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California Assembly expunges votes on oil drilling bill
LA Times ^ | 8/6/09 | Patrick McGreevy

Posted on 08/06/2009 9:56:53 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

Reporting from Sacramento -- Although 28 members of the California Assembly supported a measure to allow new oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast, their votes are nowhere to be found in the official state database.

After the measure failed, Assembly leaders expunged the vote altogether, sparing lawmakers running for reelection an official record of their controversial decision. The voting logs made available to the public on the Legislature's website do not indicate who voted for and against the bill on July 24.

...

It wasn't the first time the Assembly has done this. The little-known practice of purging votes, which experts say serves little purpose other than to allow lawmakers to hide actions from the public, is quite common in the lower house, legislative records show. In the last six years, 71 votes on bills in the Assembly have been cleansed from the record.

"The message to the public is 'this vote was an inconvenient vote and we would rather you not look at the man behind the curtain,' " said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), who wrote the oil drilling bill.

Other Assembly officials defend the practice, saying that only a tiny fraction of about 5,000 votes in a typical two-year session are wiped off the record. They said there are also occasions when a vote on a bill is expunged but the same bill is voted on again later for the record and passes.

A bill cannot become a law without an official record of the vote.

"Though it's rare, occasionally the procedural step of expunging a vote is necessary," said Shannon Murphy, a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles). She said the procedure can be used to allow "further discussion and negotiation that may ultimately lead to consensus on a contentious issue."

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; drillheredrillnow; drilling; economy; energy; expunges; offshoredrilling; oil; oildrilling; votes

1 posted on 08/06/2009 9:56:54 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

sounds like a job for the Freeper Wayback Machine...


2 posted on 08/06/2009 10:07:45 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: NormsRevenge

the vote was broadcast on state tv!


3 posted on 08/06/2009 10:08:06 AM PDT by ken21 (i am not voting for a rino-progressive.)
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To: NormsRevenge
"We are entitled to know how our legislators vote."

In California, apparently not.

But good news: You are entitled to a free tattoo removal voucher!

4 posted on 08/06/2009 10:14:18 AM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: NormsRevenge

I have to wonder how much the drilling would have helped the state’s economy. I’m thinking it would’ve helped significantly, but they’re just so far down the tubes anyway.


5 posted on 08/06/2009 10:27:08 AM PDT by the anti-liberal
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To: NormsRevenge

From Glen Beck’s website:

Glenn Beck: Vote ‘Expunged’

August 4, 2009 - 1:10 ET

Don’t bother looking for the California Assembly’s roll-call record on the plan to open new offshore oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast for the first time in 40 years. It’s not there.

However we have the results that they don’t want you to see. Here they are, from the July 24 Assembly vote on opening new oil drilling:

YES (28)

Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia

Joel Anderson, R-Alpine

Juan Arambula, independent-Fresno

Bill Berryhill, R-Modesto

Tom Berryhill, R-Ceres

Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo

Charles Calderon, D-Whittier

Connie Conway, R-Tulare

Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley

Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine

Mike Duvall, R-Yorba Linda

Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands

Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield

Ted Gaines, R-Roseville

Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad

Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford

Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills

Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore

Stephen Knight, R-Palmdale

Dan Logue, R-Linda

Jeff Miller, R-Corona

Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert

Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks

Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber

Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach

Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita

Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa

Mike Villines, R-Clovis

NO (43)

Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco

Jim Beall, D-San Jose

Robert Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills

Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica

Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo

Anna Marie Caballero, D-Salinas

Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto

Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata

Joe Coto, D-San Jose

Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate

Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles

Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park

Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa

Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles

Paul Fong, D-Sunnyvale

Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar

Warren Furutani, D-Gardena

Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston

Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley

Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo

Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills

Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael

Dave Jones, D-Sacramento

Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank

Ted Lieu, D-Torrance

Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach

Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco

Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia

William Monning, D-Santa Cruz

Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara

John Perez, D-Los Angeles

Manuel Perez, D-Coachella

Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena

Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City

Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista

Lori Saldana, D-San Diego

Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley

Audra Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks

Sandré Swanson, D-Alameda

Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch

Norma Torres, D-Pomona

Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont

Mariko Yamana, D-Davis

NOT VOTING (8)

Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista

Marty Block, D-San Diego

Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles

Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego

Isadore Hall, D-Compton

Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point

Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina

Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim


6 posted on 08/06/2009 10:42:10 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: roadcat
Harkey is my Rep.

Where the hell was she that she didn't vote for this?

Looks like you people in Thousand Oaks have a rabid RINO on your hands. Better fix that in the next Primary Election.

7 posted on 08/06/2009 10:44:47 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (There is nothing wrong with the Government that 552 bullets couldn't cure...)
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To: Kickass Conservative
Diane Harkey, RINO-Dana Point
8 posted on 08/08/2009 8:19:37 PM PDT by tdscpa
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