Posted on 08/15/2005 5:15:21 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- State legislators returned from a month-long recess Monday to deal with hundreds of bills in the last four weeks of their 2005 session and prepare for a fall special election fight that promises to be bitter and expensive.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata ruled out a last-minute deal that could avoid a battle over three of the eight measures currently on that ballot - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's spending limit, redistricting and teacher probation initiatives.
Thursday is the deadline for lawmakers to add measures to the Nov. 8 ballot, and there has been speculation that the Legislature's Democratic leaders and the Republican governor would reach compromises. They then would urge voters to approve the compromise package instead of the original Schwarzenegger proposals.
But Perata said that wouldn't happen.
"At this juncture, the voters are just going to have to sort it out...," the Oakland Democrat told reporters. "We've had a lot of discussions, but it ultimately gets down to being handed a sheet of paper and (told), 'Here, sign.' That's not a negotiation."
Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said the governor was still hopeful of reaching agreement.
"The governor's engaged, the staff has been engaged and conversations absolutely continue," she said. "No door has been closed."
Both houses held brief floor sessions Monday and dealt with only a few minor bills. Most of the more than 800 bills awaiting action were still in committee.
The Senate Appropriations Committee began wading through more than 300 of those measures Monday afternoon, approving a bill by Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, that would make it easier for news reporters to arrange interviews with prison inmates.
Supporters said the proposal would help the public keep tabs on what takes place behind prison walls.
But the committee delayed a vote on a bill that would allow gay marriages.
It also considered legislation that would provide alternatives to the high school graduation exam and allow distribution of condoms to prison inmates to try to stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, added to the crunch by introducing a constitutional amendment that would bar the governor and other statewide elected officials from having second jobs.
The measure was triggered by Schwarzenegger's multimillion-dollar contract to serve as a consultant to two body building magazines, a deal he abandoned last month after critics said it could lead to conflicts of interest.
"No constitutional officer should have a second job," Speier said. "The electorate votes for those people serving in those positions with the recognition they are going to work exclusively for the people of California."
Schwarzenegger said the ban on moonlighting should also cover legislators.
"I would support it if it includes everybody," the governor told reporters in Stockton, where he was promoting state funding to make school buses safer and their emissions cleaner. "If we don't pick and it includes everyone - legislators and constitutional officers - I would sign it immediately."
Speier said she limited the measure to the governor and 11 other officials because of their regulatory powers.
"They have ... powers that allow them, by their single acts, to cause companies to be subject to suits or market-conduct exams or audits or not," she said. "It's important that we have people that owe their entire and complete allegiance to the public and no one else."
Besides the governor, the amendment would cover the lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state controller, insurance commissioner, superintendent of public instruction, secretary of state and members of the Board of Equalization, which oversees collection of most state taxes.
If approved by lawmakers, the amendment would go on the ballot next year. It wouldn't need Schwarzenegger's signature.
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On the Net: http://www.assembly.ca.gov and http://www.senate.ca.gov
Fine, we will. And the labor unions will have to spend massive amounts of money attempting to buy the vote, rather than just buying the votes of corrupt members of the California leftislature.
There's also One Bill Gil's favorite piece of legislation. From another article:
Issues on the agenda include legalizing gay marriage, subsidies to create one million solar powered homes and businesses, and a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to get a California driver's license.
This flurry of activity comes ahead of the November 8 special election, called by the governor, which could limit the legislature's power.
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