Capping a day of intense activity in the capitol, Governor Brown and Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León stripped a key provision from SB350 that would have halved petroleum use in the state by 50%, conceding that they did not have the votes to pass the measure as it was. The move is seen as a big win for oil companies and a loss for Brown, who also saw hopes for a proposed gas tax flounder yesterday. Jessica Calefati and Tracy Seipel, San Jose Mercury News:
“Shortly after negotiations over a proposed tax hike on gasoline collapsed because of a lack of support from the GOP, Democrats surrendered to oil companies' demands to amend a bill that seeks to combat climate change, easily marking the worst day of Brown's fourth term.
“Speaking at a Capitol news conference late Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León announced amendments to Senate Bill 350 that delete a key goal to cut Californians' use of petroleum in gasoline 50 percent by 2030, conceding that he had been unable to compete with the oil industry's ‘bottomless war chest.’
"’I don't think we've seen an amount of money spent like we have seen in the last four months -- tens of millions of dollars spent to create this smoke screen’ of deception with high-priced, negative advertising, he said.”
The announcement about SB350 followed a lengthy and emotional debate on the Assembly floor over ABX2-15, the revived aid-in-dying bill, which ultimately passed, and now heads to the Senate. Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle:
“Several Assembly members spoke through tears as they recounted the loss or near loss of their parents or child, saying those experiences drove them to their decisions about how to vote on the controversial legislation, which passed 43-34.
“’This is about respecting the choices of those we love the most,’ said Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, who choked up as he talked about his dad’s terminal illness and how it influenced his decision to co-author ABX2-15….
“Lawmakers who supported the bill embraced after the legislation passed. The bill now heads to the state Senate, where it is expected to win approval — a previous version already passed there.”
Several bills to regulate the use of drones have been proposed this session, but one bill that passed the legislature failed the governor’s test. Jerry Brown issued an evening veto of Senate Bill 142, by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), which would have made some drone flights over private property illegal. David Siders, Sacramento Bee:
“Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have prohibited flying a drone less than 350 feet above private property without the property owner’s permission, saying he worried about exposing drone users to litigation.
“’Drone technology certainly raises novel issues that merit careful examination,’ Brown said in a veto message. ‘This bill, however, while well-intentioned, could expose the occasional hobbyist and the FAA-approved commercial user alike to burdensome litigation and new causes of action.’
He added, ‘Before we go down that path, let’s look at this more carefully.’”
With only two days left in the session, proponents of revised medical marijuana regulations are seeing hope dim for action this session as legislative jockeying slows the process. Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee:
“In a letter to Democratic leaders on Wednesday, officials from organized labor, local government and police departments voiced their concerns over what they describe as the difficulty both legislative chambers are having in reaching a consensus on a measure, the details of which have yet to be released publicly. While they don’t give a reason for the delay, several Capitol sources in recent days have complained about internal jockeying over which legislators will claim credit
“The letter comes a week after lawmakers confirmed that Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has stepped in to help meld the policies outlined in various Assembly and Senate bills, and to negotiate any lingering disagreements harbored by the authors.”
Former GOP Chair Duf Sundeim announced that he has joined the race for Senator Barbara Boxer’s seat. Or, as Dan Walters quipped, “Another Reep vies for chance to lose US Senate election.” Also Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee:
“’I am running for the United States Senate to give the people of California a voice in their government,’ Sundheim said. ‘California has suffered an economic earthquake that has split our state in two. We have seen one of the greatest accumulations of wealth in history, but there are 8.9 million people living in poverty.’”
East Bay Fire Chief Peter Nowicki became a poster child for pension spiking when it was discovered that he had retired from a $194,000 per year job with a $241,000 a year pension. Six years later, Contra Costa has chopped his pension by 28%. From the Contra Costa Times:
“At age 50, he retired in 2009 from the tiny Moraga Orinda Fire District and traded his $194,000 salary for a starting pension of $241,000 a year.
“That was made possible because he and his fire board secretly negotiated last-minute contract changes that were finalized just three days before he publicly announced his departure.
"’It's self-dealing by someone who knew he was going to retire,’ Scott Gordon, a trustee of the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association, succinctly concluded Wednesday as the pension board voted 7-0, with two abstentions, to give Nowicki a giant financial haircut.”
Once (and future?) gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown quietly tried to negotiate a deal for a major political donor accused of domestic violence. Jeff Elder, Wall Street Journal:
“A Wall Street Journal investigation reveals how Mr. Westly sought in 2014 to use his political ties to help startup founder and CEO Gurbaksh Chahal ‘do whatever it takes’ to resolve a domestic violence case in hopes of saving an upcoming IPO.
“Mr. Chahal, who ran RadiumOne, was charged in August 2013 with striking his girlfriend more than 100 times over a 30-minute period. Three months later, Mr. Westly joined RadiumOne’s board and quickly came to Mr. Chahal’s aid, according to emails reviewed by the Journal that were exhibits from a legal brief prepared by Mr. Chahal’s attorney.
“As the Journal story shows, Mr. Westly connected Mr. Chahal with another big Democratic power player, Willie Brown, a lawyer and the former mayor of San Francisco and speaker of the Assembly of California. They discussed how Mr. Brown could meet with the district attorney ‘to make this go away.’”
