Posted on 09/07/2005 8:35:35 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill that would allow Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to change his mind and call off the Nov. 8 special election stalled Wednesday in the Senate as Republicans refused to vote for it.
The measure by Assemblyman Johan Klehs, D-San Leandro, fell four votes short of passing on an initial roll call, but the Senate delayed announcing the final vote as the house worked into the evening on other legislation.
Democrats said the approximately $50 million that would be spent to hold the election could be better used to aid Gulf Coast hurricane victims or repair California's own levees.
The eight measures on the November ballot could be added to the June 2006 primary ballot, they said.
Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina was a compelling wake-up call.
"It's important to sit back and look at what's really important," she said. "The very last thing we need to do is spend $50 million on a special election that can be consolidated with the June primary."
The bill would specify that a governor has the power to call - and cancel - a special election. Speier said it wasn't clear if Schwarzenegger now has the power to call off a special election.
Fifty-seven percent of people questioned in a recent Field Poll opposed Schwarzenegger's decision to call the election. Disapproval rose to 63 percent when respondents were told how much the special election would cost.
But Schwarzenegger has said he has no intention of calling off the election, and his press secretary, Margita Thompson, said he would veto the Klehs bill if it reached him.
"The governor believes we need to move forward with the special election because we need to solve the state's chronic overspending problem," she said, referring to Proposition 76, a November ballot measure that would give the governor broad new powers to limit state spending.
MINIMUM WAGE: A bill that would boost the minimum wage by $1 an hour, to $7.75, in two steps had enough votes to win Senate approval, but senators also delayed announcing the final vote on that measure until later in the day.
The proposal by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Santa Clara, would raise the wage by 50 cents an hour in 2006 and by another 50 cents in 2007. It also would require the wage to be adjusted each year to keep up with inflation, staring in 2008.
Democrats said California's minimum wage trails those of other West Coast states and forces many families to live far below the federal poverty line.
"It's been an American tradition or ideal that if you're willing to work full-time you should be provided with a wage that is at least sufficient to provide the basic necessities for your family," said Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys.
Republicans said the bill could result in job losses.
"By throwing on more and more responsibilities employees become more expensive and eventually too expensive and automation becomes the answer," said Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster.
But Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said previous increases in the minimum wage didn't result in a drop-off in jobs.
"This is so modest," she said. "We should be embarrassed how modest it is. But practically speaking that (extra) 50 cents an hour ... means a lot to a family living in poverty in California."
Schwarzenegger hasn't said what he will do with the bill, but he has close ties to employer groups opposed to the measure and he vetoed a more modest minimum wage measure last year.
GRADUATION EXAM: Another bill that was headed for Senate approval would let schools use other assessments, such as grades or class assignments, to determine if a student who failed the state graduation exam qualifies for a high school diploma.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said most other states that have successful graduation exams also use a "broader system of assessments" to gauge whether students have met graduation qualifications.
The alternative assessments would have to be approved by the state superintendent of public instruction.
Unless circumstances change, the high school class of 2006 will be the first one required to pass the state exam to graduate.
FIRE-SAFE CIGARETTES: The Assembly sent Schwarzenegger a bill to require all cigarettes sold in California to be designed to go out when they're not being puffed. The bill, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, is modeled after a New York law.
Koretz said the measure would prevent fires caused by unattended cigarettes.
"It's not about the right to smoke. It's not about smokers' health. It's about preventing death and injuries from smoking related fires," he said.
Several opponents questioned whether the legislation would work.
"We can't legislate common sense. We can't legislate personal responsibility," said Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta. "The person who leaves a lit cigarette ... they will cause fires no matter how many laws we pass against it."
The Assembly voted 43-31 to approve Senate amendments, sending the measure to the governor.
I don't get this. What is gained? Arnold might well fall flat on his face and be albatrossed with charges of wasting tax money on what appears to be a doomed special election.
If this is a good idea to save money for storm victims... why isn't it a good idea to safeguard the public funds just because it's the right thing to do?
I'm all for this special election. Those a**holes in the legislature spend more than $50M without turning a hair - look at all the cr*p mentioned in this article: raising the minimum wage, legislating cigarettes that automatically go out, not to mention their usual pork-laden waste-of-time legislation that doesn't do anyone a bit of good. And saying we should send the money to aid victims of Katrina: like that's going to happen with this dem-controlled legislature! That money will never get out of their pet projects. LSo let's spend that 50M on the special election and try to get something done. After all, these are the same idiots who complained that the recall election was too expensive, and, frankly, what it cost to boot that fool Davis out of office was the best money California ever spent.
Politically speaking, What is gained by calling it off? He has staked this as important enough to invest his reputation, political clout and personal funds. If he calls it off he looks like a wimp. He'll have doomed himself.
If it fails, it fails, but it's too late and would cause more damage to retreat.
besides, no one know the result until they vote. Polls are not infallible, lately they've been anything but perfect.
And the charge of wasting taxpayer money doesn't cut it. They'll waste that money either way. At least this way the people get a choice.
Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina was a compelling wake-up call.
"It's important to sit back and look at what's really important," she said. "The very last thing we need to do is spend $50 million on a special election that can be consolidated with the June primary."
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Jackie is one of the saner reps in Sacramento, but is a dem thru and thru in the DiFi tradition, imo.
Waiting any amount of time means another bloated state budget and another year shot to hell on the "Road to ReFoRm".... and another few bilions in debt.
I ask you who is being served by any delay?
The other 49 states can't buy this kind of entertainment.
"Priorities straight" = Massive, truly monstorous unpresidented tax increases & lots of large, unaccountable, bottomless pit, wheel spinning spending programs.
We don't need no stinking election...
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