The Capitol rumor mill was aswirlin' last night, filled with
whispers that the proposed term-limits initiative may miss the February ballot. The source of these rumors, it seems, was a posting on the Flashreport by
Mike Spence.
Spence reports that the initiative is receiving very low validity rates for the signatures submitted to the Secretary of State's office. "Now, are the low qualification numbers enough to keep this measure off of the ballot? No. But it is very likely that this will keep it off of the all-important-for-termed-out-incumbents February ballot."
If a hand count is needed, SOS
Debra Bowen has until the end of September to complete the hand count. With all the political emphasis on this measure, something tells us she just may find a way to get that count done...
Consultant
Gale Kaufman sat down with The Bee's Capitol Bureau yesterday. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's support would be valuable, but not necessarily essential, to pass a ballot measure that would alter legislative term limits, a leader of the campaign said Wednesday."
"'If he were to aggressively oppose it, that would not be helpful,' said Gale Kaufman, a Democratic political strategist who is coordinating the drive with GOP consultant
Matthew Dowd.
"Schwarzenegger consistently has said that he will not support altering term limits, an issue expected on the Feb. 5 ballot, unless voters also cast ballots on changing the state's system for drawing political districts."
Capitol Weekly says while the Legislature may be drifing apart on a health care plan,
outside groups are quietly huddling together to plan for a November initiative.
"These disparate groups began holding conversations in late 2006, before any of the three major health-care plans from Capitol leaders were unveiled. Late last year, as Gov. Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, was holding meetings with various health-care experts, some old foes over SB 2 quietly opened their own dialogue.
""We are not ready to give up on current legislative proposals, but are interested in hearing what the CRA has to say," said CMA's top lobbyist,
Dustin Corcoran. "As a longtime proponent of universal health care, CMA welcomes any serious effort to reform health care and looks forward to further discussions."
But
Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association, said his members are "
moving forward as if the Legislature has already concluded its business." Condie said, "
It appears the Legislature is incapable of producing needed reform, so we decided to look to the initiative process."
The CMA began talking to the restaurant's association last year, as various groups tried to find common ground and a way to fund expanded health-care coverage for California residents. At various points, those discussions also included representatives from Blue Shield, Kaiser and the California Hospital Association."
"With time running out in California's legislative session, Democrats
are preparing to move forward with legislation to provide coverage for all uninsured children if more ambitious health care efforts fail," writes the Bee's Aurelio Rojas.
"'We ought to achieve comprehensive health care reform, but our first priority must be children,' Sen.
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said Wednesday at a Capitol news conference to tout children's health care.
"Steinberg's Senate Bill 32 and a companion bill, Assembly Bill 1 by Assemblyman
John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, would expand the children's Healthy Families Program by increasing the household income limit from $51,625 for a family of four, or 250 percent of the federal poverty level, to $61,950, or 300 percent.
"But there's currently no funding in the legislation, which would require the state to spend $225 million more annually to cover the estimated 800,000 children without insurance in California.
"Steinberg conceded that the funding is contingent on expansion of the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The expansion, which would be funded by an increase in tobacco taxes, has bipartisan support in Congress but faces a threatened veto by President Bush."
With the governor's plan up for a vote today, Dan Weintraub
explains the speaker's strategy. "The speaker says he intends to package the governor's plan as legislation and present it to the Assembly, where it will surely die. In fact, Núñez said, his own vote for the bill, which he will cast as a "courtesy," will likely be the only support the governor's plan receives.
"'
I'm going to take him from the stratosphere, and I am going to ground him,' Núñez told me in an interview in his Capitol office. 'He needs a little grounding. Nobody likes his plan.'
"Still, despite pessimism in the Capitol, Núñez insisted there is still time to reach an agreement. He said the situation reminds him of last year's negotiations over Assembly Bill 32, the state's landmark law to limit greenhouse gases.
"
That deal appeared dead many times before legislators and the governor finally agreed on a compromise.
"'You build momentum on this thing,' he said. 'You just pick it up and move it and move it and move it, and then the stars align at the right time.'
"'(Schwarzenegger) will have 20 things he wants or 10 things or five things. He won't get them all, but he will get some of what he wants.'
"'I think if we kind of sit back and say, 'Well, we have too many differences,' then we are not going to get there. We need to just keep pushing and pushing and pushing.'
"Núñez is pushing, all right. And Schwarzenegger is pushing back. Until they start pulling together, in the same direction, their chances of getting a health care deal done will be next to nil."
With all the focus on the subprime lending market, CW's Malcolm Maclachlan looks at how
some of those mortgage lenders have played in California politics.
"
The recently deceased real-estate boom didn't just fill California's tax coffers. It also has resulted in a huge infusion of campaign donations and lobbying money, as lenders sought to remake the laws of their industry--and even state politics as a whole."The biggest name belongs to Calabasas-based
Countrywide Financial Corp. This includes $1.6 million in political donations in the past five years and $1.3 million in lobbying over the last seven years. The company was a principal backer of Proposition 62, an unsuccessful 2004 initiative that would have moved California to an open primary system.
"While Countrywide is the biggest lender, they're not the biggest donor in their industry. Another lender,
Ameriquest Mortgage Company, has made $9.7 million in California political donations since late 2000. Their lobbying bill has hit $1.9 million since 2001. Other lenders have spent smaller but still significant amounts. Option 1 Mortgage Corporation has spent $400,000 on lobbying since 2001.George Skelton writes that
we shouldn't expect to see the Iraq withdrawal measure on the ballot.
"Schwarzenegger's signature on the measure merely would tick off Republican legislators even more than they already are because of his history of ignoring them. If the governor has any lingering hope of achieving some semblance of healthcare reform this year, he can't further strain relations with Republicans. Not one GOP lawmaker has voted for the antiwar bill in either legislative house.
"Schwarzenegger also has policy reasons to veto the measure.
"It's just a nonbinding resolution that advises. The governor is on record opposing such toothless creatures. In a speech to the National Press Club in February, while Congress was debating Iraq, he asked: '
What is the point of stirring up bitterness over nonbinding resolutions? . . . . All this energy being spent on bitterness.'
"Moreover, the Perata bill calls for an 'immediate' troop pullout. That conflicts with the governor's position. Whenever asked, he advocates a "timetable" for withdrawal, but also asserts the need to emerge from Iraq victorious.
"Of course, Schwarzenegger fashions himself as a 'people's governor' who welcomes citizens' input. But he can point out that the Iraq war is hardly a Sacramento issue."
"California, required to draft a plan by 2011 to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is getting some welcome advice from a European ally: Germany," reports Sabine Muscat in the Chron.
"
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's foreign minister, is scheduled to meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today to begin talks about how California could work with the European Union to create a system that would allow companies to buy and sell credits for emission reductions.
"'This would be really good for California. It makes what we are doing much more relevant,'
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's office, said Wednesday."
While Germans may be impressed by Schwarzenegger's leadership, Senate Democrats are not. The Bee's Judy Lin writes: "Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata on Wednesday
shelved two of the Schwarzenegger administration's appointees to the Water Resources Control Board and sent a political message for the governor to get tough on clean water laws.
"In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Perata said the state's water quality program is failing and there's no way to ensure that water quality appointees are doing their jobs. Perata said it's nearly impossible to access basic information about drinking water quality on the board's Web site. 'We need to come to grips with this problem and get serious about fixing an antiquated, ineffective water quality enforcement system,' Perata wrote.
"The Republican governor had put
Arthur G. Baggett Jr. and
Frances Spivy-Weber up for Senate confirmation Wednesday. The two nominees must be confirmed by Jan. 15 or they will lose their posts."
"California Atty. Gen.
Jerry Brown wants to keep Microsoft Corp. on probation," reports Joseph Mann in the Times.
Actually, we hear they're already on double secret probation...
"A key portion of a consent decree that has forced Microsoft to play by business rules different from other companies' since 2002 is set to quietly expire Nov. 12.
"Brown plans to ask a federal judge to extend those terms, arguing that they have yet to reduce Microsoft's enormous clout in key markets that they were designed to open up. That request could come as soon as today.
"'The same power relationships [exist] today as were true before this whole case began, and the purpose of the antitrust law is to increase competition,' Brown said.
"The rules binding Microsoft's conduct stem from a settlement agreement between the Justice Department and the Redmond, Wash., software giant after a long antitrust battle."
CW's Nick Brokaw
looks at state government's phantom menace. "With the 51-day budget deadlock history, Senate Republicans hoped that the budget cuts they proposed would help kill off the ghosts."
They don't mean Casper.
"
In government parlance, 'ghost' positions are vacant jobs that agencies keep in order to collect money from the budget. They have been an issue of concern in the state Legislature for years.
"According to the Senate Republican Caucus, approximately 26,700 state jobs, or roughly 11 percent of the entire workforce, were left vacant from December 2006 to April 2007.On average, each job costs the state roughly $83,000.
Anf from our
No Fun, Ever! Files, "
An elementary school has banned tag on its playground after some children complained they were harassed or chased against their will.
"It causes a lot of conflict on the playground," said
Cindy Fesgen, assistant principal of the Discovery Canyon Campus school.
Running games are still allowed as long as students don't chase each other, she said."
The school is also considering complaints from students who "don't like it when other kids breathe." The PTA hopes to hear the proposed breathing ban at its next meeting.
