"For the second time in three years, the state Assembly
approved legislation Tuesday allowing same-sex marriage in California in a vote that highlighted a continued and profound disagreement among legislative Democrats and Republicans on one of the hot-button social issues of the time," writes Mark Martin in the Chron.
"On a party-line vote,
Democrats supported San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno's effort to make California the first state in the country to legislatively end the prohibition on gay marriage. The bill advances to the state Senate, but even if it is approved there, it's likely to face a veto from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"A spokesman for the governor said Schwarzenegger has not changed his mind on the issue since 2005, when he rejected a similar bill, arguing that voters had spoken against gay marriage by passing Proposition 22 in 2000."
While Nunez marshalled enough votes for same-sex marriage, he's having a difficult time getting a majority for assisted suicide. "Sensing the tenuous situation, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles,
has ordered the co-authors to make a significant change in AB 374, which could be voted on in the Assembly as soon as today," reports Steve Geissinger in the Merc News.
"The bill, which is patterned after the 9-year-old physician-assisted suicide law in Oregon - the only state that allows the practice - would have allowed a patient who has been diagnosed with six months to live to seek a lethal prescription from a doctor. The change sets the timeline at three months.
"A previous assisted-suicide bill failed in the 2005-2006 legislative session, but this year's attempt - written by
Patty Berg, D-Santa Rosa, and
Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys - received a major boost when Nunez had a change of heart and decided to support it.
"Still, Nunez said, it's 'too early to tell' if he has the votes to pass the measure this week.
"'
As they say, a lot can happen in 24 hours,' the speaker said outside the Assembly, where lawmakers are scrambling toward a Friday deadline for bills to pass their house of origin.
"Of 48 Assembly Democrats, about a half-dozen appear poised to vote "no." About 10 others remain undecided on the bill, which needs 41 votes to be approved in the 80-member house. Bay Area lawmakers are included in both groups, citing moral or religious beliefs."
The "governor and his top water leaders are wading into some of the state's trickiest flood control waters: possibly
placing limits on new developments in high-risk areas until flood protection measures are in motion," reports Deb Kollars in the Bee.
"In a state where new houses and new Applebee's restaurants pop up on the landscape almost overnight, the proposal has created a buzz in the state Capitol.
"'The critical and controversial issue has been land use,' said Assemblywoman
Lois Wolk, a Democrat from Davis who tried unsuccessfully last year to pass legislation that would have limited development in flood-prone areas.
"'It's extremely significant the governor has chosen to engage in this conversation,' she said. 'It's a major step forward.'"
"Many cities and counties, as well as the building industry, are reluctant to embrace measures that would place limits on construction. As just one example, late Tuesday, Assembly Bill 5, a bill by Wolk that would impose development limits in areas without adequate flood protection plans, was facing an uphill struggle for passage in the Assembly."
"In an effort to cover a $366 million funding gap in the education part of the state budget, the Legislature
recently cut the $11.1 million that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed to keep Fresh Start going in the next school year and make it permanent," reports Carol Ness in the Chron.
"The cut incensed child nutrition specialists and advocates.
"'
On the one hand, legislators are talking about the obesity crisis ... and then they're taking fruit and vegetable money away,' said
Ann Cooper, head of Berkeley's school lunch program."
Speaking of dough, "California's stem cell program
announced new grants Tuesday worth about $50.5 million, the first awards for constructing laboratory facilities intended to help carry out a $3 billion research initiative under Proposition 71."
"The Schwarzenegger administration
is facing questions about a flip-flop in which it barred a major insurance company from running an auto repair service, then reversed course and let the company operate the program after all," reports the LAT's Peter Nicholas.
"The issue was expected to come up today during a scheduled Senate confirmation hearing for one of the governor's political appointees:
Sherry Mehl, head of the bureau that oversees the car repair industry.
"But Mehl's hearing was postponed until June 20, in part because lawmakers want more answers about why her bureau took the steps it did, Senate officials said.
"In advance of the hearing, Sen.
Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) sent Mehl a series of questions about the bureau's actions with respect to Progressive Group of Insurance Cos., the nation's third-largest auto insurer.
"In August, the Bureau of Automotive Repair had made a ruling against Progressive's interests, ordering that a "concierge" shop that arranges car repairs for its customers in San Diego be shut down because it lacked an auto repair license. Four months later, the office rescinded the order."
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reports on a bill that would have
CalPERS divest from Iran. The measure "sailed through the Assembly on Tuesday on a 68-0 vote. It's even garnered support from a bipartisan group of California Congressmen.
'The president of Iran has said that it is his goal to attack the great Satan, develop nuclear weapons, and wipe Israel from the face of the Earth,' said author Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, when presenting his bill on the floor. 'I take him at his word.'
"The only opposition on the floor came from Assemblyman
Mervyn Dymally, D-Los Angeles. Dymally took issue with Anderson's comparison of his bill to the landmark 1986 effort by Representative Maxine Waters to lead divestment from South Africa. Dymally abstained during the vote."
"The state Assembly approved a controversial bill Tuesday that
would force the state to return some local control of schools back to Oakland Unified School District," write Steve Geissinger and Katy Murphy in the Merc News.
The lower house approved AB45 by Assemblyman
Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, on a 47-32 vote, with six votes to spare to clear the majority margin required in the 80-member house.
"The Assembly's approval sent the bill to the state Senate, where Swanson said upper house leader
Don Perata, also an Oakland Democrat, is prepared to push it through to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Notably, Perata authored the bill that led to the Oakland school district takeover in 2003.
The Republican governor, however, has not taken a position on the measure."
Meanwhile, in Washington, "House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, responding to pressure from California officials and environmentalists,
has slapped down a new proposal by top House Democrats that
would have wiped out California's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks."In a brief but pointed statement Tuesday night, the San Francisco Democrat said, "Any proposal that affects California's landmark efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or eliminates the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will not have my support."
And while you're suffering through marathon floor sessions today, you can always play with your yo-yo. That's because
National Yo-yo Day. Seems appropriate somehow...
