As Amazon.com nears qualifying its referendum to overturn California's online sales tax, state Sen. Loni Hancock is pushing legislation that would make the referendum moot. In effect, a bill was amended that would establish a new sales tax law, thus nullifying the referendum on the existing law. This is one of the most interesting Capitol maneuvers in years.
From Marc Lifsher in the LA Times: "Supporters of the new law, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., still have a major challenge: The new bill is a so-called urgency measure and needs support from two-thirds of the membership of both houses of the Legislature."
"According to the state Constitution, urgency bills are not subject to being repealed by a referendum."
"Consequently, the large retailers, which provide financial support for many Republican candidates in the Legislature, have to persuade at least three GOP members in the Senate and two in the Assembly to vote for the Internet sales tax collection."
"That's doable, said Bill Dombrowski, president of the California Retailers Assn. The latest bill, he noted, has raised a threshold for exempting small Internet sellers from collecting the California sales tax. The increase from annual sales of $500,000 to $1 million was sufficient to get EBay Inc. to remove its opposition, Dombrowski and state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) said."
Gov. Brown's jobs package, despite all the hoopla and spin from the administration, appears to be DOA in the Legislature just hours after it was introduced, notes the Bee's David Siders and Torey Van Oot.
"The tax and jobs plan Gov. Jerry Brown proposed this morning was immediately assailed by Republicans as "creative packaging," and even Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg -- who stood beside Brown at the podium for the announcement -- said he doesn't expect it to pass."
"I have no expectation that Republicans are going to put up votes for this," said Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "It would be surprising to me. Pleasantly, but surprising nonetheless."
"At issue is Brown's proposal to eliminate a tax benefit that allows companies to pick the less expensive of two tax formulas when calculating their tax liability. In a 2009 budget deal, California became one of only two states to let companies make that choice each year."
The latest move in the fight over the scandal-plagued city of of Vernon didn't take place in the Capitol, it happened in Vernon itself, where the city council unanimously adopted a series of reform measures aimed at heading off disincorporation.
From the LA Times' Hector Becerra and Sam Allen: "Among the changes adopted Thursday by the Vernon City Council was the creation of about 50 “independent housing units.” For decades, the city has owned nearly all of the homes and apartments within its borders, and many of the tenants have held close ties to City Hall."
"Critics say the arrangement turned Vernon into a tightly controlled fortress with pliant residents and council members who get highly subsidized housing."
"The council also voted to reverse the “at will” designation for city employees, including firefighters, who had long worked without the kind of Civil Service protections that municipal employees have in other cities. In addition, the council voted to prohibit the historically common practice of appointing someone to a vacant council seat instead of holding an election."
One of the players in the Assembly's internal spat over the release of office records has put into legislation an idea that has been kicking around for years among open-government types for decades: Make the Legislature subject to the same open-records laws as local governments. Right.
From the Bee's Jim Sanders: "The measure, Assembly Bill 1129, would repeal the Legislative Open Records Act and require the Legislature to abide by the California Public Records Act, which places fewer restrictions on access to records."
"Assembly leaders have hidden documents and expenditures from the public long enough," Portantino said in a written statement."
"Portantino's measure was sparked, in part, by a dispute between himself and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez that led to public records requests for current office budgets of all 80 Assembly members."
And finally, from our bulging "NIghtmares in New York" file comes the tale of the giant rat -- an urban myth that turns out to be true!
"It sounds like an urban legend: giant mutant-looking rats roaming a city housing project."
"Only there's a picture."
"A photo making the rounds shows Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera minutes after he speared the humongous rodent with a pitchfork at the Marcy Houses."
"It's covered in white fur and looks well-fed. It appears to be about three feet long, including its hideously dangling tail."
"And Rivera, 48, says it's not the only one. He insists that while he was filling a rat hole last week, three came running out - but he was only able to nail one."
That sound you hear is my teeth chattering.
