension system is viable long into the future,” Brown said.

Hopes of averting a BART strike remained alive, following some hopeful signals from the unions.

From the Mercury-News' Mike Rosenberg: "After moving closer to a deal at the negotiating table last week, BART unions said they would not issue a 72-hour notice of a strike for Friday morning -- perhaps the most encouraging sign yet that the Bay Area would escape a repeat of this summer's rail shutdown."

"We do not want a strike," Antonette Bryant, president of the local Amalgamated Transit Union, said at a brief news conference during a break from bargaining Monday evening. Flanked by several other union leaders, she added: "We want a deal."

"The two unions representing 2,300 blue-collar workers issued strike notices three days prior to a work stoppage in July and before a pending strike in August that was later averted. Those warnings are not required, however, and unions left the door open for a possible walkout if a deal is not reached by Thursday night's deadline."