Posted on 05/27/2004 6:34:45 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill aimed at closing a loophole that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used to raise money in last year's recall campaign was approved Thursday by the state Assembly.
By a 77-0 vote, lawmakers sent the Senate a bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would bar candidates from borrowing more than $100,000 from a bank or other lender to give to their campaigns.
Current law says a candidate can't personally lend his or her campaign more than $100,000.
A court ruled in January that Schwarzenegger violated that statute during the closing weeks of last year's recall race when he took out $4.5 million in bank loans to help his cash-starved campaign.
The loan limit, included in voter-approved Proposition 34, is intended to prevent a candidate from lending his or her campaign large amounts of money in hopes of getting it back after winning office by raising special-interest contributions.
Schwarzenegger, who took out the loans in consultation with officials at the California Fair Political Practices Commission, was not sanctioned by the judge but was required to pay back the bank loans out of his own pocket, which he has done.
Leno said the bill was needed because the Superior Court ruling didn't carry the weight of law.
The Assembly also approved a bill by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, that would bar a candidate-controlled ballot measure committee from using any of its funds to support the candidate's campaign for state office or to oppose any other contenders for the post.
There are limits on how much donors can give to candidates but not to ballot measure committees.
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On the Net: Read the bills, AB1980 and AB2842, at www.assembly.ca.gov
A look at some of the bills that were voted on Thursday by the California Legislature. Friday is the deadline for bills to pass their house of origin:
WILDLIFE:
- The Assembly voted to expand the legal definition of "forage," allowing city residents catch, capture and kill cottontail rabbits that eat landscaping. AB2875, by Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, passed 42-23. It moves to the Senate.
- Money raised from the sale of fishing licenses would be earmarked for Department of Fish and Game hatcheries. AB2280, by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, was approved 59-2 and goes to the Senate.
COMMUNICATIONS:
- Continues a fee on all phone customers that helps offset the cost of providing phone service to remote and rural areas. SB1276, by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, was approved by the Senate 27-5. It goes to the Assembly.
EDUCATION:
- Consolidates educational "categorical" funding into fewer block grants to give local school officials more flexibility in how they spend state money. SB1510, by Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego, was approved 32-0 by the Senate. It goes to the Assembly.
JOBS:
- Prevents the state from contracting with companies that will move jobs to foreign countries. AB1829, by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge, was approved 44-26 by the Assembly. It moves to the Senate.
- Requires employers, as part of their payroll reporting, to tell the state how many of their workers are in other states and countries. AB3021, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, was approved 41-27 by the Assembly. It moves to the Senate.
BANKING:
- Companies that offer refund anticipation loans that use expected tax refunds as collateral would have to register with the state Department of Corporations. The bill, AB2868, by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, also caps fees that could be charged and establishes penalties for fraud. The Assembly approved the bill 44-27, sending it to the Senate.
TAXES:
- Tax scofflaws would have a grace period in which they could pay old personal income, corporate or sales and use taxes without penalties. The tax amnesty program could raise $710 million. AB2203, by Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, was approved 42-29 and sent to the Senate.
HEALTH:
- A bill by Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga, would require health plans that provide eye care to contract with both optometrists and ophthalmologists. The measure, AB1927, passed the Assembly 42-25.
PRIVACY:
- The Senate approved limiting Google's new e-mail service that promised to tailor ads to e-mail content, prohibiting the company from compiling or selling personal information gleaned from the direct marketing efforts. SB1822, by Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Sunol, was approved 24-8 and moves to the Assembly.
- The Assembly approved a bill by Assemblywoman Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, that would require businesses that obtain personal information about California residents to implement reasonable security procedures to protect that information. The proposal, AB1950, was sent to the Senate by a 54-2 vote.
- Prohibits car rental companies from using geopositioning systems to track and monitor car renters, except when car is stolen or driver asks for help. AB2840, by Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, passed the Assembly 68-0. It goes to the Senate.
STATE EMPLOYEES:
- A bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, would require state employees to be paid if lawmakers fail to approve a new state budget by the start of a fiscal year. The proposal, AB2750, passed the Assembly on a 54-22 vote and moved to the Senate.
SPORTS:
- The Assembly voted 68-3 to send the Senate AB2404, a bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, that would require local sports programs to provide equal opportunities for women and girls to participate.
MINORS:
- The Assembly rejected a bill by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-South Gate, that would bar smoking in vehicles carrying young children. The measure, AB2997, failed on a 36-30 vote. It needed at least 41, a majority of the 80-seat Assembly, to move to the Senate.
- The Assembly voted 42-13 to send the Senate AB2019, a bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, that would create procedures to evaluate the mental competency of defendants in juvenile court cases.
- A bill by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, would require schools that serve students irradiated food to also offer them food that hasn't irradiated. The measure, AB1988, was sent to the Senate by a 41-30 Assembly vote.
CAMPAIGN FUNDS:
- A bill by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would bar money collected by a candidate-controlled ballot measure campaign committee from being used to support the candidate's campaign for state office or to oppose another candidate for the same post. The measure, AB1980, passed the Assembly 44-28 and was sent to the Senate.
- A bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would bar a candidate from borrowing more than $100,000 from a bank for his campaign. A 77-0 Assembly vote sent the proposal, AB2842, to the Senate.
PRISONS:
- Three bills by Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, would improve financial management of the state's massive prison system by requiring financial training for wardens and additional spending audits. AB2103, AB2104 and AB2105 all passed the Assembly unanimously en route to the Senate.
GROWTH:
- Cities couldn't create rules that discourage people from building second unit "granny flats" on their property. AB2702, by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, passed 47-14. It moves to the Senate.
- A bill by Assemblyman Jerome Horton, D-Inglewood, would block Wal-Mart from sponsoring ballot initiatives that characterize a project as exempt from state environmental law if passed. AB3090 passed the Assembly 41-28.
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS:
- A bill by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, would ban homeowners associations from using nonjudicial foreclosure to collect late assessments. AB2598 passed the Assembly 64-6. It goes to the Senate.
- Homeowners Associations would have to provide clear, easy to understand summaries of their assessments and schedule to hike them, under AB2718 by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. The bill passed the Assembly 65-0. It goes to the Senate.
More stuff emanating out of the manure ponds of Stinkymento ..
Another VETO Arine.
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