The Roundup

The recidivism rate in California's prisons had been dropping in the years before the new realignment law, according to a report from  the Corrections Department.

From the AP: "California's recidivism rate dropped in the years before Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment law took effect, even though six of every 10 offenders returned to prison, the corrections department said in a report released Wednesday."

"The report said 61 percent of felons released between July 2008 and June 2009 committed new crimes within three years."

"High as that might be, it was down from 67 percent for inmates released in 2005 and 2006, when California had one of the nation's highest recidivism rates."

The chief justice of the state Supreme Court says Gov. Brown's draft budget doesn't provide enough money, and she wants $612 million more this year alone.

From Capitol Weekly's Samantha Gallegos: "Only one penny of every General Fund dollar supports California courts — not enough to sustain a fully functioning system,” the report noted. “Unprecedented budget cuts since 2008 hamper the people’s access to justice.”

"Brown in his 2014-15 budget called for $3.3 billion in total funding for the judicial branch, with $2.5 billion going toward the trial courts. Cantil-Sakauye’s plan calls for an additional $612 million this year as the first installment to recovering the system. Her proposal calls for an additional $1.2 billion over three years. The money would beef up court operations, fill the positions of new judgeships that have been vacant because of  lack of funding and assure health and retirement benefits for employees."

“I am grateful and appreciative of the governor’s budget for the judicial branch, but in all candor, meaningful justice requires more,” she told reporters."

Meanwhile, legislation to proivide the courts with more resources failed to emerge from the Legislature. Both houses are controlled by Democrats and the author of this bill was a Tea Party Republican and candidate for governor, so that may have had something to do with it.

From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's Beau Yarbrough: "Assembly Bill 1313, authored by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia, would have paid for up to 12 additional courtroom staff positions in the counties with the greatest disparity between current staffing levels and those recommended by the Judicial Council, the California court system’s policy-making body."

“I can think of nothing more pressing than to ensure all Californians have access to constitutionally guaranteed justice,” Donnelly said. “It is unfortunate that some of my colleagues don’t agree with me.” The bill, which was sponsored by Inland Empire and Central Valley legislators from both sides of the aisle, died in committee Tuesday."

The scramble for leadership in the Legislature has raised concerns about Southern California coming out on top, since top contenders in both houses hail from  Los Angeles and San Diego.

From News10's John Myers: "And yet, the early odds are that 2014 will see only the second time in four decades that a speaker of the state Assembly and a president pro Tempore of the state Senate will hail from the same region -- even as some are ramping up their efforts to keep the Capitol's system of geographic counterweights in place."

"This is an important time to have the appearance of balance," says Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council, a nonpartisan organization comprised of some of northern California's biggest businesses."

 On Tuesday, Wunderman penned an op-ed urging the Assembly to select a northerner, Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-San Mateo, when choosing a new leader later this year."

A federal court's decision to strike down key elements of the FCC's "net neutraily" rules is getting an especially close look in Suilicon Valley, where companies -- like Netflix -- that depend on customers who download their products could face a huge hit. Netflix stock suffered a drop.

From Mashable's Seth Fiegerman: "The ruling could open the door for providers like Verizon and Time Warner to charge bandwidth-heavy websites more to deliver their content to users. If this happens, businesses that serve video — services like YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Prime — would be hit hardest. And Netflix is by far the largest in terms of bandwidth, accounting for nearly a third of downstream Internet traffic in North America."

"Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, estimates that Netflix could incur annual fees of anywhere from $144 million to $936 million as a result, according to an investor note provided to Mashable, depending on how much broadband providers charge for data delivery."

"The news appeared to cause Netflix investors to start sweating. Netflix stock ceded some ground after the ruling on Tuesday, but experienced a sharp decline Wednesday, dipping by as much as 5% in early trading. That decline is all the more notable considering that the S&P 500, which lists large market cap companies including Netflix, hit an all-time high Wednesday around the same time."

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Ed's Note: Yesterday's Roundup incorrectly reported that Sen. Noreen Evans was termed out. She is not, but she has decided not to seek reelection this year.