The Legislature returns today in Round 1 of a big political year that will include statewide races, ballot initiatives, a budget with money -- and the FBI.
From the Bee's Jeremy B. White and Jim Miller: "The coming legislative year will be marked by leadership transitions in both houses; tests of a Democratic supermajority that November elections could erase; disputes over how to spend a fiscal windfall; wading into water wars; and the ongoing turmoil around a state senator who is under the FBI’s microscope."
"The Assembly is scheduled to convene at noon and the Senate at 2 p.m., sporting – almost – full houses. Despite a spate of special elections last year, the Assembly should fill all 80 seats today, while the upper house will be down only one from its maximum of 40 – Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands, resigned Dec. 1."
Gov. Brown wants to take funds collected from the sale of emission credits in California's cap-and-trade auctions and use the money to help pay for the proposed bullet train.
From the Bee's David Siders: "Brown is expected to include the proposal in the annual budget plan he will release Friday. Brown has made high-speed rail a priority of his administration, and he suggested two years ago that cap-and-trade revenue, which is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, would be a future source of funding for the project"
"But the use of cap-and-trade money for high-speed rail could be problematic. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said in 2012 that while the rail project could eventually help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, benefits would not be seen until after 2020, the year by which California is seeking to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals."
Sardines may be small but they play a big role in the ecosystem -- and the declining numbers of the little fish could have profound ripple effects.
From the LAT's Tony Barboza: 'To blame is the biggest sardine crash in generations, which has made schools of the small, silvery fish a rarity on the West Coast. The decline has prompted steep cuts in the amount fishermen are allowed to catch, and scientists say the effects are probably radiating throughout the ecosystem, starving brown pelicans, sea lions and other predators that rely on the oily, energy-rich fish for food."
"If sardines don't recover soon, experts warn, the West Coast's marine mammals, seabirds and fishermen could suffer for years. The reason for the drop is unclear. Sardine populations are famously volatile, but the decline is the steepest since the collapse of the sardine fishery in the mid-20th century. And their numbers are projected to keep sliding."
A nationwide network of political groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers raised more than $400 million in 2012 and is expected to be similarly active this election year, according to an analysis by the Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics.
From the Post's Matea Gold: "But they have substantial firepower. Together, the 17 conservative groups that made up the network raised at least $407 million during the 2012 campaign, according to the analysis of tax returns by The Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics."
"A labyrinth of tax-exempt groups and limited-liability companies helps mask the sources of the money, much of which went to voter mobilization and television ads attacking President Obama and congressional Democrats, according to tax filings and campaign finance reports."
Meanwhile, CalPERS, the huge public pension fund, is planning its third rate hike in two years.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "To cover the cost of retirees living longer, the CalPERS board next month is expected to approve the third rate hike in the last two years, phasing in the increase to soften the blow on state and local governments."
"The new rate hike would not begin until fiscal 2016-17 to allow employers time to plan after receiving rate projections next year. When fully phased in by 2020-21, the new rate hike and the previous two would raise rates roughly 50 percent above current levels."
"In the first rate increase in March 2012, CalPERS lowered its investment earnings forecast from 7.75 to 7.5 percent, but critics say that’s still too optimistic. In a second rate increase last April, CalPERS adopted new actuarial methods that pay off debt sooner."
Newly arrived UC President Janet Napolitano, who formerly headed the Department of Homeland Security, says former NSA contractor Edward Snowden should not receive clemency for leaking classified documents.
From the LAT's David Lauter: "University of California President Janet Napolitano, the former chief of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Sunday that she opposed offering clemency to Edward Snowden, putting herself at odds with a movement that has gained strength in many parts of the state."
"I think Snowden has exacted quite a bit of damage and did it in a way that violated the law," Napolitano said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to the former National Security Agency contractor’s disclosure of classified documents on intelligence surveillance operations at home and abroad."
California's public schools are getting more money under the new state budget, but the administration is putting together strict new rules to make sure the funds are spent properly.
From the Cabinet Report's Tom Chorneau: "As a condition of receiving new money under the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula, districts must report specifics on how the dollars were used to support legislative priorities such as improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged students and better engaging parents as well as overall pupil achievement."
"The proposed regulations also clearly mandates that the LCFF money earmarked for English learners, low-income students and foster youth must be used to increase services, not just maintain the status quo – a major criticism of preliminary regulations released in November."
And from our "X Files" file comes word of the an Airbus that had a close encounter with an unidentified flying object over England.
"A pilot has told how his passenger jet came with feet of being hit by a UFO while flying at 34,000 feet over the Berkshire countryside."
"The captain was so convinced that the “rugby ball” shaped object would smash into the Airbus that he ducked as it headed towards the cockpit."
"The pilot reported the incident to air traffic control and checked the aircraft’s instruments immediately after it shot past, but there was no sign of the mystery object. It appeared so suddenly out of a left hand side cockpit window, that the aircrew had no time to take evasive action, before it passed within a few feet of the jet, The Telegraph reports."
Liked flying saucers better ....
