Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Jerry jumps in, Steve makes his small screen debut

Attorney General Jerry Brown will make his bid for a third go-around at the governor's post official today.

Brown's announcement, which will be made via video on www.jerrybrown.org at 11 a.m., ends months of speculation over when Brown, the only major candidate expected to run for the Democratic nomination, would jump in the already heated gubernatorial race.

Meanwhile, GOP guv-hopeful Steve Poizner is hitting the airwaves today with his first television spot of the campaign.

The 30-second ad, which you can see here, touts the candidate's proposed 10 percent tax cut and record on illegal immigration. It also goes after his Republican rival, the "liberal" Meg Whitman for launching "false attacks" against his "conservative solutions"

Poizner's small screen debut comes a day after he officially filed his candidacy papers, but more notably a week after Whitman, who has been airing TV spots since early February, unleashed a series of ads attacking his campaign.

Supporters' aim is that the statewide TV buy, along with a Web spot outlining Poizner's tax cut proposal, will boost the insurance commissioner in the polls, where he trails Whitman by large margins.

"Voters are now being introduced to Steve for the first time and will see he is the conservative reformer and problem solver in this race," Poizner Communications Director Jarrod Agen said in a statement.

Back at the Capitol, The Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee takes a look at the potential elections costs associated with the Top Two Primary system proposed under Proposition 14 and its accompanying legislative measure SB6.

Election officials from Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles as well as the Secretary of State's deputy secretary for legislative and constituent affairs are set to testify.

Proponents of the June ballot measure, who said their request to testify was denied, said any costs of the change would be minimal at most, pointing to analysis by the Senate and the Legislative Analyst.

Lawmakers on the Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy and the Veterans Affairs committees will also meet for a joint hearing to examine programs to provide workforce training for California's veterans.

Special Election Watch: Yesterday was the last day for candidates to file to run in the upcoming April 13 special elections to fill vacancies in the 37th Senate District and the 43rd Assembly District. Today, The Secretary of State holds a randomized drawing to decide the ballot order for the state legislative hopefuls.