Capitol Weekly casts an eye toward the end of session,
and finds one major deal that may emerge from the legislative
ether.
"Proponents of a plan to build a new football stadium
on the edge of Los Angeles County are turning to the
Legislature in what could be a major, 11th-hour political battle before the end of the legislative
year.
"Sources in numerous legislative offices confirmed Thursday
that a last-minute Los Angeles stadium play was among the issues
being discussed behind the scenes during the last week
of the legislative session. As of yet, no bill language
has been drafted and there is no guarantee that a bill
will ever reach the floor of either legislative house.
"The developer of the project, Majestic Realty, is seeking
exemptions from the California Environmental Quality
Act to build a stadium in the City of Industry, on
the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. Majestic, led
by owner Edward Roski, has proposed building a a 600-acre, 75,000-seat stadium complex near the intersection of Interstate
57 and Interstate 60 in the City of Industry.
"But now, with the Sept. 11 legislative deadline fast approaching, Majestic has
hired numerous high-powered lobbyists and Sacramento consultants to help
with the last minute push."
Among those who have been enlisted to support the cause
are former Schwarzenegger legislative secretary Chris
Kahn and former Don Perata chief of staff Erin Niemela
- both of whom are now lobbyists -- and labor lobbyist Scott Wetch."
CW also looks at a bit of political hostage taking in the Senate Rules
Committee.
"
Dozens of political appointees tapped by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger are stuck in limbo, and some may become
casualties of a turf war between the Legislature and
Gov. Schwarzenegger as the end of the legislative year
approaches.
Many Schwarzenegger appointees must be confirmed by
the state Senate. But they first receive approval from
the five-member Senate Rules Committee before receiving a vote
on the Senate floor. The committee is run by Democrats,
and chaired by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
"Publicly, spokesmen for both Steinberg and Schwarzenegger
say there is nothing abnormal going on.
"But privately, sources in both offices acknowledge
the political appointees have been caught in a political
crossfire that started when Schwarzenegger unilaterally
eliminated more than $400 million from the state budget, altering the deal agreed
to during negotiations with Steinberg and other legislative
leaders."
"Among those awaiting confirmation are former lawmakers
including (Bob) Pacheco and Jerome Horton, who was tapped
by Schwarzenegger to fill a vacancy on the Board of
Equalization. Also in need of confirmation are former
Sen. Carole Migden, who sits on the soon-to-be-abolished Integrated Waste Management Board, and former
GOP Assemblymembers Bonnie Garcia and George Plescia,
who both sit on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals
Board.
There are also appointments that are more personal
for Schwarzenegger. Among them is the scheduled confirmation
of Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, wife of Bobby Shriver and
sister-in-law to First Lady Maria Shriver.
John Howard looks at the Latino Caucus poilitics and the water battle.
"
Latinos’ political clout has emerged as a driving force in
the political battle over overhauling California’s water system, with a coalition of statewide officials
linking with the Legislature’s Latino Caucus to attempt to force change.
“They’ve always had the clout, they just haven’t exercised it,” said Mario Santoyo, a director and adviser to the
California Latino Water Coalition and an executive
at the Friant Water Authority. They want a water plan
that includes a canal through or around the delta east
of San Francisco, reservoirs, desalination, recycling,
delta environmental protections, and more water for
Central and Southern California. And more."
The Skinny takes a peek at some of the inter-caucus struggles surrounding the water issue. And the ego issue .
Shane Goldmacher has the goods on a $9 million state contract given to a consulting firm
with ties to the governor .
"California's high-speed rail commission, dominated by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's appointees, is set to award a $9-million contract
today to a company led by the governor's top political advisor and his
former campaign manager.
The
three commission staff members charged with recommending
a public
relations firm have advised the board to give the contract
to Mercury
Public Affairs at its meeting today. Schwarzenegger
strategist Adam
Mendelsohn is a partner at Mercury, as is Steve Schmidt, who managed
the governor's 2006 reelection effort."
The Bee's Susan Ferris reports on a new tax approved by the Senate to pay for Healthy
Families .
"
In a narrow
bipartisan vote, the state Senate voted 27-8 Wednesday on a taxation
plan to prevent hundreds of thousands of children from
losing the
Healthy Families health insurance program.
"Three
Republicans joined the Democratic majority to approve
a bill to raise
revenue for the children's program by creating a 2.35 percent tax on
the gross premiums of companies that manage Medi-Cal insurance plans.
"The
bill, AB 1422, is expected to go before the Assembly today. To reach
the governor's desk for his signature, it must receive two-thirds
majority votes in both houses of the Legislature."
Hey, no problem, right?
Meanwhile, Speaker Karen Bass and Assemblyman Mike Feuer will Join Steinberg and Senate leaders today to announce
a new 20-member select committee to focus on various government
reform plans. Feuer says the idea is to work through
the fall to come up with a legislative package for
the new year.
The panel will have 14 Democrats and 6 Republicans.
And finally, from our Prison Reform Files, "A former inmate in Florida was injured while trying to sneak back into jail. Sylvester Jiles suffered severe cuts from barbed wire while trying to climb a 12-foot fence at the Brevard County Detention Center Monday night. The 24-year-old former inmate was released last week from the jail
after accepting a plea deal on a manslaughter charge.
"He
showed up at the jail Monday night and asked to be
taken back into
custody because he feared family members of his victim
would retaliate
against him. Jail officials said they couldn't take him in and told him
to file a police report.
"Instead, he tried to climb over the barbed-wire fence and fell in his attempt."
