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SACRAMENTO -- A complaint filed with state ethics officials Tuesday accused Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez of using a charity to illegally funnel donations into political activities. The complaint cites more than $270,000 that Nuñez solicited in 2005 and 2006 from corporations, utilities and other interests with a stake in legislation to pay for toy giveaways, scholarships, youth summits and other events that featured Nuñez and were arranged by his staff. The donations were the subject of a Times investigation in November, which showed how a small charity -- Collective Space -- in Nuñez's downtown Los Angeles district wrote checks at...

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez have submitted ballot language asking voters to fund their health care reform plan. With time running short to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot, they acted before the state Senate has given its approval. The Senate's Democratic leader says he is reluctant to pass the health coverage expansion while the state is facing a multibillion dollar budget deficit.

California's population continued to grow modestly in the last fiscal year despite a significant exodus of residents to other states, according to a state report released Wednesday. The annual study by the Department of Finance showed that 89,000 more people moved out of California than moved here from elsewhere in the United States. California's population did grow in fiscal 2007 -- but the growth rested on births and the arrival of more than 200,000 immigrants from other countries. The shift dovetails with the state's weakening economy and is most likely related, said Howard Roth, chief economist for the Department of...

The State Senate must approve the measure next, which isn't a sure thing. Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, wants to know first whether the gargantuan health care package would adversely affect the state's budget, which already is projected to be $14 billion in the red for fiscal 2008-09. Sen. Perata, on a Bay Area radio station Tuesday, said "I think [the plan is]DOA. I haven't found anybody yet … that can make any sense of it." He said he will not allow a vote until 2008. The saving grace is that the legislation amounts only to political grandstanding if voters...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez are probably still in the Governor's cigar tent this morning, puffing away on stogies to celebrate the Assembly's 45-31 vote yesterday in favor of their compromise health insurance “reform” bill. It was by far the pair's top goal for 2007. Schwarzenegger desperately wants another fix of national media attention after taking a yearlong victory lap for the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law in 2006. Núñez was deeply envious and wants his turn in the spotlight. The result of this desperation has been a farce masquerading as a public debate. No hearings...

in·cred·i·ble –adjective 1. so extraordinary as to seem impossible: incredible speed. 2. not credible; hard to believe; unbelievable: The plot of the book is incredible. —Synonyms: farfetched, astonishing, preposterous. "It's an incredible plan," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles). The Speaker’s quote about the just-struck agreement on government healthcare with Governor Schwarzenegger unintentionally speaks volumes. Incredible, farfetched, preposterous, hard to believe – call it what you will, the plan will cost far more than advertised and will drive business out of state, reducing state tax revenue and throwing people out of work. Beginning with a low-balled $14 billion price...

That bill does not contain the taxes or other measures that would provide the $14 billion a year needed to finance the ambitious overhaul and would not take effect unless the ballot measure passed. That puts Democratic lawmakers in the highly unusual position of voting on the plan without being able to assess whether the intricate financing scheme will be adequate. Republicans have vowed to vote against the measure. The moves came as Schwarzenegger promised to call an emergency session of the Legislature for early January to make cuts to the state's budget. The governor's office estimates the projected gap...

WASHINGTON California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, facing criticism over his fundraising practices and international travel, escaped to friendlier terrain Wednesday to accept an award from Governing magazine. The Los Angeles Democrat was named one of nine "Public Officials of the Year" and was accepting the honor at a dinner at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel, just blocks from the White House. Other honorees included Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire and Houston Mayor Bill White. The magazine cited Nunez's bipartisanship in working toward passage of last year's package of public works bonds - $37.3 billion for...

Donors had high stakes in legislation; arrangement may have violated federal tax laws SACRAMENTO -- Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez used a small charity as a conduit to funnel almost $300,000 from companies and organizations with business in the Capitol to events that helped him politically. By giving to the charity, the donors whom Nunez solicited earned tax deductions for which they would not have qualified had they given directly to Nunez's campaign accounts. They were also able to donate more than the $7,200 maximum allowed under California's campaign fundraising rules. Those donors include Zenith Insurance Co., AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc.,...

There is a pair of bills on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk that puts him on the spot: They would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, including a hike in the "car tax" that Schwarzenegger vilified in his first campaign for office. ... The measures as passed were not publicly debated. They received little vetting by policy experts. They were not fully written until the clock had almost run out on lawmakers preparing to adjourn and get out of town last month. And key provisions were shaped by a small group of big campaign contributors. The causes were advanced by...

The leader of the Assembly spends tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds but refuses to provide details on his trips. He says the trips are 'not only justified but necessary.' SACRAMENTO -- As leader of the California Assembly, Speaker Fabian Nuñez has traveled the world in luxury, paying with campaign funds for visits to some of the finest hotels and restaurants and for purchases at high-end retailers such as Louis Vuitton in Paris. It is not clear how these activities have related to legislative business, as state law requires, because the Los Angeles Democrat refuses to provide details...

Ackerman, meanwhile, has maintained remarkable unity, despite the defection of one senator -- the proof being the growing frustration among Democrats and in the Governor's Office. Although Ackerman had been under fire for being too cozy with Schwarzenegger and Democrats and retained his leadership position by a single vote, his mild-mannered stubbornness has made him a force. Núñez and Perata may say they won't negotiate further, but they have almost no capacity to force Republicans to budge, given their safe districts and their lack of personal stakes in the budget's details. Perata's declaration that he won't take up other legislation...

Senate Democrats enlisted environmentalists Wednesday to chastise Republicans for holding up the state budget, arguing that the GOP is seeking a rollback of a Ronald Reagan-approved environmental law at the behest of business interests. Despite a pledge by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto spending in the Assembly-approved plan, Republicans also are demanding a provision to prevent cities and counties, as well as developers and businesses, from being sued on climate change for the next three years. Republicans cite concerns about Attorney General Jerry Brown's use of the California Environmental Quality Act to stall local development projects. They worry that Brown...

Supporters of a proposed ballot initiative to alter California's legislative term limits announced Monday that they are submitting about 1.1 million voter signatures - 400,000 more than necessary - to qualify for the Feb. 5 ballot. Launched by Gale Kaufman and Matthew Dowd, political strategists for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, respectively, the initiative campaign needs 694,354 valid voter signatures. Kaufman announced Monday that the initiative petitions are being submitted to elections officials for certification. "Representing the people of California is honorable work," Núñez said in a written statement. "This initiative with its bipartisan coalition of supporters...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Wednesday named California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez -- one of the state's leading Hispanic politicians -- a national co-chair of her presidential campaign. "I'm going to be relying on him very heavily," Clinton said... ...Nunez is a close friend of popular Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose endorsement is being eagerly sought by presidential candidates. It's unclear what, if any, influence Nunez's decision will have on the mayor's thinking. Nunez said he would encourage Clinton to spend as much time as possible in California, which holds its primary on Feb. 5...

The chairman of the California Senate elections committee, conceding voters are resistant to changing the state's term limits law, believes a new court challenge should be mounted to invalidate the 17-year-old law. "Ultimately, I think the best solution is to put it before the (state) Supreme Court and let them look at the issue again," Sen. Ron Calderon said in an interview this week. The Montebello Democrat chairs the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee and was picked by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata to lead the house's efforts to change the state's term limits and redistricting laws....

Once an amateur boxer, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is no stranger to a slugfest or a political controversy. Now Núñez is preparing for another bout -- one to extend his legacy, and tenure, as speaker. Núñez is banned by state law from serving another term as head of the Legislature's lower house. But he is pushing to change that. "I'd like to stick around this job another four to six years," he said. "I think it would be great, if the voters give us an opportunity and if my members continue to support my leadership." The Los Angeles Democrat is...

SACRAMENTO - Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez on Friday barred lawmakers from handing out badges bearing the chamber's seal after one legislator awarded policelike "Assembly commissioner" badges to friends, relatives and campaign contributors. Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, said badges with the seal should be carried only by lawmakers themselves "for security and identification purposes. Period. This change in policy will prevent any possible misuse in the future." He acted after the Assembly Rules Committee chairman reported that Entenmann-Rovin, the Los Angeles company that makes the badges, had been selling ones carrying the seal without approval of the Assembly's sergeant at arms. The...

With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Mexico on a high-profile trade mission, his chief of staff and a bipartisan delegation of state lawmakers quietly embarked Friday on a 12-day trip to South America to study alternative-energy technologies. Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and high-ranking members of both the Senate and Assembly were accompanied by representatives of energy companies and others with lobbying interests in Sacramento. The trip will take the delegation to Argentina, Brazil and Chile. That includes a three-day break next weekend at a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires during which no work is...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chuckled at a comment from Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez last month in Sacramento as he signed Núñez's measure to create a discount prescription drug program. SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is a key figure in a major gubernatorial campaign. But it might be hard to tell which one. Núñez, co-chairman of Democrat Phil Angelides' struggling campaign, has been spending far more time at public events heaping praise on Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger than with the candidate he has endorsed. In a variety of joint appearances, Núñez has lauded Schwarzenegger's “courage” and “leadership” in signing bills to...