If the temperature in Sacramento seems cooler than normal this Fourth of July, it may be emanating from the relationship between the governor and Senate Republicans.
Evan Halper and Jordan Rau report in the Times: "Their uneasy coexistence with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now at the lowest point in his tenure,
Republican state lawmakers are rebelling in increasingly public ways over administration efforts both big and small."
"GOP state senators refused Thursday to sign off on the administration's request to pay for cost overruns in the state's foster care system. Republican objections to Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year all but guarantee that the state will miss its Saturday deadline for putting a new spending plan in place.
"Republicans also rejected three of the governor's appointees for the board that oversees community colleges, and undermined his proposal for universal healthcare by requesting — and making public — a legal opinion that makes its political prognosis poor.
"'
In the past they would moan and groan privately,' said
Tony Quinn, a Republican political consultant and a denizen of Sacramento since Ronald Reagan was governor. '
It would be very rare that they would openly defy the governor…. He kind of ignores them, and they deeply resent that.'"
Speaking of being ignored,
Rudy Giuliani stopped in Sacramento, but "did not visit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, even though he was mere steps from the state Capitol and held a fundraiser in the governor's Sacramento hotel home," writes the Bee's Kevin Yamamura.
"No matter. The former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate made do with a downtown
lunchtime mix of high school girls, legislative aides, women meeting for lunch and activists on break from college."
After discussing the latest Shopaholic book with the girls, he reportedly shook some hands.
"Giuliani swept through Ambrosia Cafe on Thursday, disturbing the usual lunch-hour murmur at the gourmet sandwich shop a block from the Capitol. He shook hands, wished patrons a 'good Fourth of July' and scarfed down part of a salad before diving into a scrum of television cameras."
Meanwhile, the governor was swinging his axe. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
has fired California's top smog-fighter, days after the California Air Resources Board sought a delay for tougher air quality standards in the San Joaquin Valley," reports Michael Gardner in the Union-Tribune.
"
Robert Sawyer, who had been one of the governor's closest allies in the campaign to curb global warming, departs immediately as board chairman after 18 months on the job.
"Sawyer lost his $128,000-a-year job after a falling out over tougher air quality standards in the San Joaquin Valley. Schwarzenegger rebuked the Sawyer-led air board last Friday for asking the federal government for an 11-year delay.
"Schwarzenegger at the time fired off a statement, saying he was 'deeply disappointed' and charging that the air board 'let the federal government off the hook by seeking the delay.'"
After tribes lost and labor won in Tuesday night's congressional special election, the Legislature reversed fortunes yesterday. "As state lawmakers Thursday voted to allow four of California's richest casino gambling tribes to add a total of up to 17,000 slot machines, the
vote was a humbling defeat for organized labor.
"Before the final vote, Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez declared that he had extracted verbal promises that unions could organize workers on tribal lands. But securing the last-minute statements -- which have no force of law -- was merely a face-saving gesture for many Democratic lawmakers long allied with labor.
"The result left
Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, fuming. Even before the final vote,
Pulaski put out a statement saying the Legislature had 'abandoned California's 100,000 current and future casino workers who now risk languishing among the working poor.'"
"Opponents of a proposal to relax California's legislative term limits law on Thursday
filed a formal complaint with the state's political watchdog agency against Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, alleging he has repeatedly used campaign funds for personal use," reports the Bee's Aurelio Rojas.
"The complaint cites a May 23 article by the East Bay Express, a weekly newspaper, that alleges Perata has spent more than $1 million of campaign donations "on parties and high-end lifestyle expenses" over the past 10 years.
"The California Term Limits Defense Fund does not target the entire $1 million in its complaint, but focuses on a number of examples the group contends are "worthy of investigation" by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
"During an interview, Perata, D-Oakland, dismissed the allegations and charged that they are intended to impede the campaign to relax term limits."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has turned the lower American River into "Dry Creek" this July 4 --
signing into law Thursday urgency legislation that makes it illegal to drink alcoholic beverages while rafting between Hazel and Watt avenues," reports Ed Fletcher in the Bee.
"The governor's signature on Assembly Bill 951 comes just in time for Sacramento County officials eager to have the ban in place for this weekend and Independence Day. Because the bill passed as an urgency matter -- having won two-thirds approval in the Assembly and Senate -- it takes effect immediately.
"'Our goal has been to make the parkway and the river family-friendly during the summer holidays,' said Supervisor
Roberta MacGlashan. 'I'm glad to see the governor agrees.'"
From our
Greatest American Heroes desk: "A man with a penchant for speedy driving
has come up with an unusual tactic for beating speeding tickets — raise the limit. So far this year,
Larry Lemay has been ticketed four times for speeding.
"Rather than slow down, Lemay
is suing the state Department of Transportation to study traffic and speed limits across New Hampshire, to see whether limits could be raised. Lemay's lawsuit, filed in Strafford County Superior Court, also asks a judge to order the Transportation Department to pay for his legal fees and the cost of the study, an estimated $1,853.
"Lemay said
he believes many speed limits are set intentionally low so the state can cash in on drivers."
"'The state is making a lot of money doing this, and I want it stopped,' he said. 'It's wrong.'"
