Ring the bell, recess is over. The final month of this year's legislative session begins today, with the Legislature returning tanned, rested and ready to .... just what are they going to do? Unlike years past, this year's legislative deadline seems
woefully void of drama, despite the fact, or maybe because, the state is headed toward an unprecedented special election in two-and-a-half months.
While Speaker
Fabian Nuņez and Pro Tem
Don Perata hold a joint news conference this morning at the Capitol, the governor will be off championing cleaner school busses at a nearby photo op.
But unless and until a last-minute deal falls out of the sky, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to look forward to in these final weeks of the 2005 legislative year. There's
the Medi-Cal waiver, and of course, the promise of another fight over gay marriage. The Merc News reports that the minimum wage, education spending and environmental legislation are on
the Democrats' agenda.
But barring the unforeseen deal or mega-compromise package, it seems like both sides are more focused on a ballot box showdown than anything moving through the Legislature.
Dan Walters
characterizes the situation: "In effect, everything that would ordinarily be important has been put on hold until the power struggle is resolved, even the deficit-saturated state budget."
"Whatever is happening, it means that the last month of the session is
likely to be humdrum rather than frantic, as tradition dictates. Lawmakers will be eager to put in their time and
get out of Dodge as quickly as possible so that the real battle can be waged."
George Skelton writes
the bill for the November election is being passed on to the counties. "Call it indifference, inconsiderateness or arrogance: Sacramento is stiffing the counties by
not providing money for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special state election." Schwarzenegger does promise that the state will reimburse the counties eventually. In his proclamation calling the election, he declared that any resulting local costs "shall be included in the state budget for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, or in an earlier enacted claims bill." [But] promises aren't always kept in Sacramento. Ask schools."
Someone woke up on the left side of the bed this morning...
But the special election suddenly means nothing to Greg Hill, the Redondo Beach councilman who was the party's nominee against
Mike Gordon in
Assembly District 53. With the Republican Caucus lining up to support Republican
Mary Jo Ford, Hill withdrew from the race late Friday, citing party unity, or needing to spend more time with his family, or some other vaunted political cliche.
Hill's name will still appear on the ballot along with GOP candidates Nowatka and Whitehead, which may still keep party favorites Ford and Democrat
Ted Lieu from receiving 50 percent of the vote next month. If no candidate receives a majority, the top vote-getters from each party will meet in a Nov. 8 runoff.
Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court chose Friday cocktail hour to place Proposition 77 back on the ballot. That breeze you feel is
Ted Costa breathing a sigh of relief. "Many Schwarzenegger supporters had sharply criticized Mr. Costa for causing the measure's legal problems by submitting a version to state election officials that differed from the one circulated among voters for signatures," the New York Times reported Saturday.
Andy Durillo
the man behind the paycheck protection initiative,
Lew Uhler in this morning's Bee. "He is an unapologetic McCarthyite and a former member of the John Birch Society whose hard-right ideology has taken him to the fringes of American conservatism."
That's
Joseph McCarthy, not Kevin.
This week marks the debut of
the new Capitol Weekly. Look for the redesigned paper on the streets Thursday morning. The paper will still contain all the state job listings that many readers have come to depend on. But it will include a full redesigned look, with coverage of state politics. Look for it at a coffee shop or state office building near you.
Christian Berthelsen explores the
ties between the governor, LNG giant BHP Billiton, and BHP's lobbying firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. "
[George] Kieffer, the Manatt partner who oversees the firm's government and regulatory affairs practice, was appointed by Schwarzenegger to serve on his transition team after the recall, and to serve on an advisory group examining an overhaul of California's environmental laws. A former Manatt lobbyist, Richard Costigan, is now the governor's secretary of legislative affairs -- and one of Schwarzenegger's closest advisers."
Capitol phones will likely start buzzing shortly after 11 a.m. this morning, after the California Department of Education
posts the results of this year's public school performance tests. The LA Times promises "analysis of student performance in 2005 will be updated throughout the day ...in a condensed and easy-to-use format, go to
latimes.com/schoolscores."
The "he said-she said" explanation of the results in tomorrow's Morning Report will likely include the phrases "public school monopoly" and "governor's broken Prop. 98 promise" in dueling quotes.
Although we gave the Roundup a break last week, we didn't miss the Matier and Ross column report that Congresswoman
Loretta Sanchez may be
looking at making a run for Governor.
Lawmakers who took the evening flight last night and caught 60 Minutes were treated to a
twenty-minute segment discussing "President Schwarzenegger?" Actually, the segment was originally aired last October, but
Morley Safer took the time to record a new voice-over, complete with discussions of the fight with labor, allegations of unreported financial interests, and Gigi.
Now that our governor's presidential star has dimmed somewhat, another Hollywood star is standing in the alcove, ready to save us from professional politicians. Yes, reports on the Internet indicate that
Christopher Walken is running for president.
We have our crack team of investigative reporters working to confirm that the "
official campaign website" actually belongs to the actor, who most recently showed his humanitarian nature by deferring to his daughter's love to scam artist-turned-romantic
Owen Wilson in
Wedding Crashers.
