From our
Talk Amongst Yourselves Files, the Chron reports "long-time Democratic adviser
Bob Mulholland said
he's left Phil Angelides' campaign for governor to return to his duties at the state party."
"Mulholland, who served as a senior adviser to state Treasurer Angelides throughout primary campaign victory over state Controller
Steve Westly, said Monday that he'd always planned to return to his job at the Democratic Party for the general election."
"'This is where I've worked a long time, this is something we talked about,' Mulholland said."
Meanwhile, back in the Capitol..."Deviating from this year's political emphasis on finding common ground with Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic legislators Monday
began a largely symbolic effort to provide state-run healthcare for all Californians and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants," reports the LAT's Jordan Rau.
See? There are two perfectly good issues for
Phil Angelides to run on, right there.
"By the time the session ends Thursday,
the Legislature is likely to send to the Republican governor several additional bills that he is expected to reject. They would make it harder for companies such as Wal-Mart to open superstores, allow illegal immigrants to obtain financial aid for state colleges and universities, and ban school textbooks and curricula from including negative comments about homosexuals. Schwarzenegger either vetoed previous years' versions of these bills or has given indications that he will veto them."
Then again, you could say that about presciption drugs and minimum wage as well...
"'Everybody is playing both sides at the same time,' [SJSU political science prof
Larry Gerston said. 'The [health insurance] bill is one of the few opportunities for the Democrats to distinguish themselves from the Republicans. But there aren't many, because they've reached so many compromises in so many areas.'"
"Democratic lawmakers moved Monday toward a pre-election showdown over health insurance with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the
Assembly approved a universal health care bill that the Republican governor is likely to veto," reports the Bee's Clea Benson.
"
Senate Bill 840 would allow the state to run a single-payer health care system that would cover all Californians, doing away with the role of private insurance companies. Private medical groups and hospitals would continue to provide care as usual, but they would be paid through the state system."
"The bill passed the Assembly on a largely partisan vote of 43-30. It must come up for a vote in the Senate this week before it can move to the governor's desk."
"'
If it's vetoed ... I hope the citizens of California will hang the albatross of bad health care around the governor's neck,' Sen.
Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, the author of SB 840, said at a news conference before Monday's vote."
"Schwarzenegger's Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race, state Treasurer Phil Angelides,
has not taken a position on SB 840."
Meanwhile, "Legislation to allow illegal immigrants in California apply for driver's licenses was
resurrected Monday in a weakened version that's contingent on federal funding," writes Aurelio Rojas in the Bee.
"
Senate Bill 1162 by Sen.
Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, was approved by Democrats in the Assembly on a 42-34 vote, a week after Democrats derailed its precursor, fearing a voter backlash in November."
Mike Zapler and Edwin Garcia
report in the Merc News: "The two bills represent a departure of sorts by legislative leaders, who last week worked closely with the support of the governor to fashion deals to raise the minimum wage and to provide prescription drug discounts for low-income families."
"Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata, D-Oakland, said his party was simply pursuing its goals, not trying to put Schwarzenegger in a difficult spot for political purposes."
"'We have had these issues going year after year,' Perata said. 'We all feel strongly about them, and
our commitment is to put them on the governor's desk until he signs them. So it's not jamming him. We're just doing our job. It's an expression of what we believe in.'"
"Amid a
bout of bad publicity for top California officials, Senate leader
Don Perata said Monday he was
reconsidering the shelving of bills opposed by developers who contributed $500,000 to a campaign committee tied to the Bay Area Democrat," Steve Geissinger reports.
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reports, "Assemblywoman
Betty Karnette, D-Long Beach, has introduced
late amendments to a bill to create a tax break of at least $100 million in an attempt to keep Boeing’s Long Beach plant open."
"The plant, the largest private employer in Long Beach, has some 5,500 workers."
"Karnette gutted AB 2731 last Thursday, taking an inactive Medi-Cal bill she had introduced last February and inserting the new language. The revised bill now calls for a tax credit of up to $10,000 per worker 'for employees engaged in the manufacture of a C-17 Globemaster III, a Joint Cargo Aircraft, of KC-X Tanker (to be manufactured by the Boeing Corporation in Long Beach).'"
"The revised $1.8 billion, 5,000-slot gaming compact between the governor and a local tribe
hit a roadblock marked 'Labor Vote' in Sacramento on Monday," report Jake Henshaw and Debra Gruszecki in the Desert News.
"
A bill to ratify the historic compact that would allow a third local casino for the Palm Springs-based Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and could mean $1.8 billion in revenue to the state's General Fund through 2030 was called for a vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly three times Monday. And three times it was voted down."
"Labor groups oppose the Agua Caliente compact because it does not allow for certain union organizing practices among casino workers."
"
Alva Johnson, government affairs representative for the Agua Caliente, said after the vote, 'It's still alive, we're still working on it. We're still confident.'"
If there's time left for fundraisers, there's time left for compromise.
Mayor Villaraigosa took one step closer to victory yesterday, as the
Senate passed his LAUSD overhaul.
"The bill was approved 23-14 - just above the required 21 votes - on a mainly party-line vote, with two Democrats crossing over to oppose the bill and two Republicans in support.
'I can tell you that the work's not done yet,' Villaraigosa said minutes after the morning vote. 'We've still got an Assembly battle. But my hope is, (Today) we'll be able to declare victory there as well.'"
Dan Walters
draws an analogy of this legislative session with the 1996 session, when several bills were approved that overhauled with unpredictable (and, eventually mixed) results.
"Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, interestingly enough, is personally carrying all three measures, and Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed all three in concept:"
"Assembly Bill 32, which would impose caps on carbon emissions to put California in the forefront of fighting global warming."
"Assembly Bill 1381, which would give Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa an unprecedented role in managing the huge Los Angeles Unified School District."
"Assembly Bill 2987, which would allow telephone companies to begin offering cable television services under state charter, bypassing local governments."
"The hyperbole notwithstanding, there are some parallels. The cable TV bill, for instance, is almost a kissing cousin of the utility deregulation measure. Proponents of both contended that ending government-sanctioned monopolies and encouraging competition would drive prices down."
"The same kind of minute-to-minute horsetrading that marked the 1996 utility bill has been under way on the Los Angeles school measure, which cleared the Senate by a 23-14 vote Monday and needs just one more Assembly vote. And it also reflects the 1996 class-size reduction measure in that it's being touted as a panacea for poor academic performance."
"The global warming bill echoes the 1996 earthquake authority measure as an effort by the state to go it alone in dealing with a potential calamity, but it's more evocative of utility deregulation in that it will have immense economic impacts on Californians."
"One wonders whether, a decade from now, we will look back on 2006 actions with pride or dismay."
We're confident you'll have a column, Dan.
And then, there's microgoverning to be done. "Parents who smoke in their automobiles when children 6 and younger are present could be fined $100, in a bill the Senate approved Monday. The bill, AB 379, approved on a 23-14 vote, was one of two the Senate passed aimed at providing protections to children. The other would require homeowners to put up at least one safety feature when installing or remodeling a swimming a pool," reports the Merc's Steven Harmon.
Meanwhile, the governor yesterday gave his veto pen a warm-up and came to the rescue of pinot noir and cabernet by vetoing Carole Migden's zinfandel bill.
"'It would be a shame,' the governor wrote, to effectively snub syrah and spite chardonnay.
"'Whether it is a Cabernet from Napa or Sonoma, a delicate Pinot Noir from the Central Coast, a Zinfandel from the San Joaquin Valley or Sierra Foothills, California produces some of the finest wines in the world,' Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message for SB 1253. 'California wines have inspired authors, artists and Oscar-winning motion pictures.'"
Not to mention made it difficult, on more than one occasion, to get up to write The Roundup.
Get Well Soon: Budget heavy lifter Wesley Chebro will miss the final week of his Senate career after being hospitalized at UCD Med Center for a hernia. Best Roundup wishes for a speedy recovery, Wes!
