"California could become the first state to formally call for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
under a ballot proposal the state Senate approved Wednesday," writes Jordan Rau in the Times.
"The resolution is an advisory measure that voters would consider on the presidential primary ballot next February. The proposal is expected to be approved by the Assembly, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not said publicly whether he will sign it.
"Democrats depicted Perata's nonbinding measure -- a rarity in California's century of direct democracy --
as a way to prod President Bush to give up on the increasingly unpopular war. They decried the conflict as a waste of money that could have been better spent on domestic concerns."
George Skelton writes that, while the advisory measure may be a gimmick to turn out voters more friendly to a term limits extension,
he believes the governor should sign it.
"
[I]t would be hypocritical for this self-proclaimed 'governor of the people' to deny Californians an opportunity to express their view on the nation's overriding issue. After all, he's a governor who once called a costly special election on, among other things, inconsequential teacher tenure."Schwarzenegger could keep playing both sides by allowing Californians to vote on the measure while personally opposing it, declaring there can be only one commander-in-chief.
"Perata admitted the war referendum was unusual, but argued that 'this is an extraordinary moment that requires an extraordinary step.'
"Agreed. But
a lot of us suspect the core motivation is changing term limits."And that's fine. Sometimes political self-interest meshes neatly with the public interest."
However, the measure has yet to pass the Assembly, and the word is that
Fabian Nuñez--the national co-chair of the Hillary Clinton campaign--
has little interest in seeing it on the ballot.
Capitol Weekly reports the
Speaker has used his power to coax a number of environmental bills through his house this year.
"After a tough defeat on the Assembly floor last week, Speaker
Fabian Nuñez intervened to secure passage of a bill that would ban a chemical commonly found in baby toys. The arm-twisting by Nuez signals an increased priority by the Assembly on environmental protection, but many of the chemical-ban bills still face a tough rode in the Senate.
"
The toxic-toys bill, AB 1108 by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, was defeated on the Assembly floor last week. But five Assembly Democrats changed their votes--Ed Hernandez, D-La Puente, Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana, Wilmer Carter, D-Rialto, Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, and Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach."Those vote changes came after some serious lobbying from the Assembly leader.
"The speaker was supportive of the bill. That was an important priority for the environmental community," said N��ez spokesman Steve Maviglio. "The speaker, being an environmentalist, pushed it over the top."
"I'm very happy that the speaker prioritized this bill," said Ma Wednesday. "He has committed to the environmental-justice committee that we are serious about the bills concerning chemicals that are dangerous to Californians. He's made it a priority for our caucus."
CW's John Howard reports on a number of
water projects currently being negotiated -- including the mythical peripheral canal.
"Democrats and Republicans alike say nothing is decided and everything is on the table. That includes
dams, reservoirs, levees, groundwater storage, conservation, land-use changes and pipelines. It includes a huge canal to move more Northern California water to the south. It includes repairing, somehow, the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta east of San Francisco, through which 80 percent of California's drinking water flows by 19th century levees. It includes $5.38 billion from Proposition 84 bond funds for five-dozen projects, large and small, plus funds from earlier measures. There are more than 380 water-related bills before lawmakers."
Meanwhile, the
doggy eugenics bill eked out of the Assembly with 41 votes. "Millions of California dogs and cats
would have to be sterilized under legislation passed Wednesday by the Assembly to reduce the burden on local animal shelters," writes Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"The measure, Assembly Bill 1634, would require spaying or neutering in an attempt to reduce the number of unwanted animals by making it impossible for most pets to reproduce.
"Assemblyman
Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, said more than 400,000 dogs and cats are euthanized every year at a cost of $300 million."
"The state Senate and Assembly
passed separate measures Wednesday that Democrats argue will bring fairness and common sense to prison sentences and Republicans insist will ensure criminals are let out on the streets early," reports Edwin Garcia in the Merc News.
"The separate, but similar, bills would each create a sentencing commission, an independent panel that could rewrite the guidelines used by judges who determine the punishment for different crimes.
"Democrats say the commission will be charged with creating a new sentencing system that will be more equitable than the current one, in part by allowing criminals to serve "appropriate" punishment, which could lengthen sentences for some crimes and eliminate jail time for others, such as non-violent offenses. New sentencing laws also could help alleviate prison overcrowding at a time when the state is under a federal court order to remedy the situation."
The Bee's Chris Bowman covers the
Assembly's latest effort to promote fuel efficient cars. "Here's one way to combat global warming: Take $2,500 out of the pockets of new Hummer owners and give it to buyers of the Toyota Prius.
"That's essentially the proposal set for a vote today or Friday on the Assembly floor of the California Legislature.
"The same body that passed the nation's first law curbing climate-altering or 'greenhouse' tailpipe exhausts is debating a system of fees and rebates to coax some of those emission cuts from new car buyers.
"The bill by Assemblyman
Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, is considered one of the top global warming bills of the session.
"The measure would require buyers of gas guzzlers, which emit high levels of greenhouse gases, to pay a surcharge of up to $2,500."
"'Hustler' publisher
Larry Flynt -- just days after posting a $1 million bounty for verifiable information on the sexual exploits of U.S. Congress members and political leaders --
says he's already been deluged by more than 200 leads pouring in from around the country, '80 percent of them on Republicans.'"
Let the record reflect that The Roundup's black book is still in the safety deposit box.
"'I'm not interested in exposing anyone's sex life,' Flynt said in a telephone interview Wednesday. 'It's the hypocrisy I'm after.'
"The California-based porn king, who heads up a profitable empire that includes the infamous skin mag Hustler and edgier publications such as Barely Legal -- as well as a thriving Hustler Club and casinos chain -- started a stir this week in political circles.
"He posted a full-page ad in the Washington Post on Sunday that
offered a cool $1 million for any 'documented evidence of intimate relations with a Congressperson, Senator or other prominent officeholder,' information that must be verified and published in Hustler.
"In the run-up to the 2008 elections, Flynt's campaign to urge Americans to drop a dime on dallying politicians could get interesting because he's got a track record."
