"The California Senate
voted Tuesday to move the state's presidential primary from June to February in hopes of increasing the state's political clout — but the plan could backfire," reports Nancy Vogel in the Times.
"The Senate passed a measure that would enable Democrats and Republicans to choose presidential nominees Feb. 5 instead of June 3. The bill is expected to be heard in the Assembly next week and to pass easily. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will sign it.
"Lawmakers hope that an early California primary will force contenders to rethink a campaign strategy that traditionally focuses on face-to-face persuasion in New Hampshire and Iowa, which hold the country's first primaries or caucuses in January.
"But at least four other big states are poised to hold early primaries as well, potentially eroding the greater role California hopes to play."
Hey, let's just have our primary next week! That will make us super important!"Legislation similar to California's is pending in Illinois, Texas, Florida and New Jersey. And politicians in New York and elsewhere are pondering early primaries."
From our
Spoonful of Sugar Files "Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata said Tuesday that
any legislative effort to extend term limits should be paired with an overhaul of lobbying rules, a move he said would make the package more palatable to voters.
"Among the proposals that Perata floated was an outright ban on gifts from lobbyists to legislators."
"'We in California allow lobbyists to do certain things and I'd ban all of that, frankly,' said Perata, an Oakland Democrat. '
I don't think lawmakers should take gifts from lobbyists. I don't think there ought to be a $10 limit (on meals). It should be banned permanently.'"
Somewhere, Randy Paragary is trembling...And yet, somehow, we doubt the Hawaii "policy retreats" paid for by lobbying organizations will be canned.
"Republican state Sen.
Dennis Hollingsworth believes a resolution urging President Bush not to send more troops or equipment to Iraq without approval from Congress is
evidence of a nation's crumbling resolve," reports Judy Lin in the Bee.
"'Just kill a few hundred more, a few thousand more, and the Americans will cut and run,' Hollingsworth said of how al-Qaida and other terrorist groups would view the United States. 'All we have to do is hold out for a little while longer. They're crumbling.'
"'Balderdash,' retorted Sen.
Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica. 'If anything is supporting and emboldening our enemies, it's this war. ... Our enemies are bolder than they've ever been, not because we're faltering, but because this war was a mistake and the rest of the world knows it.'
"During an hourlong debate filled with similarly sharp exchanges Tuesday, California Democrats quickly pushed through the Senate a resolution opposing a military escalation in Iraq despite Republicans' accusations that it could embolden terrorists."
"California's newly elected insurance commissioner, Republican
Steve Poizner of Silicon Valley,
promised to create a non-partisan agency that is 'fiercely independent from those being regulated,'" reports Mike Zapler in the Merc News.
But in one of his first moves, the potential gubernatorial candidate in 2010
has appointed a longtime insurance industry representative,
Bill Gausewitz, as his special counsel, a top legal position in his office. Poizner -- who presides over the obscure but powerful agency that regulates the state's insurance industry -- also selected as his chief of staff a former high-level Republican staffer in the state Senate.
"Poizner said Gausewitz will be one of more than a dozen senior aides advising him, representing a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints. He called Gausewitz a 'brilliant lawyer' with extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and state government.
"But the appointments have prompted questions about Poizner's commitment to create a centrist, independent office. One leading consumer rights advocate who endorsed Poizner instead of Democrat
Cruz Bustamante was incensed by the choice of Gausewitz in particular, saying it creates a fox-guarding-the-henhouse scenario.
"'It contradicts what Poizner promised to the public,' said
Harvey Rosenfield, the author of Proposition 103, the landmark 1988 measure that established regulations for the auto insurance industry. 'He's proposing putting an industry guy in charge of regulating the industry. That's devastating.'
"Responded Poizner: 'I definitely understand his passion and it's heartfelt, but that's just not the case. I'm hiring a large, diverse team of people.'"
"Judges
would get more discretion to sentence criminals under a bill passed yesterday by the state Senate in response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"The court invalidated California's current law because it requires judges to choose the middle of three sentencing options unless the facts of a case justify a shorter or longer prison sentence. By law, many of the factors judges weigh in that decision aren't considered by jurors. The justices said it is unconstitutional to increase a
sentence based on facts that were not found true by a jury. The Senate bill would end the problem by giving judges the discretion to choose a sentence within a range set by law for a particular crime."
Death With Dignity is back, and this time, it has the Speaker's blessing, reports Steve Geissinger.
"Assembly Speaker
Fabian Nuñez said Tuesday that he will join Van Nuys Democrat
Lloyd Levine in leading a legislative move this year to establish an Oregon-style, physician-assisted suicide law in California.
"A Senate committee narrowly rejected a similar bill by Levine and Assemblywoman
Patty Berg, D-Santa Rosa, last year.
"But Levine and Berg said odds of passage have risen now that they have the support of Nuñez, a Los Angeles Democrat."
And, from the Rumor Mill, Matier and Ross
contemplate Governor Maria.
"Shriver has been playing a bigger role in her husband's administration in other ways. She was said to be front and center in picking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest team of political advisers and in shaping his "post-partisan" agenda.
"And she has taken on some high-profile causes of her own, including launching the California Hall of Fame in Sacramento and hosting an annual women's conference.
"So, is
John F. Kennedy's niece considering a future run -- maybe even succeeding her action hero husband as governor?
"Shriver's chief of staff,
Daniel Zingale, said he's tried repeatedly to interest her in running for office, but she shows no interest.
"'She played a huge role in Arnold finding his legacy and footing as governor,' Zingale said. 'But she's not interested in that job at all herself -- much to my chagrin.'"
Hey, it's early yet, right?
