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A group of Senate Republicans who have been involved in budget negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown today released specific demands they want included in any deal that garners their support for a special election on taxes. The list, issued by Sens. Anthony Cannella, Tom Berryhill, Bill Emmerson, and Tom Harman, details concessions the group is seeking on a spending cap, state pensions, environmental protection laws and state regulations. With just two days until the June 15 deadline for the Legislature to approve a budget, Brown has yet to secure the two Republican votes in each house needed to ask voters...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Perhaps one of the most dangerous sentences in the English language is: "It can't get any worse." Anyone who doesn't know that should not be trusted with sharp objects or political power. And yet there are California Republican Party convention-goers who made that claim in a city where everyone else asks what's wrong with the Republicans. On the one hand, hard-liners want to punish any GOP lawmaker who cuts a deal to put Gov. Jerry Brown's five-year car-fee, income and sales tax extension on the ballot. On the other hand, few Republican lawmakers voted for spending cuts...

UPDATE: This post was updated with a response from the governor's office. One of the five Republican senators who had been involved with budget negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown said yesterday that his talks with the governor remain at a standstill. Sen. Sam Blakeslee, said the governor's office has made "no effort to reach out" since he called to request a meeting on Wednesday. "I've been waiting for a call," said Blakeslee, adding that the silence "surprised me after weeks and weeks of work" to reach an agreement. Blakeslee and Sens. Tom Berryhill, Anthony Cannella, Bill Emmerson and Tom Harman...

Reading, writing and . . . global warming? A Silicon Valley lawmaker is gaining momentum with a bill that would require "climate change" to be among the science topics that all California public school students are taught. The measure, by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, also would mandate that future science textbooks approved for California public schools include climate change. "You can't have a science curriculum that is relevant and current if it doesn't deal with the science behind climate change," Simitian said. "This is a phenomenon of global importance and our kids ought to understand the science behind...

A recount of ballots cast in last week's special primary for the 35th District state Senate seat is expected to begin today and could be finished early next week, officials said, but it will be a historic anomaly if it changes the election's outcome. In the April 11 election, Republican Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman beat GOP opponent and Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey by 236 votes, becoming his party's nominee on the June 6 ballot. In the general election, Harman will face Democrat Larry Caballero, who was the only other candidate on last week's ballot. The special election...

Assemblyman Tom Harman held on to a razor-thin lead to defeat Dana Point Councilwoman Diana Harkey in the bitterly fought contest to fill the vacant 35th state Senate District seat.

Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman was clinging to a 289-vote lead over a fellow Republican on Wednesday in the race for an Orange County state Senate seat. Harman had 38.8% of the vote in unofficial results posted at 5 p.m. Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey had 38.5%. Democrat Larry Caballero, the third candidate on the ballot, drew 22.7%. (snip) Hart said the campaign would ask for an official recount if the margin stayed as slim or narrowed with about 650 provisional ballots expected to be counted Friday. Provisional ballots are those cast by voters unsure whether they were registered or...

Harman defeats Harkey in 35th District Harman will be strong favorite in June 6 election. Assemblyman Tom Harman held on to a razor-thin lead to defeat Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey in the bitterly fought contest to fill the vacant 35th state Senate District seat. With votes from all 723 precincts tabulated, Harman bested Harkey by 530 votes. Harman will face Democrat Larry Caballero in a June 6 general election because he didn't receive more than 50 percent of the vote required to win the race outright. Harkey had expected to get off to a strong start, thanks to an...