The Register's Brian Joseph looks at the
practice of legislators collecting pledges rather than checks at end-of-session fundraisers, which allows them to avoid reporting the contributions until the checks are received. "Orange County Assemblyman
Chuck DeVore hosted a fundraiser Aug. 15 but the next day reported no new contributions to his campaign. That's not exactly raking in the cash."
"But it actually wasn't a failure – the checks just hadn't arrived. DeVore, like many California lawmakers, is taking advantage of a new twist in the campaign finance world: accepting pledges from attendees. The money would come later."
"Until then, it's impossible to know exactly who is financing DeVore. The state's campaign disclosure regulations only require candidates to report the day when a contribution is received, not the day when the promise is made."
"'To follow the trail before, you would see the money change hands. That was your sign to see if a (vote) was taken to benefit the donor. Now it can happen after the fact,' said
Derek Cressman, executive director of TheRestofUs.Org, a campaign finance monitor."
"
Robert Flanigan, an account manager for Capital Campaigns, which organized the DeVore event and events for
President Bush, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Orange County Sheriff
Mike Carona, said that '99 percent of the time' pledges are good."
"'I don't know a lobbyist who would make a commitment he couldn't keep,' said Flanigan, who said money sometimes comes in before the fundraiser, not afterward. 'The whole thing in the lobbying world is your word is golden,' he said."
"After scoring several major political victories this year in deals with the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remaining
key pieces of agenda were in trouble Tuesday as lawmakers entered the final sprint before the end of the legislative session later this week," write Mark Martin and Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"Democrats and the governor still had not reached a deal on legislation that would make California the first state in the nation to curb greenhouse gas emissions from major industries. And the governor's proposal to spend $6 billion on new prison sites was substantially rewritten by lawmakers, while new gambling compacts Schwarzenegger negotiated with three Indian tribes faced major legislative opposition."
"One gaming deal between a Southern California tribe and the governor was defeated in the state Assembly. Despite the defeat, Schwarzenegger announced two more deals with two other tribes that could add 11,000 slot machines to California casinos."
"Negotiations on all three issues continued Tuesday, and it was unclear how each would end up before lawmakers leave town on Thursday for the year."
Meanwhile, the governor
now has free reign to veto the universal health care bill, and can't be criticized by his main opponent for it. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has already signaled his opposition to [Sheila Kuehl's universal health care bill], saying in a July speech that government should not be the one to take on the management of big programs like a medical care system for the entire state," writes the Chron's Tom Chorneau.
"But state Treasurer
Phil Angelides, the governor's Democratic rival,
announced that he's also opposed -- even though a campaign aide said in June he supported Kuehl's bill."
What, no announcement on the compacts, Phil?
"Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa's bid for greater control over the Los Angeles Unified School District
cleared the Legislature on Tuesday evening and headed for Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who praised the mayor for 'bold leadership,'" reports Nancy Vogel in the Times.
"'
I ask the Legislature to immediately send this bill to my desk so I can sign this measure to give all LAUSD students the quality education they deserve to succeed,' Schwarzenegger said in an unusually quick endorsement of legislation."
"
The bill embodying Villaraigosa's plan for more mayoral involvement in public schools passed the Assembly, its last legislative hurdle, on a 42-20 vote, with 17 members not voting."
But it didn't happen before Villaraigosa was forced to sweat a bit, and the mayor took up residence in Speaker Fabian Nuñez's office, calling in members one by one, and asking for their vote.
"Assemblywoman
Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles)
recused herself from voting for the bill on the Assembly floor and earlier in the day in the Assembly Education Committee, which she heads.
She said she is a candidate to replace Romer and recused herself 'out of an abundance of caution.'"
Howard Blume and Duke Helfand look at
what the mayor is getting in to. "Villaraigosa has achieved, in essence, a power-sharing arrangement with the school board and a new Council of Mayors that he will dominate, but not absolutely control. The mayor also will have direct authority over three low-performing high schools — as yet unnamed — and their feeder elementary and middle schools."
"It's an untried system to begin with, but there are numerous other uncertainties introduced by the legislation."
"Among other things, Villaraigosa's bill raises questions about the role of teachers in deciding curriculum, stirs constitutional questions about his right to oversee schools and may even impede what many consider to be the district's most successful endeavor — the construction of schools."
"The mayor's hostilities with the [existing LAUSD] board also present another imminent problem. The bill probably will face an immediate legal challenge."
If the legal challenges are overcome, Superintendent Goldberg
may have lots of money to play with under end-of-session
legislation. "About 500 of California's lowest-performing schools would share $2.9 billion to reduce class sizes over the next seven years under an agreement being worked out this week in the Legislature," writes the Bee's Clea Benson.
"The deal is part of a lawsuit settlement Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reached this spring with the California Teachers Association, which sued the state, contending that schools were shortchanged in recent budgets. While the settlement was considered to be part of this year's budget agreement, exactly how the money would be spent was left up in the air."
"Now, amid some controversy, it
appears all the funds are likely to go to the state's most underperforming schools in the form of grants. The money would come on top of the operating funds that schools get each year from the state."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who spent his first two years in office battling Indian tribes with casinos, is now
giving at least four of them a vast expansion unlike anything they received from the man Schwarzenegger swept from office," reports the LAT's Dan Morain.
"Under new Schwarzenegger compacts awaiting lawmakers' approval, Southern California would have up to 19,500 more authorized slot machines. The region could become home to some of the world's largest casinos, each containing as many as 7,500 slot machines."
"In exchange, the tribes would pay the state tens of millions of dollars more. Additional agreements are being negotiated."
"On Tuesday, the Republican governor authorized each of three tribes — the
Morongo band of Mission Indians near Banning, the
Pechanga band of Luiseño Mission Indians near Temecula and the
San Manuel band of Mission Indians on the outskirts of San Bernardino — to add 5,500 slot machines to the 2,000 they have."
Meanwhile, "Democratic legislative leaders Tuesday
presented an alternative to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for addressing prison overcrowding, one administration officials said would force county jails to release thousands of inmates by next June," writes the Bee's Andy Furillo.
"The four bills would provide $918 million in bond and general fund financing for prison expansion, authorize the state to move 4,500 women to community correctional facilities, offer $25 million in grant money for neighborhood parole programs and allow for voluntary inmate transfers to out-of-state institutions."
"Acting Corrections Secretary
James Tilton said in a statement that he was 'encouraged' by the Legislature's 'focus' on the issue. But Tilton said the bills ignore the Republican governor's call to move 4,000 male inmates into private prison beds and to involuntarily transfer 5,000 foreign nationals serving time in California to out-of-state prisons.
"As a result,
these bills do not solve the state's short-term capacity problem,' Tilton said in the statement. 'The lack of a short-term solution will create an emergency situation whereby the department will run out of beds by June 2007.
When that day comes, the department will be forced to stop accepting inmates, and will notify counties that (the prisons) can no longer accept felons sentenced by the courts.'"
"The Legislature on Tuesday handed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
a pair of bills promoting gay equality in school lessons and state tax returns," reports Judy Lin for the Bee.
"Lawmakers approved a watered-down version of Sen.
Sheila Kuehl's measure aimed at school curriculum recognizing the contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community."
"Instead,
Senate Bill 1437 simply prohibits schools from teaching or using textbooks that adversely reflect on people because of their sexual orientation."
"The Legislature also sent Schwarzenegger a bill allowing same-sex partners to file joint state tax returns.
Senate Bill 1827 was written by Sen.
Carole Migden, D-San Francisco."
"California motorists
would have to use hands-free devices while driving and chatting on their cell phones under a bill that cleared the Assembly and is expected to advance to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk," write Matthew Yi and Kimberly Geiger in the Chron.
"The legislation by Sen.
Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, seeks to impose a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. However, the infraction would not result in adding a point to motorists' driving records."
We're looking to our readers to determine whether reading the Roundup on your Blackberry while driving falls within
the bill's prohibition. If it is, we'll try to make it worth the $20 fine.
Dan Walters writes that
AB 32, the emissions bill, will likely be approved, but the
impact of the bill won't be known until the current players are long gone because of term limits. "The latest word from inside the Capitol is that the bill will be cobbled together in time for votes in both legislative houses on Thursday, the last day of the session. That's a lousy way to write legislation that could have a major effect on California's economy -- but with term limits, neither Schwarzenegger nor most of those casting those votes will be in office a decade hence when its impacts become evident. For politicians, therefore, it's symbolic gain without any pain -- to them."
But we'll be there to help clean it alll up...
Finally, from our Helsinki bureau, congrats to the winner of
Finland's annual cell-phone throwing contest, who threw his mobile 292 feet to take home the blue ribbon. We've already put in the request to have the event named after Kevin Shelley
