At the 11th hour, Gov. Jerry Brown and some lawmakers are pushing legislation that would rewrite California's premier environmental protection law by giving him the power to speed up the approval process for major projects. Republicans and some Democrats are delighted, while environmentalists are alarmed at Brown -- and not for the first time. This is a major proposal -- and it emerges on the second-to-last-day of the legislative session.
From Patrick McGreevy and Anthony York in the LA Times: "The proposal is modeled on a separate bill that would give that benefit to developers of a proposed football stadium in downtown Los Angeles."
"Introduction of the bill in the final days of the legislative session, amid a flurry of other activity, raised alarm among some environmentalists…"
"The bill, AB 900, would allow a wide variety of projects — residential, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, renewable energy and recreational — to apply to the governor for expedited treatment. They would have to be located on an under-utilized property in a developed area."
"Some environmental groups said they were open to streamlining legal reviews that can take years but complained about the proposal being introduced less than 36 hours before the end of the legislative year."
Meanwhile, Brown was celebrating a victory in the Assembly of his corproate tax-swap plan, but in the Senate -- where he needs at least two Republican votes -- the outlook is uncertain. The Senate GOP leader called for a special session on the issue.
From Torey Van OOt in the Bee: "Senate GOP leader Bob Dutton has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to hold off pushing his corporate tax package in the final two days of the legislative session and instead call a special session on jobs and tax reform.
"There is nothing more complex than tax reform, and trying to jam through a proposal on the last day of session without transparency or input from the public and tax experts is irresponsible," the Rancho Cucamonga Republican wrote in a letter to Brown."
"The Democratic governor held a press conference early this afternoon to announce that he had reached a deal to win the two GOP votes in the Assembly needed to pass his proposal, which was first unveiled last month. But Brown still needs the votes of at least two Senate Republicans in order to pass the plan, which includes a change to corporate tax calculations that is projected to raise about $1 billion annually that would be directed to specific tax breaks."
Brown may be viewed with deep suspicion by environmentalists, but people who are fed up with the spiraling costs of traffic tickets have found themselves a champion. The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt tells the tale.
"In Ventura County, for instance, the base fine for driving from 15 mph to 25 mph over the speed limit is $70. But the penalty assessment is $210, bringing the total amount a violator must pay to $280."
"Brown used his strongest language on the issue in a message he attached to a bill by Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Santa Barbara, which he allowed to go into law this week without his signature. AB 412, which applies only to Santa Barbara County, re-enacts an expired $5 penalty assessment for every $10 in base fines for drunken driving or other offenses that involve driving while intoxicated…"
"A $1,000 offense often becomes a $3,700 liability," he wrote. "Those who broke the law should be fairly punished for their transgressions, but not be subject to ever-increasing costs that are more properly the responsibility of the public at large."
Meanwhile, down at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, a breach in security procedures resulted in the online posting of the medical data of 20,000 patients. That's right, 20,000. For a year.
From the New York Times' Kevin Sack: "Since discovering the breach last month, the hospital has been investigating how a detailed spreadsheet made its way from one of its vendors, a billing contractor identified as Multi-Specialty Collection Services, to a Web site called Student of Fortune, which allows students to solicit paid assistance with their schoolwork."
"Gary Migdol, a spokesman for Stanford Hospital and Clinics, said the spreadsheet first appeared on the site on Sept. 9, 2010, as an attachment to a question about how to convert the data into a bar graph."
"Although medical security breaches are not uncommon, the Stanford breach was notable for the length of time that the data remained publicly available without detection."
The California Coastal Commission has chosen Charles Lester as the new executive director to replace Peter Douglas, who stepped down earlier to take a medical leave.
From the Chronicle's Peter Fimrite: "Former political science Professor Charles Lester was approved as executive director of the California Coastal Commission on Thursday, a position held for the past 26 years by Peter Douglas, who retired last month."
"Lester is the commission's fourth executive director since it was created in 1972. He had served as senior deputy director since 2006 and was named acting director when Douglas, suffering from lung cancer, suddenly stepped down."
"Lester, who has a bachelor's degree in geochemistry from Columbia University, a doctorate in jurisprudence and social policy from UC Berkeley, and a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, was an assistant professor of political science at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, before he was hired by the Coastal Commission in 1997."
