Capitol Weekly looks at
the power of Senate moderates, and
some of the bills they have already killed in Senate committees. "Thanks to legislative leadership, the Moderate Caucus does not exist. But moderates still hold the key to passing, or killing, legislation in the Senate.
Although Democrats enjoy a near veto-proof majority in the upper house,
a relatively small group of members still have the ability to alter the fate of a piece of legislation. On the Senate floor, the defection of five Democrats from the party line can kill a bill. And on some key Senate committees, such as Health or Appropriations, it can be as few as two.Part of this may be by design. In March, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata changed the locks on the offices of three Senate Democrats for attending a Moderate Caucus fundraiser in March. But he didn't remove those members from key committees. In fact, Perata is the architect of those the Senate committees. And
on many of those panels, the number of moderate Democrats and Republicans, when taken together, comprise a majority.
And The Morongo Band of Mission Indians says they have
"completed the first phase" of their public outreach campaign to try to pressure lawmakers to sign their compacts. After more than
2 million phone calls, 1.5 million pieces of mail and $2 million spent on TV advertising, the tribe has opted to stand down, for now, and hope that Speaker
Fabian Nuņez will convince his caucus to pass the compacts.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
is poised to call for privatizing the state lottery, a move that would bring California a cash infusion of as much as $37 billion to help solve pressing budget problems but also could sacrifice a major revenue source for decades to come," reports Evan Halper in the Times.
"The lottery would be leased to a private company for up to 40 years in exchange for a lump-sum payment or series of payments, according to documents from the governor's budget office that were provided to legislative staff and obtained by The Times. If lawmakers were to sign off on such a plan, California could become the first state to privatize its lottery.
"Schwarzenegger will issue a revised budget proposal Monday that is expected to contain the lottery plan.
"
Adam Mendelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications director, confirmed that the governor's staff had been working with investment banks on the plan. He said private companies could do a better job of running the lottery than the state, resulting in more Californians playing and the largest possible cash infusion.
"'California has one of the lowest-performing lotteries in the country,' he said. 'Taxpayers could see two to three times more money go into state coffers.'"
John Howard looks at the
ongoing battle over earthquake insurance in the state. "Thirteen years after the Northridge earthquake shook Southern California, the state still is wrestling with how to best protect homeowners in the event of another quake--and what obligation the insurance industry has to provide quake insurance to consumers."
"Next year,
the obligation for insurers to pay $2.2 billion in the event of a quake, a key component in the complex financial structure of the CYA, goes out of existence. It will disappear under the contract in the law that created the CEA in 1996. Some replacement is likely to be negotiated--the CEA's governing board decided two weeks ago to get the ball rolling--but how much and in what form is uncertain. Insurers, regulators and consumers are watching closely. Negotiations are under way."
Meanwhile, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
pledged Wednesday to continue pursuing his $5.9 billion water plan after it stalled last month in the state Senate, and he reiterated his desire to build new dams in California despite Democratic opposition," writes the Bee's Kevin Yamamura.
"In a nod to Democrats, the Republican governor emphasized his proposed $200 million in conservation grants at an Association of California Water Agencies luncheon in Sacramento.
Yet he drew the most applause from 700 water officials when he called for two new dams in California."'As you all know, investing in conservation only is not enough to solve our water problem,' Schwarzenegger said. '...
We need additional above-the-ground water storage.'
"The governor gave no indication Wednesday that he would reduce the size of his plan. The thrust of his proposal calls for a new dam above Friant Dam near Fresno and another new dam at Sites reservoir in Colusa and Glenn counties. Democratic leaders and environmental groups believe the state can solve its needs by relying more on improvements in water management and conservation."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday he is
moving quickly to fix an unintended glitch that threatened to pull the plug on his ambitious Million Solar Roofs initiative," writes Marc Lifsher in the Times.
"Requests for rebates have plummeted this year, after a new law inadvertently made it uneconomical for many homeowners to put electricity-generating solar panels on their homes. Solar equipment installers have complained that business is tanking.
"The governor said he'd reached a deal with key lawmakers to rush a bill through the Legislature that would drop a requirement that rebate applicants sign up for costly pricing plans from the state's three investor-owned utilities.
"'Last year's legislation had an unintended flaw we are seeking to immediately fix so we can maximize Californians' participation in the program,' Schwarzenegger said in a statement released by his office late Wednesday."
CW reports on Sen. Jack Scott's efforts to
fundamentally alter the way public schools are financed.
"A longstanding dispute over how to fund California's public schools has resurfaced this year. Leading the charge is Sen. Jack Scott, D-Alta Dena, who wants to
move schools away from the average daily attendance, or ADA, system used to calculate state payments to public schools.
Instead,
Scott wants schools to receive public funding based on average monthly enrollment. The state's largest teacher's unions support the proposal.
Opponents of the plan include Schwarzenegger administration officials who say the plan will lead to a spike in Proposition 98 funding for schools and remove what they call a key incentive for schools to ensure students come to class.
Scott insists the plan is not an attempt to spike education funding. Rather, he says, it's simply a way to lighten the bookkeeping load on local schools and create a more logical system of public-school finance."
"The State Board of Education is poised to make a decision today in what's been the most difficult part of creating the California High School Exit Exam:
whether students with disabilities should be required to pass the test to graduate," reports the Bee's Laurel Rosenhall.
"
Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of schools, has recommended that the exit exam become a graduation requirement for students in special education. Those students -- who have learning disabilities, autism, deafness, mental retardation and a host of other conditions -- have been exempt from passing the test since it became mandatory for all other students beginning with the class of 2006.
"O'Connell's recommendation that special ed students in the class of 2008 and beyond be held to the test is sure to spark fierce debate and could reopen a lawsuit that's been on hiatus for over a year.
"'If legislation adopts that recommendation, it leaves students with disabilities completely unprotected and it puts them in a situation where they're going to be penalized by the state's failures,' said
Roger Heller, an attorney with Disability Rights Advocates, which sued the state over the exit exam.
'All they're really doing here is forcing us to return to court.'"
"Secretary of State
Debra Bowen is asking computer scientists from UC Davis and UC Berkeley to try to hack into election systems across California to ensure that voting equipment is safe from fraud or abuse.
"The effort is part of a $1.8 million program Bowen announced Wednesday to test performance and investigate the security of different voting machines and technologies in use in California.
"'California has spent about $450 million on new voting systems over the past few years and yet the result is that people have more questions about whether votes are being counted as they are cast,' Bowen said in a telephone conference with reporters.
"The program is intended to secure voting systems before the state's Feb. 5 presidential primary, one of three statewide elections to be held in 2008."
"
Patricia Clarey, a former chief of staff to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
has been appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to a commission reviewing the salaries of school board members. The City Council added its approval Wednesday.
"The commission was created when voters approved Measure L, which called for ethics reforms for school board members and a review of salaries to see if they should earn more or serve full time."
"Faculty senate members at the University of California yesterday
voted 43-4 against a proposal that would ban taking research money from the tobacco industry," writes Eleanor Yang Su in the Union Tribune.
"Those who voted against the ban at a meeting in Oakland said they are concerned about setting a precedent that could limit academic freedom.
"'If you think about the pharmaceutical industry, they've clearly suppressed findings and academic research,' said
Andrew Scull, a San Diego sociology professor. 'Someone could say we shouldn't take that kind of money. Once you breach that principle, it's a worrisome thing.'
"Supporters of the proposal point to a federal judge's ruling last August that concluded tobacco companies violated racketeering laws and misrepresented the risks of smoking and secondhand smoke."
Still unsure about what to get mom for Mother's Day (hint-hint, it's Sunday)? How about a
a 2005, off-white Cadillac STS with a mere 45,450 miles on it?
"It's the taxpayer-subsidized car that state Sen.
Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, was driving around until a few months ago, when she traded in the less-than-PC Caddy for a greener Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV.
"The state paid $53,481 for the STS. Opening bid when it goes to auction today is $16,000 -- which is only about half the Kelley Blue Book value.
You can take a peek at it by going to
www.ofa.dgs.ca.gov/Auction/Auction_pg01.htm"
