The Roundup

"The Legislature's legal adviser is siding with Controller John Chiang in his defiance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to cut state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.

"In an opinion requested by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine wrote Friday that an executive order issued by Schwarzenegger could not force Chiang to start paying state workers the minimum wage in August.

"Boyer-Vine's opinion cited cases in which courts found that the controller may sometimes wield his or her authority independent of the governor.

"Schwarzenegger plans to sign the executive order [this] week. The exact wording of the order has not been finalized. But a draft order would cut pay for about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a budget is signed.

"Afterward, the workers would get back their full pay.

"Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said he would not speculate about whether the governor would go to court to force Chiang to comply with his order."

Hey, maybe we'll get a budget deal tomorrow and this will all be moot, right? 

Before getting on with our other budget coverage today, let's get those tongues a-waggin. It's only two years away from a governor's race in California. And that means it's time to play California's favorite political parlor game -- what if Dianne Feinstein ran for governor.

Now, she'll be about a million years old for the next campaign, but hey, so will Jerry Brown. So let's go to the numbers, shall we? For that, we turn to Matier and Ross...

"State Attorney General Jerry Brown leads San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other Democrats making noises about running for governor in 2010 - but if Sen. Dianne Feinstein were to jump into the pool, she would swamp them all, a new poll shows.

"On the Republican side, former Rep. Tom Campbell has a 2-1 edge over other possible candidates - ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and ex-eBay chief Meg Whitman.

"According to the statewide poll by JMM Research of Sacramento, Brown - himself a former governor looking for a repeat performance - would be the top choice of 31 percent of the registered Democrats surveyed if the primary were held today.

Newsom gets 19 percent. Villaraigosa has 12 percent, while Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and state schools chief Jack O'Connell both clock in with 9 percent.

"But if you add Feinstein to the mix - and take out Newsom, Villaraigosa and O'Connell, figuring they might bow out if she jumps in - Brown drops to 24 percent, and the state's senior senator grabs 50 percent."

Let the wagging begin... 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. The Bee's Judy Lin writes a two-part series on special interests and the budget.  Sunday's article focuses on the coalition of groups relying on state budget spending, and today's looks at lobbying by business groups.

"This summer, as lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weigh a plan to bridge the state's $15.2 billion deficit in a $101 billion general fund spending plan, a broad network of teachers unions, prison guards, state employees, health care providers and other groups are flexing their collective political muscle in an effort to get new revenues. Political experts say that can mean only one thing: pressuring minority Republicans to agree to tax increases.

"Representatives of those groups, which have formed overlapping coalitions with names like "Together for California's Future" and "Education Coalition," say the movement has unprecedented cooperation because its members benefit from just about every dollar dispensed from the state's general fund.

"'It's not unusual for us to get involved every year and yet, what I think is different this year, is that … it is so much more field-driven,' said State Employees International Union spokeswoman Jeanine Meyer Rodriguez. 'Our future is at stake.'"

In the other corner, "California businesses, led by the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber), the California Taxpayers' Association and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, have spent millions and successfully enlisted the GOP to advocate for their interests over the years.

"In California, it takes a two-thirds vote of each house in the Legislature to pass a budget or a tax increase. That gives the minority-party Republicans – and the business community lining up at their doors – far more ability to influence the budget than most other legislation. GOP lawmakers have successfully blocked major legislative tax increases since 1991 because of that power.

"This year, with the budget already 28 days late and the state $15.2 billion short of a balanced budget, business groups are pushing to ensure their interests are taken care of as the budget is shaped. With that push comes money.

"CalChamber, the highest-profile business group, has spent more than $11.5 million to influence elected officials since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger assumed office in late 2003, according to disclosure forms filed with the secretary of state's office."

Dan Walters writes that the tax increase package supported by Democrats would restore tax levels to the Pre-Proposition 13 era.

"In other words, Californians in the aggregate are now paying almost as much of their personal income in taxes now as they were before Proposition 13 was passed. And our relative ranking has also climbed upward to No. 12 in 2007, a half-percent higher than the national average.

"That half-percent translates into about $8 billion, which happens to be just about what Democrats want in new taxes. Or to put it another way, were they successful, Californians would once again be paying 12 percent of their incomes, on average, to state and local governments, exactly what it was before passage of Proposition 13 in 1978.

"What goes around, comes around, as political veterans are wont to say."

As are carousel operators. 

The U-T's Bills Ainsworth looks at the boycott launched by gay marriage supports against a prominent San Diego hotelier.

"Some analysts contend that the tactic – even if it doesn't reduce business at the hotels – could prove effective by persuading other potential donors to Proposition 8 to stay out of the battle.

"'They will probably succeed in getting business owners that are hesitant to avoid giving,' said Tony Quinn, co-editor of the Target Book, which analyzes California politics. 'It's a tough tactic, but it may be a wise tactic.'

"Manchester, who has donated to a variety of largely Republican political causes, including contributing a total of $147,450 in 2006, said he was surprised by the boycott.

"'It's a First Amendment freedom of speech issue,' Manchester said. 'I certainly didn't want to offend anybody.'

"In one way, the boycott may have been effective already.

"Manchester said he contributed because of his strong Catholic faith – the church opposes same-sex marriage – but said he doesn't expect to give any more money to Proposition 8."

"Thousands more California students will have to find their own way to school this fall, as districts slash bus routes to cope with budget shortfalls and high fuel costs," reports Seema Mehta in the Times.

"Critics worry that the cuts will increase traffic around schools, shift costs to parents already struggling with rising gas prices and prompt more absenteeism, hurting students' academic achievement. But paramount is the fear that the reductions will endanger students as more walk or drive to school.

"'All the parents, we've been scrambling to try to work out car pools,' said Wayne Tate, whose second-grader's bus to Castille Elementary, two miles from their home in Mission Viejo, was eliminated. 'For somebody that young, that's a pretty long way to walk or ride a bike. All you need is one kid getting hit to realize that maybe the [savings] wasn't worth it.'

"Districts say they have no choice."

"California public students will stick to reading, writing and arithmetic, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided as he vetoed a bill late Friday that would have required climate change be added to schools' curriculum," writes John Boudreau in the Merc News.

"The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, also would have required future science textbooks to include climate change as a subject.

"In January, the state Senate approved the bill, SB 908, by a 26-13 vote. Only two Republicans supported the proposal.

"In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger said he supported education that spotlights the dangers of climate change. However, the Republican governor said he was opposed to educational mandates from Sacramento."

Like requiring all eighth graders to take algebra? 

The LAT's Jessica Garrison looks at an Assemblyman's fight against the legacy of housing discrimination.

"After he bought his first home, state Assemblyman Hector De La Torre uncovered a dark chapter in its history: A covenant attached to the original deed declared that the house, like all the others in his South Gate neighborhood, could be occupied by white people only. Minorities could stay there -- but only as servants.

"It is a discovery that has startled any number of California homeowners. Many of the state's vast subdivisions, particularly in Los Angeles County, were once governed by restrictive racial covenants designed to enforce segregation. Those covenants have been illegal for more than half a century, but their offensive rules remain part of some deeds. Most home buyers encounter the issue when they are asked to sign a disclosure as part of the escrow process, pledging to ignore any racist language.

"De La Torre (D-South Gate) decided that wasn't good enough. This year, he proposed a law that would require racially restrictive covenants -- it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands statewide -- to be stricken from the public record at the time of the next sale.

"The bill has run into stiff opposition from real estate agents, title insurance companies and county recorders who complain that it would be expensive and create a bureaucratic nightmare that could slow real estate transactions -- to little purpose since the covenants are already illegal."

Sounds like a perfect job for the Caifornia Legislature...

And congratulations to the state of Iowa, whose residents have found one of the more creative ways around a law banning strip clubs.

The AP reports, "Iowa doesn't have any all-nude strip clubs - but it does have performing arts centers where women dance naked.

However, the loophole in the state's public indecent exposure law that allows nude dancing at "art centers" is under attack in the small community of Hamburg, a town of 1,200 just across the Missouri River from Nebraska.

"It all began on July 21, 2007, when a 17-year-old niece of Sheriff Steven MacDonald climbed up on stage at Shotgun Geniez in Hamburg and stripped off her clothing. Owner Clarence Judy was charged with violating Iowa's public indecent exposure law.

Judy responded that the law doesn't apply to a "theater, concert hall, art center, museum, or similar establishments" devoted to the arts or theatrical performances.

"The club's owner, Michael Murphy, said his establishment bans anyone under 18 from entering the five-year-old business. The problem, he said, was 'a group of girls snuck in a 17-year-old.'

"'While she was there, she felt like dancing so she got up and danced on the stage and then she took her clothes off. Trouble with that is she's the sheriff's niece,' he said."

Yup. That's a problem.