Capitol Alert

In case you missed it:

On the last day of the legislative session, lawmakers sent a bill targeting massage parlors to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

They also gave final approval to a bills aimed at cracking down on paparazzi, "pension spiking" and parents who allow their kids to skip school.

Lawmakers also passed a bill to prohibit employers from using credit reports in hiring decisions, allow oil rigs to be converted into artificial reefs for fish, roll back the cut off date for children to enter kindergarten and release from prison some inmates who are medically disabled.

A bill to ban the use of BPA in children products failed to get the votes it needed to pass.

And an Assembly committee killed legislation championed by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg that would have changed how districts lay off teachers.

But they didn't strike a budget deal. As expected, dueling spending plans fell short in votes in both houses.

GOP Sens. John McCain and Scott Brown are courting contributors for Carly Fiorina.

The federal government spends more on California than any other state, but the California ranks near the bottom when you break down the numbers to per capita spending, according to a new report.

Find out why "Glee" sparked a Twitter exchange between the sparring gubernatorial campaigns.

After ruling out a Hawaii U.S. Senate bid, perennial candidate Merv Evans says he's running for another Assembly seat here in California.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Susan Ferriss and Jim Sanders detail the bill action in the final hours of the legislative session.

Kevin Yamamura reports on the status of the budget negotiations.

Schwarzenegger has instructed state agency secretaries and department heads to stop hiring. Jon Ortiz has the story.

Columnist Dan Walters sees a silver lining in the budget stalemate.

The Senate has killed Assembly Bill 1810 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, which would have allowed the state to keep permanent records of anyone buying a shotgun or rifle.

Such records are already required for handguns.

Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca supported the proposal, arguing that it would increase the safety of law enforcement by closing a loophole in state law, according to a Senate analysis. Other backers included the police chiefs of Chico, Davis, Fresno, Santa Ana, West Sacramento and several other California cities.

The bill was opposed by the National Rifle Association, the Gun Owners of California, among other gunowners associations, as well as the sheriffs of Kern, Mariposa, Mendocino and several other counties. They argued that such a requirement would increase administrative costs without reducing crime.

Heavily debated legislation that would gradually roll back the cutoff date for children to be old enough to enter kindergarten won Assembly approval Tuesday and appeared headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

Senate Bill 1381 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, still needed a final vote in the Senate on the last night of the 2009-10 legislative session. The Senate approved an earlier version of the bill in June. Tuesday's Assembly vote was 41-13.

If enacted, the measure would roll back the cutoff date for the minimum age to enter kindergarten one month a year for three years in a row, culminating in a requirement that a kindergartner be 5 years old by Sept. 1 in the 2014-15 school year.

The measure, however, would also create a "transitional kindergarten" program that would, in effect, give some students two years of kindergarten experience before they enter first grade.

Parents who habitually allow their children to skip school could face criminal charges under legislation receiving final legislative approval today.

Senate Bill 1317 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would apply just to children in grades K-8.

While misdemeanor charges could result, advocates said they would be used mostly to pressure parents into making sure their kids attended school. Courts would be empowered to decree "deferred entry of judgment" to hold criminal charges over heads of parents without sentencing.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and civil rights groups lost big Tuesday when an Assembly committee rejected his legislation that would have changed how teachers are laid off.

Steinberg's loss in the Assembly Appropriations Committee was a win for teacher unions and other education interests, including the giant Los Angeles Unified School District, which had opposed his bill that would require layoffs not to disproportionately affect low-performing schools.

The bill, which has had several numbers but finally settled in Senate Bill 691, was a followup to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against LA Unified earlier this year, alleging that low-performing schools, especially those with large numbers of non-white students, had been adversely affected by layoffs and reassignments when strict seniority rules were followed.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supports the lawsuit and also wanted legislation, although not precisely what Steinberg was willing to do. "It is unacceptable that school districts cannot determine their staffing based on the needs of students, and that is exactly why I am introducing this legislation and supporting the ACLU lawsuit," Schwarzenegger said recently in backing the lawsuit.

As finally written, SB 691 would have required that layoffs and reassignments not cause any more staff disruption in low-performing schools than in the district as a whole. "This is about teaching stability," Steinberg told the Appropriations Committee before the roll call in which the measure received just four votes.

Republicans laid off the bill, apparently because they wanted to go further than Steinberg in requiring school districts to use teachers' performance - what's called "value added" - as shown by students' test scores to decide which instructors should lose their jobs.

But Democrats with ties to the California Teachers Association and other school unions also refused to vote for the bill, including Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Pittsburg, the union-backed candidate for state schools superintendent this year. "It's just not had enough time," Torlakson told Steinberg, adding, "the goals are noble."

The Senate voted 21-14 today to send Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill to create a compassionate release and parole program for prisoners who are permanently medically incapacitated, need 24-hour care, and are not serving sentences of death or life without parole.

SB 1399 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is supported by Schwarzenegger's state Department of Corrections.

It is estimated that it will affect approximately 32 inmates and save the state some $30 million a year. The savings comes because the state would not have to provide security for the incapacitated inmates released on parole and because medical coverage would shift from a state responsibility to a state-federal responsibility under Medi-Cal.

Offshore oil drilling rigs due to be retired may be converted into artificial reefs for fish and other marine life under legislation winning unanimous Assembly approval today.

The Assembly sent Assembly Bill 2503 by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 54-0 vote after Pérez took amendments that eliminated the initial opposition to his late-blooming measure.

Oil companies seeking to convert platforms to reefs would have to share their financial savings with the state, and the proceeds would finance marine improvement programs.

PHOTO CREDIT: This Jan. 20, 2010, file photo shows high-storm surf pounding the beach in front of an oil rig at California's Seal Beach. (AP Photo/ Nick Ut, File)

A much-amended bill aimed at "pension spiking" by state and local government employees was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today.

Assembly Bill 1987 by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, cleared the Assembly on a 56-0 vote after Ma made late amendments that eliminated opposition from pension reform advocates.

Those advocates supported her bill initially, then backed away from it after amendments they said would make pension spiking easier. They supported the final version after Ma made some more changes.

The measure, if signed, would prohibit pension calculations from including payments that are clearly aimed at increasing -- or spiking -- the retirement pay. It's one of several pension reform bills moving through the Legislature this year in response to demands from Schwarzenegger for reform and to media disclosures about abnormally high pensions granted to some local government officials.

Employers would be prohibited from using credit reports to decide whom to hire under legislation winning final approval Tuesday.

The Assembly sent Assembly Bill 482 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 42-25 vote after a sharp debate in which backers, including its author, Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, said it was a matter of fairness and Republican critics said it would damage the state's business climate.

If signed, the bill would prohibit use of credit reports in hiring decisions unless the information is "substantially job-related" or it's a management position or a law enforcement appointment.

The Assembly voted Tuesday to crack down on paparazzi photographers who harass celebrities, turning back criticism that it would be an illegal restriction on free press rights.

Assemby Bill 2479 by Assemblywoman Karen Bass was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- a much- photographed celebrity himself -- on a 43-13 vote.

If Schwarzenegger signs it, AB 2479 would declare that someone could be sued for "false imprisonment" by physically harassing someone else for photos or sound recordings and also tighten up penalties for reckless driving to capture a "visual image."

An Assembly analysis of the bill says it's "intended to curb the reckless and dangerous lengths that paparazzi will sometimes go in order to capture the image of celebrities. Of particular concern is the practice of surrounding a celebrity or the celebrity's vehicle in a manner that does not permit an avenue of escape. In addition, paparazzi have allegedly engaged in dangerous and high-speed chases on the public highways in their efforts to capture photographs. The author contends that this kind of behavior is especially a problem in Los Angeles, with its high concentration of stars and celebrities."

PHOTO CREDIT: Paris Hilton speeds away from the paparazzi running through the streets in chase in West Hollywood, on March 1, 2008. Hilton spoofed the paparazzi while taping a segment for a television show "Pop Fiction," a prank show targeting paparazzi. (Associated Press File Photo/ Kevork Djansezian)

By Susan Ferriss
sferriss@sacbee.com

A major environmental proposal that chemical companies opposed -- Senate Bill 797 by Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills -- has failed to muster enough votes for passage today.

The proposal would have banned in California, starting in 2012, baby bottles, sippy cups and plastic bottles made with bisphenol A, or BPA, and cans that contain baby formula and are lined with BPA.

New York enacted a similar ban this year on BPA, which is suspected of disrupting hormones. A ban in another populous state such as California would have forced companies to reconsider using BPA in baby products generally.

Amendments by the Assembly would have required that the bill's provisions be subject to decisions by the state's Green Chemistry Council, a new regulatory body that legislators voted to create in 2008. The council's formation is past due, said Pavley, which has forced the state into a "moratorium" on taking action against toxic substances that could harm children.

The vote was 17 against and 16 for the bill. One Democratic senator didn't cast a vote, Lou Correa of Santa Ana. Four other Democrats joined Republicans voting against it. Two liberal Democrats who supported the bill were absent.

Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said he thought legislators didn't have the training to make conclusions about toxic substances and should defer to the Green Chemistry Council once it has formed.

PHOTO CREDIT: Some makers of plastic water bottles, including Nalgene and Camelback, have begun producing Bisphenol A-free containers. (Photo by David McNew/ Getty Images)

Two law enforcement members would be added to the quasi-public commission that regulates massage parlors under heavily lobbied legislation that was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today.

The Assembly gave final approval to Assembly Bill 1822, carried by Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, D-Alameda, on a 58-6 vote.

Law enforcement groups sought membership in the "Massage Therapy Organization" while massage parlor operators said the bill implied that their industry has an illicit purpose.

UPDATE: The Assembly closed the roll. Final vote: GOP plan, 23 yes, 52 no. Democratic plan, 50 yes, 25 no.

As expected, both houses of the Legislature soundly rejected two competing state budget plans today, leaving California without a spending plan 62 days into the fiscal year.

Republicans offered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal -- modified to exclude fee increases to water and homeowners' insurance, Majority Democrats put up a plan that did not include the tax increases they have touted.

Both fell well short of the required two-thirds majority (54 votes in the Assembly and 27 in the Senate), although Assembly and Senate leaders left the voting rolls open.

In the Assembly, initial tallies had the Democratic plan six votes short and the GOP approach 29 votes short.

In the Senate, the GOP plan was 15 votes short and the Democratic proposal six votes short.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said negotiations will continue on ways to close the $19.1 billion budget deficit.

"I feel an urgency, but not an urgency at any price, and that's really what this has come down to," Steinberg said.

The first and only U.S. Senate debate scheduled so far between Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger Carly Fiorina is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday night at St. Mary's College in Moraga.

Bay Area-based TV station KTVU is co-hosting the debate along with the San Francisco Chronicle and public radio and TV station KQED. KCRA Channel 3 in Sacramento and KQED radio, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, will broadcast the one-hour debate live, and the event will also be streamed on KTVU.com. Other public radio stations and their partner TV outlets will broadcast the debate live as well.

KTVU political editor Randy Shandobil will moderate the debate, with a media panelist featuring Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci, La Opinion senior political writer Pilar Marrero and KQED radio host Scott Shafer.

Boxer and Fiorina are locked in one of the country's most-watched U.S. Senate races, with public opinion polls showing the two women in a tight contest.

PHOTO CREDITS: Left, California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina campaigns at a roundtable of business women at a cafe in Los Altos on July 20 (AP Photo/ Paul Sakuma). Right, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Sacramento Bee file photo.

Twitter and other social media platforms can serve as powerful communication tools for campaigns looking to spread their message on the Web.

But 140-character updates posted on the microblogging site sometimes spark silly salvos between sparring camps.

Case in point: an entertaining exchange posted on the Twitter accounts of Jerry Brown campaign manager Steven Glazer, Meg Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei and Brown himself this morning.

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is getting a hand from her could-be GOP colleagues in various forms this week.

GOP Sen. John McCain hosted a fundraiser for Fiorina last night, Fiorina spokeswoman Andrea Saul confirmed today. Saul declined to comment on where the fundraiser was held or how much the Arizona senator raised for Fiorina, who served as an economic adviser during McCain's 2008 presidential bid, and said there are no plans for joint appearances on the campaign trail.

Later this week, Fiorina's bank account is scheduled to get a boost from Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.

Brown, who became a symbol of momentum for Republicans in the wake of his special election victory, is listed as a special guest for a Thursday fundraiser in Newport Beach. Tickets for the evening cocktail reception and dinner range from $250 to $30,400.

While McCain and Brown court contributors, other Republican senators making appearances on the campaign trail. South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss are joining Fiorina for a campaign event in Fresno this morning.

Fiorina critics honed in on the McCain event, pointing out that the former Hewlett-Packard CEO was sidelined as a surrogate on the 2008 presidential campaign trail after her comments about the ticket not being fit to run a company created a stir.

PHOTO CREDIT: Senate candidate Carly Fiorina during a press conference at Rex Moore electrical in Sacramento on Thursday, June 17, 2010. Randall Benton, Sacramento Bee.

The federal government spends more money in California than any other state, thanks to its having nearly 12 percent of the nation's population, but California's per capita federal spending is one of the nation's lowest, according to an exhaustive new Census Bureau report.

The report, covering federal spending for the 2009 fiscal year, says that Californians received $346 billion in federal funds during the year from dozens of specific programs, including Social Security, 10.7 percent of the $3.2 trillion in federal outlays. California's per capita spending, however, was 36th among the states - in part because with a relatively young population, the state was 48th in retirement and disability payments.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other California political figures have complained about the relative low return of federal funds to the state, but if Social Security is a major factor in such low ranking, there may be little or nothing that politicians can do about the situation.

That's especially true when California once was the recipient of 20 percent of national defense spending but that has since fallen to 11 percent. Virginia - home of the Pentagon - now is the largest destination of defense spending.

California's $346 billion in federal spending in 2009 was actually a sharp increase from the $300 billion in 2008 and the $260 million in 2007. One reason for the increase is the state's high unemployment rate. The feds spent $12.1 billion on unemployment insurance payments in 2009.

Within California, Los Angeles County - home of more than a quarter of the state's population - was also the state's largest recipient of federal funds in 2009, $80.2 billion or 23 percent of the state's total.

The complete report, with dozens of detailed charts that break down federal spending by state, county, program and department, is available here.

A familiar face says he is jumping in the fray in a Southern California state legislative race.

Perennial public office hopeful Mervin Evans has announced that he plans to run as a write-in candidate in the race to replace termed-out former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass in the 47th Assembly District.

The Los Angeles Democrat, currently a partner in a credit repair consulting firm, has explored or entered candidacies in dozens of local, statewide and federal contests in California over the past two decades. He has never won.

In the 2010 cycle, Evans has at one point announced his intention to run in primaries for controller, lieutenant governor, treasurer, U.S. Senate, the 33rd Congressional District and the 48th Assembly District, according to JoinCalifornia.com, a website that tracks California campaigns. Earlier this summer, Evans' own website indicated he would run for U.S. Senate in Hawaii.

"He had said he was going to move to Hawaii and then he changed his mind," Evans spokeswoman Lynette Bigelow explained.

Evans will likely have to make a move if he wants to run for the 47th District -- he is currently registered to vote at an address in the 46th Assembly District, where Assembly Speaker John A. Perez is running unopposed.

Evans said in a statement that he is entering the field because there are "far too many 'child molester' types roaming the State of California."

To address that concern, he says he will push for "The Evans California Child Protect Act," a proposed initiative to crack down on sexual predators who target children. The initiative, which he has called for in the past, would also impose a 25-cent tax on containers of beer, malted beverages, wine and liquor to create a trust fund for victims of sex crimes.

Other campaign causes championed by the colorful candidate in the past include protecting Second Amendment rights and fighting bear poaching.

Photo courtesy of the Evans campaign.

The last day of the legislative session has arrived.

Legislators have until midnight tonight to approve bills introduced during the current two-year session. Both houses will meet this morning to kick off what could end up being a very long day of deal making and vote taking.

The Assembly and the Senate have acted on hundreds of bills during the final week of legislative business under the dome. But a handful of hot-button bills subject to last-minute lobbying and end-of-session amendments could still come up to vote in the coming hours.

With a special session on the yet-to-be brokered budget fix looming, lawmakers aren't expected to head home to their districts for long.

Speaking of that 62-day-late budget, both houses will put dueling proposals up for a vote today.

Legislative packages derived from plans detailed by legislative Democrats and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are scheduled to hit the floors of the Assembly and the Senate, though there's no expectation that either plan secures enough votes to advance.

So what's the point in holding a floor vote when a deal is far from being struck?

Legislative Republicans have downplayed the move as nothing more than a "drill" staged by Democrats who want to create the appearance that some action has been taken to patch the state's $19 billion deficit.

But Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told Bee colleague Kevin Yamamura that bringing the debate out of leadership negotiations and on to the floor could speed up the process of reaching a compromise.

Yamamura has more on what to expect from the budget votes here.

Inquiring minds can hear what Schwarzenegger has to say about the current state of the budget negotiations when the governor speaks at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce's CitySummit 2010 forum. Schwarzenegger's 11 a.m. remarks will be webcast here.

SENATE 2010: GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina makes a campaign stop in Fresno to talk about spending levels and call for an overhaul of the federal budget process. Fiorina will be joined by South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss for the 2:30 p.m. presser at Fowler Packing Company.

PRESSER: Opponents of Proposition 23 are holding a presser in Los Angeles today to unveil a report detailing the pollution citations racked up by two oil companies funding the push to suspend the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions reduction law. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is scheduled to attend the 10:30 a.m.release of the report, which was conducted by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the California Environmental Justice Association.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman took a short break from the campaign trail this afternoon to clock in some jury duty at the Superior Court in Redwood City, according to her campaign.

Whitman, the billionaire former CEO of online auction firm eBay, spent the afternoon at the courthouse with her fellow potential jurors but wasn't selected, her campaign said. The candidate will be on call for the next 48 hours.

Whitman spokesman Sarah Pompei said in a written statement, "She enjoyed meeting her fellow potential jurors this afternoon, but looks forward to returning to the campaign trail ...."

Photo: Hector Amezcua/Sacramento Bee

Three past governors - Jerry Brown, George Deukmejian and Gray Davis - will be honored at a Thursday night fundraiser at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles for signing a letter last year urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to retain funding to the state California Conservation Corps, which Brown created.

The only other living ex-governor, Pete Wilson, had signed the letter too but won't be attending Thursday's event because of a scheduling conflict, said Karmi Ferguson, executive director of the California Conservation Corps Foundation.

Wilson also happens to be the chairman of Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's campaign, which is locked in a tight governor's race with Brown. The event was scheduled six weeks ago, and Wilson was already planning to be out of the state, Ferguson said.

Don't call Tuesday's budget exercise a drill. So says Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who was so afraid of that characterization that he referred Monday to the criticism as "the D-word."

"We should not end this formal legislative session without having a full floor debate and votes on our respective visions of California," Steinberg said. "I know the 'D-word' gets used all the time, and I reject that."

Plenty of people have been scratching their heads about why legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to hold floor votes tomorrow on competing budget plans. After all, neither Republicans nor Democrats have the requisite votes to pass their plans off the floor, and two Democratic members who have health issues will remain at home.

But, stuck at an impasse, the "Big Five" leaders feel that a floor vote may be just the thing to get their compromise juices flowing.

"I think it could be cathartic," Steinberg said. "And you know, hopefully it will lead sooner than later to a negotiated solution. The thing is, we would all like to be done with this. I don't think there's any political benefit to this continuing. But the differences are very real, and they relate to our respective views about the importance of public investment in making California great."

Legislation that would ramp up penalties for sex crimes, dubbed "Chelsea's Law" for a 17-year-old high school senior who was murdered earlier this year, won final approval in the Legislature Monday.

Assembly Bill 1844 by Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, is the latest in a strong of measures named after the victims of sensational crimes.

John Albert Gardner, a convicted sex offender, has pleaded guilty to killing Poway High School senior Chelsea King and also a 14-year-old Escondido girl, Amber DuBois, and faces life sentences. Both were abducted while jogging or walking near their homes.

Fletcher's measure, sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 70-0 vote, increases penalties for a wide variety of sex crimes and includes life imprisonment without parole for some sex crimes against minors and lifetime parole supervision for habitual sex criminals.

"This is something we can all be proud of," Fletcher told the Assembly prior to the vote.

Fletcher's office released a statement from King's parents, Brent and Kelly King, after the vote: "Oh behalf of Chelsea, and the 100,000 people who have given us the momentum to complete this process, we offer a symbolic sunflower ovation to all California Assemblymembers and Senators who voted in favor of Chelsea's Law. This is a uniquely collaborative achievement, powered by people who care passionately about the children of California."

PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly King, right, of Poway, the mother of murder victim of Chelsea King, seen in photograph, wipes her eyes during a news conference she and her husband, Brent King, left attended at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, April 12, 2010. AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli.

California's motorcycles may get a bit quieter if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - a dedicated two-wheeler himself - signs a bill that was sent to his desk Monday.

The Senate approved the measure, Senate Bill 435 by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, on a 21-16 vote. If signed, it would require motorcycles manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013, and sold in California to carry noise control labels from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Motorcyclists would be required to maintain and display the labels.

Health and law enforcement groups support the bill but motorcycle manufacturers and dealers oppose it, saying it places an unreasonable burden on motorcyclists to prove they have the required labels.

Motorcycle owners could not be cited unless they were stopped for some other offense. And tickets could be voided if they made corrections.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger riding his motorcycle in a 2004 file photo. Monica Almeida/.The New York Times

have penned a letter to opponents that the measure would allow lawmakers to raise taxes on a majority vote.

"Proposition 25 will NOT allow the Legislature to enact new or higher taxes with a simple majority vote, as opponents claim," the letter states.

The letter targeted "potential opponents and interested parties," including donors to the opposition campaign, the California Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Action Committee, Proposition 25 campaign spokesman Richard Stapler said.

Click here to read the letter.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said this afternoon that many politicians and the state's political parties have little interest in political reform, though the Republican governor said he does.

In a brief address to a Fair Political Practices Commission task force, Schwarzenegger said he was lobbied not to appoint a commission chairman when the seat became vacant this year.

"The interesting thing about it is, is that as soon as Ross Johnson left, the amount of politicians that got in touch with me, and parties that got in touch with me, that said, 'Don't fill that spot. Let's just wait until Nov. 2,'" Schwarzenegger told a task force meeting in Sacramento to consider revisions and updates to the state's complex campaign laws. "It just shows you that really, in the end, they have very little interest in reform."

Schwarzenegger appointed Dan Schnur chairman of the agency in June to fill the remainder of a term started by Johnson.

The governor today praised Schnur and said he is "hungry" for reform.

Large California companies would have to tell consumers what, if anything, they are doing to eliminate human trafficking in their supply chains under legislation sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Monday,

The Senate gave final approval to the legislation, Senate Bill 657 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, on a 22-14 vote.

Originally, Steinberg's legislation would have required companies to adopt anti-trafficking practices aimed at reducing slavery, especially in overseas suppliers. But it was softened markedly before being approved in the Assembly and now merely requires large retailers and manufacturers (those with $100-plus million in annual business) to report anti-trafficking activities on the Internet or report to consumers that they are not doing anything.

Even so, it's still opposed by major business groups which will seek a veto from Schwarzenegger.

In case you missed it:

Lawmakers in both houses are expected to vote on dueling budget packages tomorrow, the last day of the legislative session.

Though neither package is expected to advance, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg doesn't want anyone calling the action the "D-word."

Whatever you call it, here's what to expect from the budget votes.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman took a break from the campaign trail to serve jury duty today.

Jerry Brown and Whitman campaign chair Pete Wilson share the experience of serving as California governor. But the two won't share the stage at a Thursday event honoring former governors.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chided lawmakers and political parties for not pushing for new reforms in campaign law.

Lawmakers sent "Chelsea's Law," a bill to crack down on repeat sex offenders, to the governor's desk today.

The Senate approved today a measure to cut down on motorcycle noise.

The upper house also passed a bill aimed at educating consumers about human trafficking.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Court records released Monday show that former CalPERS board member Charles Valdes repeatedly stayed silent to avoid self incrimination when questioned in connection with the bribery scandal at the pension fund. Dale Kasler has the story.

Susan Ferriss has a round-up of bill action during the penultimate day of the legislative session.

Columnist Dan Walters wonders whether incremental changes to the state pension system will be enough to satisfy Schwarzenegger's vow to only sign a budget deal if lawmakers OK pension reforms.

Both houses will vote Tuesday on competing budget plans, and neither proposal is expected to get the two-thirds vote necessary to pass. Here's what else to expect tomorrow:

-- The Republican budget will contain Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's May budget revision, with some tweaks. Republicans will drop the following ideas from the governor's budget: intersection cameras that nab speeding drivers; a property insurance surcharge; water quality fee increases; and housing future low-level offenders in county jails rather than prisons. The GOP budget is expected to include the elimination of welfare-to-work and state-subsidized child care.

-- The Democratic budget bill will contain spending authorizations that provide more money for schools and do not eliminate welfare-to-work. Democrats won't vote on trailer bills that contain tax hikes. Democrats also won't have to formally vote to suspend Proposition 98, the state's constitutional guarantee for K-12 and community college funding.

-- Both houses plan to take up the budget proposals in the morning, leaving the afternoon, evening and late night for regular end-of-session business.

-- Republicans will try to make the case that a vote for the Democratic budget is a vote for tax hikes on oil production, corporations and middle-class Californians. Democrats who are vulnerable can say they did not cast a formal vote for a tax hike.

-- Democrats will try to make the case that the Republican budget costs the state jobs and billions in federal dollars, while hurting low-income Californians and students.

-- Serious budget negotiations likely will resume later this week. Schwarzenegger will either have to call a ninth special session or ask lawmakers to act in a special session that remains open.

Update (1:15 p.m.): Clarified that the governor's proposal would house future offenders in county jails rather than prisons.

It's Day 61 of the budget standoff. On Day 62, the Legislature plans to put dueling Democratic and Republican spending plans up for a vote.

The operative word in that sentence is "spending." Shannon Murphy, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez said last week that the Democratic plan doesn't deal with revenue and the Republican proposal was still under construction.

As it stands, the state budget is now the fourth latest of all time. If the impasse lasts until Friday, it'll be the third latest.

Then it may be a long, hard slog through September. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's spokesman Aaron McLear said last week that the governor is heading to China, Japan and South Korea for a trade mission from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15 -- budget or no budget.

Schwarzenegger would still be getting back in time to sign the second-latest budget in the state, if legislators sent one to his desk.

The latest one -- so far -- is the budget he inked on Sept. 23, 2008, for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the Legislature faces tomorrow's deadline to work through all bills. Check back during the day. We'll be covering the action as it happens.

One measure still pending is the controversial bill that would ban single-use carryout bags.

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, author of Assembly Bill 1998, announced Friday that the measure had been amended to address concerns that the the bill would kill jobs and burden consumers with new charges for using paper bags. The measure has faced furious lobbying by the chemical industry, as colleague Susan Ferriss has reported.

LABOR: Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, consul general of Mexico, kicks off Labor Rights Week 2010 by giving remarks at 7:45 a.m. before presentations from Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other agencies at the Sacramento Public Library's Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St., Sacramento.

SCHOLARSHIPS: The California Legislative Black Caucus awards $125,000 in scholarships to more than 70 students at Sacramento's Sheraton Grand Hotel, starting at 11 a.m. Legislators, community representatives and others will talk about their respective careers at a seminar at the state Capitol's Room 444 at 1:30 p.m. A reception follows in Room 125 from 3:30-5 p.m.

GOVERNOR/FPPC: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will speak this morning to a task force of the Fair Political Practices Commission that's considering recommendations on how to revise the state's Political Reform Act. Look for the meeting at the USC State Capital Center, 1800 I St., Room E in Sacramento, starting at 1 p.m. Schwarzenegger's remarks will be webcast live at www.gov.ca.gov.

In case you missed it:

The U.S. Department of Education has tapped a Minnesota firm to take over California's federal student-loan portfolio EdFund by the end of October.

Weeks of controversy will culminate next Tuesday with a legislative vote on dueling spending plans by Democrats and Republicans -- but no budget agreement is in sight.

Two days after Assembly sergeants-at-arms began notifying women that they must wear a coat and sweater to enter the chamber floors, the house suspended its policy.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's ground operation has merged with that of the state Republican Party, according to one of her strategists.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will leave the state for a six-day, mid-September trade mission to Asia even if the state has no budget in place.

The Legislature handles a cornucopia of bills as it races to beat next Tuesday's deadline.

Liquor taste testings could be as near as your neighborhood supermarket under legislation that passed the Legislature on Friday.

The Assembly has given final approval to a measure that would create statewide standards for tattoo artists.

One of the bills before the Legislature would crack down on cell phone smuggling in prisons.

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani is asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene in an attempt to keep a San Joaquin County man once convicted of three murders from being released from prison.

Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth was adamant earlier this month about leaving his post next Wednesday no matter what, but he and his successor now say the date depends on the state of budget negotiations.

In tomorrow's Bee:

The U.S. Department of Education's decision to tap a Minnesota firm to take over California's profitable student-loan guaranty business EdFund officially ends the state's three-year saga of trying to sell it. Kevin Yamamura has the story.

Susan Ferriss reports that in a bid for more support, legislators have made late amendments to a proposal that would make California the first state to ban single-use plastic grocery, convenience and drugstore bags.

The Bee's editorial board says the scribbles on Sarah Palin's hands during a visit to CSU Stanislaus were more transparent than the university's handling of her contract and urges Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill to make university foundations subject to the state Public Records Act.

Sip some beer, wine or hard liquor?

Taste testings could be as near as your neighborhood supermarket under legislation that passed the Legislature on Friday and went to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Supporters say Assembly Bill 605 would simply extend taste-tasting opportunities already available in many bars and restaurants to supermarkets and other large liquor outlets, but not to small convenience stores or gas stations.

The bill by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, cleared its final legislative hurdle Friday when the Assembly voted 45-6, with 27 legislators abstaining.

Opponents complain that SB 605 is an irresponsible marketing gimmick - a liquor giveaway meant to introduce Californians to more varieties of alcohol in an attempt to hike future sales.

There's no budget agreement in sight, but lawmakers next Tuesday will vote on dueling spending plans by Democrats and Republicans.

The Senate and Assembly will vote on a Democratic spending plan unveiled weeks ago and on a Republican budget proposal that is under construction, said Shannon Murphy, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez.

The Democratic plan deals only with spending, not revenue generation, Murphy said.

Raising taxes, fees, or imposing other money-making measures is a thorny political issue for lawmakers, and Democrats in contested districts have been reluctant to commit themselves.

Tuesday's vote should make it clear where legislators of both parties stand on spending issues, and it marks the "next logical step" in the open public process that Pérez has promised for months, Murphy said.

"This is about providing an honest appraisal of where people are at," she said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, talks with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg after a Big Five meeting on Thursday, August 26, 2010. Hector Amezcua/ Sacramento Bee

The California Assembly is learning the hard way: Telling women what to wear is not easy.

Two days after Assembly sergeants-at-arms began notifying women that they must wear a coat and sweater to enter the chamber floors, the house suspended its policy Friday amid confusion and controversy.

Ronald Pane, sergeant-at-arms, said the policy has been shelved until Assembly leaders can decide how best to fill in the gaps of a longstanding rule requiring "appropriate business attire" on the Assembly floor.

A recent memo by Assembly leaders elaborated by saying that men must wear a coat and tie.

The memo did not specify appropriate women's wear, but on Wednesday, Assembly officers were notifying female visitors and aides that they need to wear a coat or sweater to enter the floor.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's ground operation has merged with that of the state Republican Party's and will be focusing not just on the governor's race this fall but also on targeted legislative races, said Whitman strategist Jeff Randle this morning in a conference call with reporters.

That joint effort was already tested in the special election to fill the 15th state Senate seat vacated by Abel Maldonado, Randle said, when Whitman herself and her aides worked in the district to coordinate the ground plan. The result, he said, was 60 volunteers walking precincts and 275,000 phone calls to support the eventual victor, Republican Sam Blakeslee.

"We have fully integrated our group operation, meaning the Whitman campaign from the primary into the Republican party victory operation to ensure we are helping all Republican candidates," Randle said. "So it's now one big victory operation to help everybody."

Party-run consolidated campaign ground operations are nothing new in California, but Randle said this effort is "really the most team-oriented integrated victory operation I have ever seen or ever run in my 22 years in politics."

UPDATE: Ho hum, responded California Democratic Party spokesman Tenoch Flores to Randle's statements about the Whitman/state GOP ground game.

"It may be novel for the Republicans, but Democrats consider statewide coordination a given," Flores said. "That's why it's called a coordinated campaign."

Flores added, "We're going to be concentrating on turning out core Democrats. This is something we're taking very seriously, from door-knocking to phone-banking to online media to get the word out about the Democratic ticket and Republican ticket and what this would represent for California. We feel pretty good about our volunteer efforts."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will leave the state for a six-day, mid-September trade mission to Asia even if the state has no budget in place, spokesman Aaron McLear said this morning.

The governor's office made the decision this week, he said.

"The Legislature's failure to do its job is not going to keep us from doing ours," McLear said.

He said the trip, to China, Japan and South Korea from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15, is important to "grow our economy and create jobs."

Schwarzenegger and lawmakers are tangling over how to resolve a $19 billion budget deficit. The state budget is almost two months late.

Bodily manipulation in one form or another is drawing attention in the closing days of the legislative session.

The Assembly has given final approval to a measure that would create statewide standards for tattoo artists, reflecting the increasing popularity of bodily needlework, and other forms of body piercing. The measure, Assembly Bill 223, by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 65-6 vote.

"Manicurists have more training than tattooists or piercers," Ma said. "They need 400 hours of training before they can cut your nails, yet tattooists and piercers have no training requirements to stick a needle in you."

Legislation that would expand the quasi-public commission that oversees masseuses and masseurs by adding two law enforcement members, meanwhile, is pending in the Senate as law enforcement groups and massage parlors vie for votes.

The former want the bill, AB 1822 by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, enacted while the latter say it's insulting to their business, implying that its a nuisance.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect a decision to pull back bill after initial passage.

California's prisons are keeping up, it would appear, with the proliferation of cellphones and other portable communication devices in the wider society.

State prison officials say they confiscated 261 contraband cellphones in 2006, but the number zoomed to 992 in 2007 and 2,629 in 2008. The phones, they say, are used not only to keep in touch with friends and family but allow inmates - especially gang leaders - to continue their criminal ways by long-distance.

The phones, like drugs and other contraband, are smuggled into prisons by visitors, despite metal detector and personal searches, and by prison guards. The going price appears to be around $1,000 for a no-name "throwaway" phone that can be purchased for a few dollars outside prison walls.

The increasing traffic in contraband cellphones prompted Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, to introduce legislation, Senate Bill 525, that makes possession of a cellphone or cellphone components with intent to deliver to a prison inmate a misdemeanor crime with up to a $5,000 fine.

The legislation cleared the Senate on a 34-0 vote, but rather than send it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Padilla held it back and it's still pending in the Senate as the session nears its conclusion.

The measure, as now written, would also allow prison officials to confiscate any cellphone or other wireless device brought into the prison by a visitor, must return it when the visitor leaves the prison.

A California lawmaker is asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene in an attempt to keep a San Joaquin County man once convicted of three murders from being released from prison.

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani is fighting the planned parole next month of Loren Herzog, shown left, who is now in his mid-40s, who was convicted in December 2001 of a multiyear murder spree that killed Cyndi Vanderheiden and two others.

A companion in the killings, Wesley Shermantine, is lodged on death row but Herzog's murder convictions and 78-year prison term were thrown out on appeal for alleged violation of his rights during police interviews.

Herzog, in a plea bargain, later admitted committing voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 14 years in prison, reduced by time already served in county or state custody. His stint is nearly over.

Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth was adamant earlier this month about leaving his post next Wednesday no matter what, but he and his successor now say the date depends on the state of budget negotiations.

Before a meeting Thursday of legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hollingsworth said he'd delay the leadership handoff if a budget deal is imminent. But if Democrats and Republicans remain far apart, Hollingsworth said he would hand over the reins to Senate Republican Leader-elect Bob Dutton.

"If the Democrats drop their demands for unsustainable levels of spending and higher taxes, then it'll mean we're probably getting pretty close and there's no reason why we couldn't postpone the transition and finish it off," Hollingsworth said. "But if they are not going to drop those demands for higher spending and higher taxes, it means we're essentially at square one and there wouldn't be any harm in Sen. Dutton taking over because there wouldn't be very involved negotiations happening yet."

Dutton said he'd prefer not to have the switch occur in the middle of negotiations.

The chambers have been abuzz with action this week, as legislators in both houses put up votes on hundreds of prospective laws in a matter of days.

Among the bills sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk were measures to increase the marriage license fee to fund women's shelters, mandate ski helmets for kids who hit the slopes and crack down on the use of tax loopholes.

Lawmakers will be back to work today to breeze through more bills in the file. With Tuesday's end to the legislative session fast approaching, the fate of a handful of controversial bills still hangs in the balance.

A long-stalled measure to make it more difficult for municipal governments to declare bankruptcy has yet to come up a vote, and a bill to ban single-use plastic bags in grocery stores remains in the Senate Rules Committee as critics launch a costly opposition campaign.

Defeated bills to ban the use of the chemical bisphenol A in children's products and require pet owners to sterilize their cats and dogs could resurface for a reconsideration vote in the final days of session.

For those keeping track of the budget impasse, today is Day 58 of the fiscal year. The Schwarzenegger and the four legislative leaders gathered yesterday in the horseshoe for the first "Big Five" meeting in months. After meeting for under an hour, the legislators emerged with no significant progress to report.

BIRTHDAYS: Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, turns 57 today. Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, adds one more candle to the cake on Saturday, when she celebrates her 58th birthday.

In case you missed it:

Jerry Brown has released a document detailing the public pension he would receive if he retired next year.

The "Big Five" met for budget talks this afternoon for the first time since June.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger showed up at Sacramento's Lucca Restaurant afterward for a fundraiser to raise money for a high school weightlifting program. Also on hand: former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

The California Nurses Association staged a march and rally this afternoon with a dual message both celebrating women winning the right to vote and criticizing Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's penchant for skipping elections.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg says $1.2 billion in federal funds for teachers shouldn't be considered budget relief.

A big-time Republican strategist has announced he is gay and joined forces with Proposition 8 opponents seeking to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

A bill to strike a decades-old law instructing the state to search for a cure for homosexuality has been sent to the governor's desk.

A new Rasmussen poll shows Meg Whitman pulling ahead of Jerry Brown in the gubernatorial race.

Brown hinted last night that one-time nemesis Bill Clinton could lend support to his campaign.

Whitman launched a new TV ad dinging Brown for his use of a state-owned airplane.

A disgruntled consultant from Mike Berryhill's congressional campaign has turned to the Web to bash his old boss.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Los Angeles to tout what officials say was the largest parole sweep in history.

The Assembly passed bills to require that health insurance companies provide coverage for mental illness treatment and maternity care.

A bill to require sterilization of cats and dogs was rejected by the lower house.

Among the bills approved by the Senate was a measure triggered by the murder of a Fairfield store employee.

A rally to honor the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment served as a celebration of women's suffrage and a protest of Whitman's voting record.

The cost of getting married could go up.

In tomorrow's Bee:

The state has seen a sharp uptick this year in the number of grief counseling calls triggered by state employee suicides. Jon Ortiz has the story.

Jack Chang reports on the California Nurses Association's latest salvo against Meg Whitman.

Bobby Caina Calvan writes about a series of state bills to implement and expand the reach of the federal health care overhaul.

Columnist Dan Walters looks at whether taxpayers could end up footing the bill for a pricey new arena for the Sacramento Kings.

The Bee's editorial board writes that lending industry lobbyists are out in force at the Capitol, trying to kill a bill that could help right the state's still-sinking housing market.

The California Nurses Association staged a march and rally this afternoon that filled the streets around the state Capitol with a dual message both celebrating women winning the right to vote and criticizing Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's penchant for skipping elections.

The CNA rally, which drew about 1,500 people, fell on the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women suffrage. Many of the protesters got in the spirit of the day by dressing in early 20th century-style dresses and hats while carrying signs saying in old-fashioned font, "Women vote for women who vote."

Protesters chanted slogans such as "Nurses vote without fail! California is not for sale!" as they marched the few short blocks from the Sacramento Convention Center to the state Capitol.

The rally also drew unions representing firefighters, teachers, truck drivers, carpenters and other trades.

Having finished the first "Big Five" budget meeting with legislative leaders since June 14, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went this evening to Lucca Restaurant & Bar on J Street to raise money for a high school weightlifting program.

In the crowd was former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, introduced the former Democratic lawmaker as a "rarity ... someone I could work with."

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson also was on hand.

Schwarzenegger arranged the fundraiser after visiting weightlifters at Sacramento High School this month. Sac High lifters, who have won national championships and competed internationally, could not afford to attend a championship tournament in France. This evening's event to pay for that trip was expected to raise $50,000 or more.

Schwarzenegger said he and other young weightlifters in Austria relied on a local politician to help pay for trophies and trips to meets.

"I never forget that," he said.

With his pension under scrutiny, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has just released a document his campaign says it received from the state Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, detailing how many years of work history he'd be credited with if he retired next year. See the document here.

The document says Brown would receive 16 years of work credit with the state Legislators' Retirement System, or LRS, the same total Brown's campaign has said he would receive for the last two weeks. That number accounts for eight years as governor, four as attorney general and four as secretary of state.

The Orange County Register had reported that an LRS document showed that the only eligible pension participant in Brown's age range and salary level would receive 25 or more years of service, suggesting Brown would receive more years of credit - and a higher pension - than he was entitled to.

The document also showed that Brown would receive 9.265 years of service with CalPERS - eight from his time as mayor of Oakland and the remainder from the state Supreme Court, where he clerked.

The newly released document said Brown would receive an annual pension of $79,536 if he retired next year. About a week ago, the Brown campaign had said he would receive an annual pension of $78,450.

Photo: Jose Villegas/Sacramento Bee

UPDATE: The Bee asked the Brown campaign why, according to the document, the candidate would receive $3,610 a month from LRS when the formula on the document said he should be receiving 40 percent of $15,358 every month, less $133.33 for Social Security coverage, for a grand total of $6,010.

Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said the difference between the two figures reflected a monthly contribution to a survivor beneficiary account for Brown's wife Anne Gust, which she would receive only upon his death.

An immense outpouring of opposition from dog and cat owners had an impact today when the Assembly rejected a bill aimed at forcing more pet sterilizations as an alternative to euthanizing hundreds of thousands of strays.

Legislators' office had been inundated with protests, as several mentioned during the emotion-tinged floor debate that preceded the vote on Senate Bill 250. The measure, which had already passed the Senate, garnered just 33 votes, eight short of the required margin, even after several hours of effort by backers to change minds.

Most Republicans opposed the measure and Democrats split. Forty Assembly members wound up voting against the bill, carried by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.

Florez and other supporters contended that taxpayers are footing a quarter-billion-dollar bill each year for rounding up and euthanizing a million strays. His bill would have required pet owners to license their animals and, with few exceptions, to have them sterilized.

But opponents in and out of the Legislature maintained that the decision on whether to spay or neuter should be left to pet owners, raising the specter that those who refused would be hit with fines. Opposition was especially heavy in rural areas.

PHOTO CREDIT: Laurie Walker, gets a lick from her Chinese Crusted dog, Wednesday, July 11, 2007, on the west steps of the Capitol in Sacramento after AB 1634 was moved for a vote to January. The bill would require owners to spay and neuter their animals or face a fine of $500. (Sacramento Bee file photo, Hector Amezcua)

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said earlier this week that $1.2 billion in new federal aid for teachers is "separate from the budget," a change from remarks a couple weeks ago.

The Sacramento Democrat previously suggested that California should consider a new federal aid package as beneficial for the state budget particularly because the $1.2 billion for teacher jobs was unexpected relief.

But education groups argued that the federal teacher aid should be considered on top of any money state leaders already planned to give schools. They want the money to be ignored in the budget process.

In an online town hall Tuesday, Steinberg said he agrees with that position. He pointed to urgency legislation that he and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez introduced last week that would provide schools the money before the budget is passed.

"That is separate from the budget," Steinberg said. "Even if you take that $1.2 billion, and you add it to our funding level for K-12 education, it barely gets you there in terms of keeping the per pupil spending ratio what it was last year. ... We're going to fight for as high a level of education funding as we can, even in these difficult times."

PHOTO CAPTION: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) sits in the principal's office at Smythe Academy Middle School in Sacramento on Thursday, August 12, 2010. Randall Benton/ Sacramento Bee

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has launched a new TV ad criticizing Democratic rival and Attorney General Jerry Brown's use of a state-owned turboprop plane to attend two events where campaign donors attended and to travel 74 miles to another event.

According to the attorney general's office's flight data logs, Brown has used the state plane 10 times since 2007. He mostly used the plane to attend police officer funerals and other law enforcement functions.

The Whitman commercial dings Brown for using the plane to attend an event held by the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business's Fisher Center for Real Estate at a Pebble Beach resort. It also slams Brown's use of the plane to attend another event organized by the California Hospital Association in Carlsbad and to travel to Stockton for a gang takedown.

The Pebble Beach event honored Gerson Bakar, a real estate investor who has contributed to Brown and other Democratic candidates, according to The Associated Press.

The ad quotes Brown saying, "I got rid of the private jet. I flew on regular, coach airways."

Actually, Brown was talking to Spanish-language channel Univision about his travel customs while governor from 1975 to 1983.

The announcer in the ad then says, "Except when he flew a state plane to the La Costa Resort and Spa or to an ocean view room at Pebble Beach -- both to woo big campaign donors. Or when he fueled up and flew 74 miles for a press conference. Why drive when you can fly? After all, it's your money -- not his."

Speaking last night after a Santa Rosa rally, Brown defended his use of the plane, saying, "Sometimes, funerals are very good to go to."

He explained later, "It's civil enforcement. ... The truth is I'm asked and shall I say, 'I won't go to places?' Hospitals are a big group. And the land use is fundamental to my whole green jobs strategy. And when people ask me, 'Say, hey, will you come and talk?' Most of the time I don't, but sometimes I do."

The attorney general's office said that, by comparison, former Attorney General Bill Lockyer, another Democrat, had used the state Department of Justice's plane 36 times during his first term and 30 times during his second term. The Bee has left a message with Lockyer, now the state treasurer, seeking confirmation of the flight numbers.

UPDATE: Locker spokesman Tom Dresslar, who was also his spokesman at the attorney general's office, responded, "We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the information you have there" from Brown's office.

Dresslar said Lockyer used a state Department of Justice-owned Cessna aircraft during his first term as attorney general and then, during his second term, the King Air turboprop that Brown flew in. Lockyer flew to attend four local law enforcement meetings a year, to visit the state's prisons and to attend law enforcement funerals, Dresslar said.

It's a start.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will meet with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders today at 3:45 p.m. in his Capitol office, according to Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear.

The Republican governor has met separately with GOP and Democratic leaders in the past week -- which he dubbed "shuttle diplomacy" -- but he has not met with all four leaders at once since June 14.

The "Big Five" process is now considered a necessary part of closing a budget deal, but reaching agreement can require weeks and months of such meetings.

Private and group health insurance policies would have to cover maternity care under legislation approved by the Assembly on Thursday.

The 44-11 Assembly vote sent the measure, Assembly Bill 1825 by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

De La Torre said the measure, which would become effective on July 1, 2011, would cover a 2-1/2 year gap until the new federal health insurance program becomes effective.

Legislation inspired by the 2006 murder of a Fairfield store employee by a white supremacist, barring denial of workers' compensation benefits for racial reasons, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday.

Taneka Talley was murdered as she was opening a Dollar Tree store. The store's worker's compensation insurer, Specialty Risk Services, denied her family's claim for workers' compensation benefits on the grounds that her death was not job-related because it was racially motivated.

After the refusal gained wide publicity, Dollar Tree declared that it would provide full benefits to the family, saying, "we feel this is the right thing to do."

The Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 145 on a 22-13 vote without debate. The measure, by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, prohibits denial of workers' compensation benefits if an employee's injury or death was related to race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, martial status. sexual orientation or genetic characteristics.

The cost of getting married in California may soon go up to shelter women whose marriages turn violent.

The Senate Thursday gave final approval to legislation, Senate Bill 662, that would allow county boards of supervisors to boost the portion of marriage license fees that support women's shelters from $23 to $33. It's needed, advocates said, to keep shelters for victims of domestic abuse from closing.

"We don't have any other solution," the bill's author, Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, told the Senate before the 21-13 vote.

Yee was responding to Republican criticism that the additional fee violates state law that requires fees to have a connection, or "nexus," to the services they finance.

"The bad relationship was consummated at the courthouse," Yee said.

Health care insurers would have to cover treatment for mental illness under legislation winning final legislative approval Thursday.

The Assembly sent Assembly Bill 1600 by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 41-22 vote.

Late amendments removed nicotine addiction and a few other conditions, such as adult antisocial behavior, from the list of maladies that would be covered. Republicans complained about the impact of mental health coverage on insurance premiums but Beall said it would raise premiums by just 25 cents a month.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Los Angeles this morning for a press conference and some back-slapping about what officials said may be the largest parole sweep in state history.

Law enforcement officials started knocking on doors before dawn, targeting about 300 parolees and arresting 77, Schwarzenegger said. More than 1,000 state, local and federal officers were involved in the sweep.

"That was kind of a rude awakening for a lot of those parole violators," Schwarzenegger said.

Former George W. Bush campaign chief Ken Mehlman is using his GOP ties to raise cash and support for the court challenge to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

The former Republican National Committee chairman, who came out as gay this week in an interview with The Atlantic, has come under fire from gay-rights advocates still angry over his role electing Republicans supportive of the party's anti-gay marriage agenda. But, as The Advocate reported yesterday, some leaders have embraced his support as an opportunity to recruit more Republicans for their cause:

"I have spent no time thinking about where Ken was four-to-five-to-six years ago. I'm just thankful that he's with us today," said Chad Griffin, co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the organization that's solely funding the legal challenge to California's Proposition 8 in federal court brought by former Bush solicitor general Ted Oslon and progressive legal eagle David Boies.

"He is one of the most brilliant political strategists from the Republican side of the aisle," said Griffin, "and he is also a master fundraiser and brings contacts and relationships to bear that are comparable to almost no one."

Indeed, Mehlman's first act as an out gay man will be hosting an AFER fundraiser next month to help support the case, which likely carries a price tag in the millions of dollars (the group has declined to disclose exactly how much).

Although the invitations have yet to be mailed, Mehlman told The Advocate Wednesday evening that just through pre-selling the event, they had already helped to raise about $750,000.

Click here to read the full story.

PHOTO CREDIT: In this May 4, 2006, file photo, Ken Mehlman, then-chairman of the Republican National Committee, addresses the RNC state chairmen's meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/ Ed Andrieski, File)

Here's one way to hurt your chances of getting hired next campaign cycle: A disgruntled former consultant for Republican Mike Berryhill has turned to the Web to bash his ex-boss' bid for Congress.

Campaign consultant John Villarreal posted a multipart rant on YouTube accusing Berryhill of breaching his consulting contract. During the more than 25 minutes of rambling recordings shot in front of a UC Berkeley football poster, Villarreal slams the Republican's campaign as a lost cause.

"I have a national name reputation that I put on the line for you, Mike, for you, because you signed this contract and you told me to my face what the deal was and that we were cool and that you would honor that and now you left me out to dry," Villarreal says in the third of four videos he has posted. "When you lose and your campaign loses, that's on you. ... that's on team Berryhill."

Berryhill is challenging Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza, who has represented the 18th Congressional District since 2003.

Click here to watch the videos. McClatchy's Michael Doyle has more on the disgruntled staffer's dust-up with the campaign here.

Update: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified Berryhill.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman has pulled eight points ahead of Democrat Jerry Brown, according to poll results released today by Rasmussen Reports.

Whitman, who has spent more than $100 million on her campaign, now leads Brown 48 percent to 40 percent, according to the poll. Six percent of likely voters said they were undecided.

Today's results mark the largest lead Whitman has posted during the general election. The two were locked in a statistical tie in a Rasmussen Reports poll published earlier this month. That poll showed Brown leading by two points, 43 percent to 41 percent.

The shift prompted the national polling organization, which has a reputation for leaning right, to change its rating of the California governor's race from "toss up" to "leans GOP."

The telephone survey of 750 likely voters was conducted Aug. 24. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.

Click here to read the full poll.

PHOTO CREDIT: Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman speaks to supporters at the California Republican Party 2010 Fall Convention Friday, Aug. 20, 2010, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

California is poised to give up on "curing" gays and lesbians.

Legislation to eliminate a decades-old law requiring the state to seek a cure for homosexuality has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The long-ignored provision in the state's Welfare and Institutions Code was written 60 years ago in response to the molestation murder of 6-year-old Linda Joyce Glucoft in Los Angeles.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat likened the little-known provision to race restrictions on property deeds, characterizing both as outdated and offensive.

"Until we change the books, California law still says the government needs to cure homosexuality," Lowenthal said. "Can you imagine how ridiculous that is?"

Lowenthal's legislation, Assembly Bill 2199, was sent to the governor Wednesday after the Assembly concurred in amendments, 75-1. The Senate passed the bill Monday, 36-0.

Lowenthal targets a statute that orders the Department of Mental Health to research the "causes and cures" of sexual deviation and homosexuality. It also seeks ways to identify potential sex offenders.

After some initial attempts to comply with the law, it has been ignored by state officials, Lowenthal said.

AB 2199 recasts the statute to eliminate any reference to homosexuality but leave intact the push to research sex crimes against children and methods of identifying those who commit sex offenses.

A fired-up Jerry Brown held one of his biggest campaign rallies to date Wednesday night in Santa Rosa where he pledged to start working on the budget a week after Election Day if he's elected and hinted to reporters that former President and longtime nemesis Bill Clinton might lend his support.

The attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate spoke to about 800 people in an event organized by the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee at the Veterans Memorial Hall here.

His appearance also drew about 25 protesters holding the campaign signs of Republican rival Meg Whitman and homemade signs bashing Brown.

During the 25-minute-long speech, Brown repeated the central tenets of his campaign so far - a jobs plan tied to clean energy production, the need to work with all sides to issues such as pension reform and criticism of Whitman as an out-of-touch former CEO.

He also criticized legislators for not passing a state budget months after the constitutional deadline to do so had passed and said he wouldn't let that happen if he was governor.

Unlike Whitman's highly produced events, Brown's speech was a stripped-down affair. The only thing in the way of a campaign decoration was a "Jerry Brown Governor 2010" sign taped to the podium.

"I'm not going to wait by the way until August 25," Brown said, referring to legislators still deliberating the current budget. "They're still not sure. I'm going to start about a week after the election. ... With enough energy and strength, I would start some time in early November. I'm going to ask all 120 legislators to keep working until we get it done. That's never happened before. But it'll happen this time and we will get it done."

Brown won his biggest applause of the night by championing the contributions of immigrants to the state.

"The people who want to point the finger and blame the immigrants, that's who built this state," Brown said.

The 19th Amendment turns 90 years old today.

Thousands of demonstrators are expected to descend on the state Capitol today to celebrate Women's Equality Day, which marks nine decades of women having the right to cast a ballot.

Today's rally will double as a protest to bring attention to GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman's spotty voting record. That angle isn't surprising seeing as the California Nurses Association has been canvassing the state campaigning against the candidate they not so affectionately call "Queen Meg."

Whitman spokeswoman Andrea Jones Rivera dismissed the rally as "ridiculous ploy from a group of radical union bosses who have consistently misrepresented the views of their members and hardworking nurses throughout the state."

Demonstrators, some of whom will be dressed in period clothing, will march from the Sacramento Convention Center to the Capitol's west steps for a 3 p.m. rally.

Earlier in the day, groups supporting female candidates for public office will launch a new project aimed at elevating more women to appointed positions under the next gubernatorial administration.

Proponents of the California Women's State Appointment Project Coalition aim to collect thousands of resumes of women interested in high level, paid and volunteer appointed positions for the next governor to consider.

California Inspector General Laura Chick and California Women Lead Executive Director Rachel Michelin are scheduled to speak at the 10 a.m. rally on the south steps.

UNDER THE DOME : Both houses have floor sessions scheduled again today. The Assembly and Senate are both set to start working the files at 9 10 a.m.

The temperatures may still be boiling outside today, but members and staffers should be advised to tote their sweaters and jackets with them to the chambers.

As Jim Sanders reports in today's Bee, the Assembly is looking to tighten enforcement of its longstanding dress code, requiring a jacket and tie for men and, possibly, a sweater or jacket for women.

GOVERNOR: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will make what is being characterized as a "public safety announcement" at an 11 a.m. event with officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and representatives from federal and regional law enforcement agencies.

GOV2010: Democratic nominee Jerry Brown tours New Leaf Biofuels' San Diego facility at 10:30 a.m.

In case you missed it:

A nonprofit group with ties to Karl Rove is on the airwaves attacking Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The three-term senator is locked in a dead heat with GOP challenger Carly Fiorina, according to Rasmussen.

Find out why Sherlock Holmescame up in the battle between Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman.

The California Republican Party gave its candidate in the 12th Senate District slug fest a $100,000 boost.

Assemblyman Roger Niello gave the same amount to his own campaign in the 1st Senate District.

Turning right on red wouldn't land you as big of a fine under legislation given the green light by the Assembly today.

The Assembly approved a bill that would require corporate tax breaks be reported online.

The lower house rejected legislation that would allow the reconsideration of sentencing for juveniles sentenced to life without parole.

Minors who hit the slopes would have to wear helmets if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill approved by the Senate today.

The proposed sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds has stalled in the Legislature.

More portions of the famed Route 66 could come under the control of local governments.

State Supreme Court chief justice nominee Tani Cantil-Sakauye was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Susan Ferriss writes about the intense lobbying that is shaping the debate over a bill to ban plastic bags in grocery stores.

Will bare shoulders be targeted in the chambers? Jim Sanders has the story.

A bill to seal from public view autopsy reports of slain minors took another step toward passage Wednesday. Jim Sanders writes about the changes made to exempt foster children.

Tom Knudson writes about the state's first criminal action against e-waste fraud.

The State Worker columnist Jon Ortiz writes about Schwarzenegger's unemployment chart.

Just another day in the governor's race, and both Democratic candidate Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman are on the defensive.

Let's start with Brown, who was reported to be visiting George Landers, executive director of the UFCW Western States Council. The source was Robin Swanson, a Democratic public relations consultant, who wrote about the encounter on her Facebook page.

Landers' group is a coalition member of California Working Families, an independent expenditure committee that's run TV and radio ads attacking Whitman. According to state law, Brown is prohibited from coordinating with such committees.

Swanson wrote on her Facebook page yesterday: "Random visitor of the day - Jerry Brown strolling into the office to meet with my office-mate, George Landers. With no entourage. And since he asked me to "like" him on Facebook, I figured I'd pass it on: http://www.facebook.com/jerrybrown"

Conservative blogger Jon Fleischman broke the news today.

Swanson told The Bee today, "I would ask Jon Sherlock Holmes Fleischman whether as a communications professional would I really post about a clandestine meeting? You all really need to brush up on your Nancy Drew skills. (Jerry) just popped in to say hello."

Voting would be more convenient for college students under legislation sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday.

Senate Bill 970 by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, creates a pilot program of establishing absentee vote drop-off boxes on one University of California campus, one state university campus and one community college campus.

Corbett characterized it as just making voting easier, but Republicans complained that Democrats were pushing the college voting bill while killing legislation that would have made voting by overseas soldiers more convenient.

College students generally favor Democrats and their turnout can be critical in legislative districts and local governments with high numbers of students.

Route 66 was California's most famous highway in the pre-freeway era of the 1930s and 1940s - the "mother road" that brought hundreds of thousands of newcomers to Southern California from other states.

By and by, the heavy east-west traffic shifted a couple of miles southward to Interstate 10, and State Route 66, as it was re-designated, became a local artery for the "Inland Empire" east of Los Angeles.

Nevertheless, vestiges of the old Route 66 - which also inspired a very popular song and a television series -- remain, such as a few funky old motels. And the cities that lie along its route want to capitalize on its fame.

One by one, those cities have petitioned the state to turn over their portions of Route 66, also called "Foothill Boulevard" to local control so they can be incorporated into local development plans. Rialto and Fontana have already taken control of their shares, and on Wednesday, the state Senate gave final approval to a bill that would cede another portion to Claremont.

The measure, Senate Bill 993 by Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by a 35-0 vote.

Three bills that obliquely attack state tax loopholes survived legislative votes Wednesday and are headed to uncertain fates on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The three, while not a formal package, reflect pressures by unions and other liberal groups for closing loopholes, especially in corporate taxes, to raise state revenues and help close stubborn budget deficits.

The Assembly gave final approval to a bill that would require the Franchise Tax Board to assemble a list of publicly traded corporations that exercise state tax breaks and publish the list, including each firm's benefit, on the Internet. Assembly Bill 2666 is carried by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.

The Senate sent Schwarzenegger Senate Bill 1272 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, that would require tax breaks to have specific goals and "sunset" them after seven years.

The Assembly approved another Senate bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, that would require businesses claiming any new state tax break to report on how many new jobs the loophole created. The measure, SB 1391, needs a final Senate vote to reach Schwarzenegger.

Business groups and Republicans contend that cracking down on tax breaks will discourage job-creating investment. The debate over the bills is a tuneup for the forthcoming battle over Proposition 24, sponsored by unions and other liberal groups, that would repeal two major business tax breaks enacted by the Legislature last year.

Assemblyman Roger Niello has opened his wallet to boost his bid for the vacant 1st Senate District seat.

The Fair Oaks Republican, whose family owns the Sacramento-area Niello Auto Group, wrote his campaign a $100,000 check, according to campaign finance filings posted today on the secretary of state website.

Niello, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville and Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, a Democrat, are running in a Nov. 2 special primary to replace GOP Sen. Dave Cox, who died last month of prostate cancer. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top vote-getter from each party will advance to a Jan. 4 run-off election.

PHOTO CREDIT: Assembly Republican Roger Niello testifies as he presents the Republican budget plan to the Assembly budget committee, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2008. Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee.

A group backed by GOP strategist Karl Rove is wading into the California Senate contest, launching a new TV spot blasting Sen. Barbara Boxer for voting for Medicare cuts included in the federal health care legislation.

Crossroads GPS, a nonprofit group spending millions to back conservative candidates across the country, reportedly spent $1 million on the week-long ad buy. The group is part of a larger nonprofit political operation created by Rove, the former top aide to President George W. Bush.

Kam Kuwata, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Democratic Party's CEO Watch campaign, slammed the ad buy, saying Fiorina is "getting rewarded by Karl Rove and Texas oil billionaires for supporting tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs overseas."

Watch the ad below:

By Gina Kim

gkim@sacbee.com

Tani Cantil-Sakauye moved one step closer to donning the robe of chief justice of the California Supreme Court on Wednesday when the three-member Commission of Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed her appointment.

"You've got my vote," said Joan Dempsey Klein, the senior presiding justice of the Courts of Appeal, after Cantil-Sakauye paid homage during the San Francisco hearing to the women and minorities who have warmed judicial benches before her.

Klein, presiding justice of the state's 2nd District Court of Appeal, was joined in approval by retiring Chief Justice Ronald George and Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Cantil-Sakauye, 50, grew up in Sacramento, earned her bachelor's and law degrees from the University of California, Davis, and is famously known for helping pay her way through school by waitressing and dealing blackjack.

She must be approved by a majority of voters in the November general election before before sworn in as chief justice in January.

Call The Bee's Gina Kim, (916) 321-1228.

The Senate gave final legislative approval today to a bill that would require young skiiers and snowboarders to wear helmets while hurtling down snowy slopes.

The bill, Senate Bill 880 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 21-11 vote. It would apply to skiers and snowboarders 17 years old and younger.

Read a previous Capitol Alert post about the bill here.

Gov. Arnold Schawrzenegger said in a statement that Cantil-Sakauye "possesses administrative and legal skills that make her uniquely qualified to lead California's judicial branch"

"Justice Cantil-Sakauye understands that the role of a Justice is to administer the law, not to create law, and for that reason I am absolutely convinced she will be a fair and prudent Chief Justice of California," he said.

The Assembly voted today to reduce fines for motorists who failed to make complete stops before turning right on red lights.

The 48-8 vote sent the measure, Assembly Bill 909 by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature or veto.

If signed, AB 909 would reduce the base fine for rolling red light turns from $100 to $35 and the total fine, including assessments, from $450 to $219. Hill said it corrects an error in a 1997 bill that boosted traffic fines but local governments, seeing a loss of tens of billions of dollars in revenues, lobbied heavily against it.

Most red light tickets are issued via automatic intersection cameras, which have been criticized as being unfair revenue-generators and reducing the fines could make the cameras uneconomic for local governments.

PHOTO CREDIT: Anselmo Saucedo (left, in bucket) of San Francisco's traffic sign shop watches Martin Schaufelberber (right, atop ladder) of Multanova AG complete installation of a red light camera in San Francisco. Jerry Telfer/AP File photo.

Rasmussen Reports has changed its rating for the California Senate race from"Leans Democratic" to a "Toss-Up" in light of a new poll showing Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina locked in a dead heat.

The poll showed Boxer leading Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 44 percent to 43 percent among likely voters. Eight percent of respondents were undecided. Boxer's lead jumped to five points when pollsters asked undecided respondents which candidate they were leaning toward supporting.

Rasmussen's surveys have shown the three-term incumbent's lead shrinking in recent months. Boxer posted a five-point edge over Fiorina earlier this month, leading 45 percent to 40 percent. In July, Boxer was ahead 49 percent to 42 percent.

The telephone survey of 750 likely California voters was conducted Aug. 23. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.

Click here to read the full results.

PHOTO CREDIT: Associated Press

The Schwarzenegger administration announced two months ago that it had found a buyer for the Orange County fairgrounds, one of several state-owned properties that are ticketed for sale to raise money for the deficit-ridden state budget.

However, it was not a done deal because the Legislature would have to authorize the $96 million sale to the newly formed Orange County Fairgrounds Authority. The agency is jointly owned by the city of Costa Mesa and the Costa Mesa Public Finance Authority, which would lease the facility to a private operator.

With only a few days remaining in the current legislative session, the authorizing legislation has been stalled. Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana, is trying to write an enabling bill but has been unable to fully resolve outstanding issues, one being that Costa Mesa's city council adopted a resolution perceived as being anti-immigrant.

This week, the administration's Department of General Services issued a statement said that unless the legislation is passed, it will cancel the Costa Mesa deal and put the fairgrounds up for sale again. The Voice of Orange County has the story here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Wilson of New Richmond, Wis., hands fellow carnival workers a railing for a ride Monday, July 8, 1996, as they set up for the opening Friday of the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, Calif. From left to right, Otto Golm of Michigan, Peter Schabasgary and Bryon Reece, both of Garden Grove, Calif. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Ana Venegas)

The Assembly gave final legislative approval today to heavily lobbied legislation that would post corporations' use of tax loopholes on the Internet.

Business groups oppose the bill, Assembly Bill 2666 by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, so it's uncertain that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign the measure.

AB 2666 is one of a series of bills dealing with state tax loopholes - an issue that will be placed before voters in November in the form of Proposition 24, which would repeal two major corporate tax breaks that the Legislature enacted last year.

The bill, sent to Schwarzenegger on a 41-19 vote, sparked a sharp debate on the Assembly floor with Republicans saying that exposing corporations' state tax breaks would discourage business investment. Skinner and other supporters said it would bring sunshine into an multi-billion-dollar indirect expenditure that usually escapes public notice.

Specifically, AB 2666 would require the Franchise Tax Board to compile information on "tax expenditures" claimed by publicly traded companies and the data to be published on the "Reporting Transparency in Government" website.

GOV2010: Democratic nominee Jerry Brown tours New Leaf Biofuels' San Diego facility at 10:30 a.m.

A volatile election year was probably the wrong time to propose a bill that would allow prison inmates sentenced to life terms without possibility of parole to petition for sentence modification.

Senate Bill 399 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, would have allowed lifers who were under 18 when convicted to petition for re-sentencing under some circumstances.

Yee moved the measure, which would affect about 250 inmates, through the Senate and then through Assembly committees. But when it hit the Assembly floor this week, it sparked a very lengthy and emotion-tinged debate, and when all the votes had been counted, it fell well short of passage.

Yee needed 41 Assembly votes but garnered just 34 Tuesday. More than a dozen Democrats - especially those from relatively conservative districts and/or facing tough competition in the Nov. 2 election - either joined Republicans in opposing the bill or, as Capitol jargon puts it, "took a walk" by not voting. The final count was 34-38 with six Democrats not voting.

The Republican nominee in the 12th Senate District slug fest is getting major support from his party.

The California Republican Party reported yesterday a contribution of $100,000 to Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella's state Senate campaign.

Cannella and Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, are battling for the seat vacated by termed-out GOP Sen. Jeff Denham.

The SD 12 contest is expected to be one of the most heavily targeted (and expensive) state legislative races of the cycle. Democrats, who have an 18-point voter registration advantage in the district, are fighting to snatch the seat from GOP control, a victory that would bring them within one vote of a coveted two-thirds majority.

PHOTO CREDIT: The Cannella campaign website.

Before she can take a seat on high court bench, Tani Cantil-Sakauye has to spend some time in the hot seat.

The state Commission on Judicial Appointments holds a confirmation hearing today for Cantil-Sakauye, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's nominee for state Supreme Court chief justice. The Sacramento native, who has served on the 3rd District Court of Appeals since 2005, is expected to breeze through the confirmation process.

She received the highest rating in the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation -- and her ex-boyfriends couldn't even think of anything unflattering to say about the high court hopeful.

Schwarzenegger announced the former Sacramento Superior Court judge in July as his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Ronald George. If the panel confirms her, voters will decide Nov. 2 whether to approve her to a full 12-year term.

The hearing, scheduled for 11 a.m. at the California Supreme Court courtroom in San Francisco, will be broadcast on CalChannel.com.

One reason to watch: The three-member panel includes Attorney General Jerry Brown, who will be making judicial appointments of his own if he wins his bid for governor.

Back under the dome, the Assembly and Senate convene for floor sessions this morning. There's just one week remaining until the deadline for passing bills, so expect a lot more floor action in the coming days.

The Senate Rules Committee also meets at 1:30 p.m. to consider confirming a slew of nominees, including Felicia Marcus, one of the governor's picks for the Delta Stewardship Council.

BALLOT WATCH: Voters hitting the polls in 2012 will decide whether to increase the cigarette tax by $1 a pack to raise funds for cancer research. Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced yesterday that the so-called California Cancer Research Act has made the cut for the 2012 primary ballot. Proponents say the increase would generate $500 million a year for research on heart disease, emphysema, and other tobacco-related diseases.

GOV2010: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is holding a 7:30 p.m. fundraiser and rally at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Rosa. Last night, the former governor held a fundraiser at his old digs across the street from the Capitol.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chief Justice Ronald George, left, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger introduce chief justice nominee Tani Cantil-Sakauye in the Capitol rotunda in Sacramento on Thursday, July 22, 2010. Randall Benton/ Sacramento Bee.

In case you missed it:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has cut the guest list for his upcoming nuptials.

President Barack Obama is looking to give a boost to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown's campaign bank account.

A budget deal hasn't been reached, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't canceling his trade mission to Asia just yet.

Schwarzenegger talked frankly about court reporters, Democratic legislators' intelligence levels and more at an event in Goleta.

California wasn't a winner in round two of the Obama administration's Race to the Top competition for federal funds for schools.

Republican campaign attorney Chuck Bell and Center for Governmental Studies President Bob Stern have been selected to co-chair a panel tasked with proposing updates to the Political Reform Act.

The Senate approved Chelsea's Law, legislation to crack down on sex offenders who target minors.

The Assembly gave its OK to a bill to establish a day of observance for Japanese Americans imprisoned in internment camps during World War II.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Proposition 19, the November initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, is bankrolled by leaders in California's medical pot movement. Yet some of the more stubborn opposition is coming from the same community. Peter Hecht has the story.

Gina Kim has more on Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's decision to change his wedding plans.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state should lower the sales tax but apply it to services that currently go untaxed. Kevin Yamamura has the story.

Laurel Rosenhall writes about the latest salvo in California State University faculty's push to require more transparency for foundations that raise funds for the campuses.

Columnist Dan Walters writes about a bill that has the Capitol "seeing red."

The closer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to leaving office and the longer the budget stalemate drags out, the more frank he seems to become.

Speaking today at the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Republican governor had no qualms about attacking public employee unions, whom he blamed for high costs everywhere in government.

In a perfect Schwarzenegger world, courtroom cameras would replace court reporters, courthouses would use private security guards and schools would hire local gardeners rather than union employees to mow the lawn.

The Fair Political Practices Commission today announced the members of a new panel tasked with revamping the state's campaign finance laws.

Center for Governmental Studies President Bob Stern, a former FPPC counsel who helped draft the initiative to create the agency, and Republican political attorney Chuck Bell have been selected to chair the FPPC's Chairman's Advisory Task Force.

The directive of the 25-member panel is to make the state's lengthy and complicated Political Reform Act clearer and more accessible for candidates and the public.

"The Act has provided an invaluable service to our state's voters since its passage in 1974 and has provided necessary guidance to those candidates, donors, and citizens interested in participating in the political process. But after 36 years of faithful service, it has become clear that the Act is in need of an overhaul," FPPC Chairman Dan Schnur said in a statement.

The task force is scheduled to unveil its proposals at the commission's January meeting. Schnur has said his goal is that the Legislature put the suggested revisions to the law on the 2012 ballot.

Its first meeting will be held next Monday at 1 p.m. in Room E of the USC State Capital Center at 1800 I St. The full list of members and bios provided by the FPPC is posted after the jump.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown received big-league support today from none other than President Barack Obama, in the form of a mass e-mail sent to supporters from the Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America project.

Here's the text of the e-mail:

For decades, Jerry Brown has been a champion for the people of California. He has served as governor, as mayor of Oakland, and is currently the attorney general.

While governor, he helped to create almost 2 million new jobs, cut taxes, and built a budget surplus. As mayor, Jerry revitalized Oakland's economy and reduced crime. And as attorney general, he is fighting for consumers and cracking down on violent gangs.

To each of these jobs, he's brought an unparalleled passion for helping the people of California.

Now, he wants to return to Sacramento to bring that passion to the governor's office, and he needs our help to ensure that he wins this race.

Please sign up to support his campaign.

These next few years offer a complex series of challenges -- for California and our nation -- and there is much we must accomplish together. Meeting these challenges will be possible only if we have bold leaders like Jerry Brown working alongside us.

But winning this election will not be easy. His billionaire opponent, Meg Whitman, has already spent more than $100 million on this race -- shattering every spending record in California. In the coming weeks, she will blanket the airwaves and attempt to drown out every other voice in this election.

That is why Jerry Brown needs your support -- knocking on doors, making calls to your neighbors, and working to get the word out about his campaign for California.

Can we count on you? Get started here:

http://ca.barackobama.com/Brown2010

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Photo: Associated Press

UPDATE: Whitman spokesman Tucker Bounds just responded to Obama's support:

"Meg is running neck-and-neck with Jerry Brown, despite Brown's 14 point party registration edge, because she's the only credible candidate to create jobs and get California's economy back on track. Announcing an endorsement like this in the dead of summer means that Jerry Brown is worried, the White House is worried, or both."

The Assembly passed a bill creating an official annual observance of the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

The 52-0 vote sent the measure, Assembly Bill 1775, carried by Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The measure, if signed, would declare Jan. 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. It's named for an Oakland man who lost his shipyard job and went into hiding when President Franklin Roosevelt ordered Japanese Americans to be rounded up and held in "relocation camps" as national security threats.

Korematsu was later captured and convicted of refusal to obey a military order and his conviction as upheld by the Supreme Court. However, in 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that apologized for the internment. In 1998 Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died in 2005.

PHOTO CREDIT: President Bill Clinton, right, presents Fred Korematsu with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House in Washington. Associated Press file photo, Jan. 15, 1998, Dennis Cook

The Senate unanimously approved a bill today targeting sex offenders convicted of crimes against minors.

Under Assembly Bill 1844, offenders convicted of sex crimes that inflict bodily harm on a minor under the age of 14 would face a required sentence of life without parole. The bill, known as "Chelsea's Law," also includes provisions to increase tracking of paroled sex offenders and up prison sentencing requirements for other sex crimes.

The legislation was sparked by the murders of two Southern California teens -- 17-year-old Chelsea King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois. Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III has pleaded guilty to killing both teens.

"The heartbreaking loss of Chelsea earlier this year revealed a broken public safety system, and it called our entire community and our entire state to action," Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, the bill's author, said in a statement. "With the King family's unwavering dedication and with the good faith of many who contributed to shaping this measure, we've built a solution that will protect children and spare other families from tragedy."

The Assembly, which passed the bill 65-0 in June, must OK new amendments before it is sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly King, right, of Poway, the mother of murder victim of Chelsea King, seen in photograph, wipes her eyes during a news conference she and her husband, Brent King, left attended at the Capitol in Sacramento on April 12, where they spoke in support of "Chelsea's Law." (AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't ruled out a mid-September trip to Asia, even if the state has no budget in place.

"Right now we plan to go," Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said this morning. "We hope to have a budget before then."

The trip, a trade mission to China, Japan and South Korea, is scheduled Sept. 9 to Sept. 15.

That's more than two weeks away -- an eternity in budget-negotiating time -- and the state could have a budget by then.

It's questionable whether Schwarzenegger would really leave without one. He has made budget reform a hallmark of his final year in office.

McLear said there is no deadline by which the governor must decide whether or not to go.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger samples a California grown orange at the Welcome Star store on Great George St. in the Causeway Bay area of Hong Kong on Nov. 19. 2005, the last day of his six-day trade mission to China. Sacramento Bee file photo/ Brian Baer

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today denounced Proposition 25, which would lower the legislative vote margin for state budgets from two-thirds to a simple majority, and declared that it's a back-door attempt to make it easier to raise taxes.

Schwarzenegger,speaking to a business group in Goleta, responded "absolutely no" when asked about his position on the measure, placed on the ballot by Democrats and unions.

He then added, "I believe this is also ... a majority vote for tax increases."

With that comment, Schwarzenegger echoed arguments of Proposition 25 opponents in the business community that the measure's wording could allow tax increase measures that implement a budget to also be passed with a simple-majority vote.

However, opponents lost when an appeals court recently declared that a ballot summary statement declaring that Proposition 25 "retains two-thirds vote requirement for taxes" is accurate and would remain.

The two-thirds vote on budgets has been in the state constitution for decades but the two-thirds vote on tax increases was adopted by voters in 1978 as part of Proposition 13. A few years ago, voters rejected a measure that would have repealed both two-thirds votes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth's office at the state Capitol on July 9 after a meeting to discuss the state budget. Hector Amezcua/ Sacramento Bee

State education officials are reacting this morning to news that California wasn't a winner in round two of the Race to the Top competition for federal education funding.

The state was competing for a piece of $3.4 billion in federal stimulus dollars awarded to states that demonstrate a commitment to pursuing school reforms backed by the Obama administration. State officials had estimated California, which also lost in round one of the funding competition, could win hundreds of millions of dollars.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said he was "deeply disappointed" that California wasn't selected as a winner this round.

"[T]he loss of the funding may slow, but not defeat, our efforts to improve student achievement in California," O'Connell said in a statement. "We remain fully committed to continue seeking the strategies and resources demanded to accelerate our efforts to close the achievement gap among different groups of students by creating fundamental and far-reaching reforms."

Legislators may not reach a budget deal this week, but they are furiously acting upon hundreds of bills in an attempt to close out legislative session by Friday.

Friday isn't the statutory deadline - that's next Tuesday. Still, the Senate and Assembly seem intent on finishing this week. To that end, both houses have session each day through Friday.

Why Friday? No need to gum up a perfectly good summer weekend if you don't have to.

Update: A spokeswoman for Senate Presdent Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D- Sacramento, says the Senate has no plans to close shop before the Aug. 31 session deadline.

The state is now in its 55th day without a budget. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met again Monday with Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles.

They haven't had much luck so far brokering a deal inside the Capitol, so Schwarzenegger and Steinberg will each make his case Tuesday to people outside the building.

In case you missed it:

The state's three fiscal leaders announced today they plan to defer payments to schools and counties one month earlier than planned to bolster the state's cash situation.

See who endorsed Assemblyman Ted Gaines for the 1st Senate District seat.

One of the 115 bills the Assembly approved today deals with financial literacy.

After a bruising and expensive Aug. 17 special election, Sam Blakeslee took the oath today to become the California state Senate's latest addition.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants budget reform on the Nov. 2 ballot, but he'd better hurry.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a multi-media campaign billed as educational, but clearly aimed at bolstering Republican chances in California elections for governor, U.S. senator and Congress.

Flying schools could be grounded unless pending legislation clears the atmosphere.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Kevin Yamamura has more on the budget situation.

Susan Ferriss reports on a pending bill that would roll back the date when entering kindergartners must turn five years old.

Dan Walters outlines some of the end of session's gut-and-amend bills.

The Bee editorial board says California has been slow to modernize its election technology and comply with federal standards put in place after the 1990 Bush-Gore recount. "To say California's compliance has been at a snail's pace would be an insult to mollusks everywhere."

In the absence of a state budget, the state's three fiscal leaders announced today they plan to defer payments to schools and counties one month earlier than planned to bolster the state's cash situation.

Jacob Roper, spokesman for Controller John Chiang, said the move does not change Chiang's assessment last Wednesday that he may have to rely on IOUs to pay bills within "two to four weeks." Chiang signed the deferral letter along with Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Finance Director Ana J. Matosantos.

Under the move, the state will defer $2.5 billion in payments owed to K-12 schools and $400 million owed to counties for welfare-to-work in late September.

Republican Rep. Tom McClintock today endorsed Assemblyman Ted Gaines in what shapes up as a hard-fought contest with Assemblyman Roger Niello for a state Senate seat in the Sacramento suburbs.

The two are vying for the 1st Senate District seat that fell vacant with the death of Republican Dave Cox died. They will go head-to-head in a special primary election coincident with the state's general election on Nov. 2 and former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby may join the contest.

The top Republican vote-getter will face the top Democrat, most likely Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, on Jan. 4. The district has a decided Republican voter registration advantage so the GOP winner in November will be the favorite.

In a statement, McClintock hailed Gaines as "the one candidate who voters can trust to never raise their taxes."

The state budget is eight weeks overdue with no end in sight to the political stalemate, but the Assembly today passed a bill to improve the "financial literacy" of Californians.

The measure, Assembly Bill 2457, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk by the Assembly. The measure is the handiwork of Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, and would create a Financial Literacy Fund in the state controller's office to accept private donations that would be used to educate Californians about financial matters.

Salas, in a statement for the Assembly's bill analysis, said, "Financial illiteracy and the consequences of uninformed financial decisions are a growing problem in California (and) "the creation of a financial literacy fund would provide a central funding source for organizations who wish to partner with California on financial literacy efforts. In the long run, educating Californians would result in benefits to the economy by helping to prevent bankruptcies, foreclosures, and job loss."

Final passage was granted despite carping from Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Brea, that it was unseemly for the Legislature to be promoting financial literacy while failing to balance the state's budget.

PHOTO CREDIT: In this Aug. 10, 2010, photo, a detail from a sheet of $100,000 gold certificate bills is seen inside a plastic casing at a United States Treasury Department display at the World's Fair of Money in Boston. The bills, introduced in 1934, are the largest denomination ever issued by the federal government. Not meant for public use, the notes were used for federal bank transfers. (AP Photo/ Steven Senne)

After a bruising and expensive Aug. 17 special election, Sam Blakeslee took the oath today to become the California state Senate's latest addition.

Blakeslee, a Republican from San Luis Obispo, was sworn in by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento Democrat who had mustered forces to try to defeat Blakeslee and grab the seat from the GOP.

The two embraced on the Senate Floor after Blakeslee, who resigned from the Assembly, took his oath at 11 a.m. A number of senators from both parties were on hand to congratulate Blakeslee.

"Sam's a good guy," Steinberg told the Bee. The GOP senator representing the 15th district replaces Abel Maldonado, a GOP senator from the Central Coast district who was named lieutenant governor this year.

Blakeslee said he believes "compromise is possible" as legislators face a $19 billion deficit and getting an already overdue budget approved. Blakeslee billed himself as a moderate in his campaign, and could he provide key votes during the budget battle.

Steinberg and Democrats have a package of ideas on the table for tax changes they say could provide revenue but offer Californians federal tax breaks to make up for losses.

Republican leaders haven't responded warmly to package. Blakeslee told the Bee, "I wouldn't characterize it (the entire package) as a non-starter at all."

He said tax reform is a good idea - but increasing the tax burden is not.

Photo: Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, gets sworn in as the newest senator. His daughter Landis, 7, and wife Kara participate in the event. Randy Pench/ The Sacramento Bee

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has demanded that lawmakers pass a measure to strengthen the state's "rainy-day fund" as part of any budget agreement he signs this year. Such a change would have to be approved by voters.

The question is, when?

Statutory deadlines for making the Nov. 2 ballot have long since passed, but lawmakers are able to waive such laws. Still, lawmakers are starting to approach logistical deadlines that would make it difficult for counties to add another measure to the November ballot, election officials say.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today launched a multi-media campaign billed as educational, but clearly aimed at bolstering Republican chances in elections for governor, U.S. senator and Congress.

Dubbed "Golden State Action Plan," the chamber's television, radio and Internet advertising campaign dwells on California's economic and budgetary woes and calls for major changes in the state's policies on economic development.

"California was a land where you could build a rewarding career, enjoy a superior quality of life, and achieve the American dream," the chamber's white paper on California declares. "Yet today California is in trouble. One has to think all the way back to the early 1980s - nearly 30 years ago - to find the state in as big a mess as it is now. The dream is not over, but it has been badly tarnished."

"The best solution to California's economic woes is a simple one - economic growth," the paper continues, adding, "Californians must seize the opportunity to reject the failed agenda of more taxes, more spending, and more regulations. Instead, they should embrace a free enterprise agenda that will give businesses the conditions they need to grow, hire new workers, drive community development, and produce greater tax revenues to fund essential programs. In a fiercely competitive global economy, there is no time left to lose."

The chamber's message parrots those of Republican candidates for governor and U.S. senator, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, as well as most GOP congressional candidates, without specifically endorsing their elections. And it indicates that the business group believes that California, a seemingly solid blue state, may be moving rightward this year.

Whitman doesn't need much help, since she's already spent more than $100 million of her own money, but Fiorina's challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is not as well financed and the state Republican Party has few resources to spend on contests this year.

The full Chamber of Commerce white paper is available here.

When the Legislature imposed new regulations on private postsecondary schools last year, aimed at protecting students from unscrupulous diploma mills, it unwittingly put small flying schools in a potential spinout.

When the state's previous postsecondary education regulation system was in existence, the flying schools had been exempted from state oversight via an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, but when that system expired, so did the FAA arrangement.

The new regulatory scheme didn't contain an exemption for the small flying schools, often one- or two-person operations offering lessons on a cash basis, and they could not afford to comply with the rigorous financial and reporting requirements of the new legislation.

Fearing that they would be forced out of business, the flying instructors appealed to the Legislature for relief. Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, introduced a bill (Assembly Bill 1140) giving them a one-year respite while an alternative to state regulation was worked out.

Niello's bill, however, got caught up in a standoff between the Schwarzenegger administration and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada-Flintridge, the author of the anti-diploma mill legislation.

Portantino is carrying a bill (Assembly Bill 1889) to clean up ambiguities in the new program and was willing to include one-year delay for the flying schools, but another provision required that five new employees of the new Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education be stationed in Sacramento.

The governor's office opposed that provision, sought by the Service Employees International Union, as an incursion on administrative authority and threatened a veto. On Friday, Portantino relented and took the SEIU's language out of the bill.

"When it became clear to us the bill might be vetoed, we removed that portion dealing with having the five postsecondary education specialists housed in Sacramento," a Portantino spokeswoman said. "The rest of the provisions in this bill were too important to have it vetoed over this one section."

Problem solved?

Maybe yes, maybe no. If enacted, Portantino's bill would not take effect until January while technically, the flying schools came under state regulation last month. Niello's bill, meanwhile, would take effect immediately if passed and signed. "The urgency is important," Niello says.

So the flying schools are still up in the air.

Welcome to the last full week of this year's legislative session.

Both houses have floor sessions on tap so members can continue to work the file in advance of the Aug. 31 deadline for passing legislation.

Today marks Day 54 of the current fiscal year, and there's still no spending plan in place.

For those keeping track, tomorrow is the day that this year's budget impasse will become tied for the fourth-latest state budget on record.

Meanwhile, GOP faithful arrived back to town last night after the party's three-day confab in San Diego.

The political pep rally played host to the requisite candidate speeches and cheering.

But the attendees of the convention also saw a general session floor flight over whether two clubs representing young Republicans should merge, a proxy vote battle to block a controversial resolution on illegal immigration and a good dose of jokes at the opposing party's expense.

You can catch up on everything you missed from the CRP confab here.

With the election just over two months away, the California Republican Party confab was as much about bashing the big bad Democrats on the ballot as it was cheering their own party nominees.

Sure, many attacks took the typical tone, painting Democrats as tax-and-spenders who would drive the state deeper in debt. But candidates also hit their rivals on some much more serious issues: hair and Happy Meals.

Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado warned of the "ridiculous, horrible and just plain dangerous things" rival Gavin Newsom has done as mayor of San Francisco.

All those dangerous doings were chronicled in an exhaustive video that bashed Newsom for everything from "awkward" outbursts in press interviews to San Francisco "nanny government" steps like taking aim at toys in McDonald's Happy Meals and requiring composting.

To make its point, the Maldonado camp replaced the centerpieces of the dinner tables with bottled water, bagel sections and cans of Coke, three items the campaign said Newsom targeted as mayor

"This is serious, this is really serious," Maldonado said.

Assemblyman Mike Villines, the GOP nominee for insurance commissioner, used his Saturday luncheon speaking slot to mock opponent Dave Jones' mop.

Villines played a video tying Jones and his full head of hair to another candidate with luscious locks: former Democratic Sen. John Edwards, whose 2008 presidential bid Jones backed.

"Look at that hair," Villines cracked as the faces of the two candidates flashed on the screen and morphed into the visage of Barbie's famous beau Ken.

"I'm jealous of that hair, I'll be honest about that," the coif-challenged Villines admitted.

Another jab that drew some laughs? Jones' support of pet insurance legislation: "I love my dog," Villines said. "But that's not the biggest issue for the state of California."

A 66-year-old retired real estate mogul isn't the first thing that comes to mind when one imagines a cheerleader.

But dressed in a blue silk garment covered with stickers and a chef's hat fashioned out of Meg Whitman bumper stickers, delegate Joseph Kung calls himself just that. When it comes to the California Republican Party convention, at least.

Kung, who lives in Diamond Bar, was a popular attraction at the convention Friday night, as he traversed the halls posing for pictures with other delegates and generating cheers with with his wails of "Go, Meg, Go!"

Kung is a familiar face to frequent GOP convention goers. He first debuted what he calls his sticker-themed get-up in 2000, when George W. Bush was running for the White House.

Two years later he returned, bumper sticker hat and all, to rally supporters for then GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon. The delegate's efforts to boost Republican candidate were recognized with a medal from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which he proudly displayed around his neck.

Kung says he was ill and couldn't make it to the conventions during Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign, but he's back in action in time to campaign for gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman.

"I regained my health and I'm ready, full speed for Meg!" he cheered.

Photo by Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee.

What was expected to be a ho-hum general assembly meeting at the state GOP convention this morning dragged out into a prolonged fight over the party's rules committee calling an impromptu meeting last night about a resolution coordinating a proposed merger between two rival young Republican factions.

It was an awkward start to what was supposed to be a pep rally celebrating Republican unity and the promising campaigns of gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina.

Rules Committee Chairman Mike Osborn called three votes on the committee's decision to postpone taking on the resolution, with critics of the committee's action finally forcing a person-by-person vote count rather than the usual choruses of ayes and nays.

Dissenting delegates questioned whether the committee had a quorum last night.

"We're divided on this," said Bob Hauter, a delegate from Santa Barbara County. "There's an arbitration going on. We can leave that here and we don't give the press and the Democrats all this information on the fight going on."

About 70 minutes into the fight, the assembly finally approved the committee's postponement of the measure, which would have overseen the proposed merger of the California Young Republicans and the Young Republican Federation of California.

The measure passed on an initial voice vote, but opo

The voice vote

Issa, often called the annoyer in chief

"I'm a fiscal conservative and a social conservative and I used to think that was enough," he said.
"We have to be willing to tear down the Republican Party as we know it and build it as a better party and a more constitutional party."

A California Republican Party committee today blocked debate on a controversial resolution in support of Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law, drawing complaints from delegates who say Meg Whitman's campaign is seeking to stifle debate on a hot-button issue.

The resolution, which would affirm the party's support for the Arizona law and Proposition 187, the 1994 initiative to cut public benefits for undocumented immigrants, died in committee when none of its 12 members seconded a motion for debate. Supporters could still push for a floor vote during the Sunday general session of the CRP's semi-annual convention, but would need two-thirds approval for adoption.

Despite boisterous rallies and candidate speeches promoting party unity, tension between members of the conservative California Republican Assembly, whose president authored the resolution, and the Whitman campaign have remained high throughout the convention.

CRA members, many of whom supported Whitman rival Steve Poizner in the primary, have accused the Whitman campaign of softening her stances on key issues and working behind the scenes to kill the resolution.

Whitman has come out against both the Arizona law and Proposition 187 -- though she recently has said she believes the Arizona law should stand in Arizona. A public declaration in support of those policies by the party could be politically damaging to Whitman, who needs support of Latino and moderate voters to win the general election.

But resolution supporters said the alleged actions of Whitman and CRP leadership alienate the conservative wing of the party, a move that they say could cost the entire ticket votes.

"Meg Whitman thinks everything is about her at this convention and it's not," said Karen England, a Roseville delegate who sits on the board of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. "Meg Whitman wants to squelch the debate on this, wants to make sure that our voices aren't heard. But our conservatives and our people, they're the ones she wants filling phone banks, going out and volunteering and it's really unfortunate."

Interviews with reporters outside the committee meeting escalated into an argument between resolution supporters and a delegate who countered that it was the proponents who were making the convention too much about themselves.

"The bottom line is: do we want Jerry Brown for governor?" said Pat Shuff, a delegate from Orange County who agreed with the resolution's aim. "Bashing (Whitman) at this time is really not going to help the cause."

"I'm sorry that I'm not going to follow blindly," shot back England, who declined to say whether she would vote for Whitman in November.

Party officials said the resolution followed its normal course under the party's parliamentary rules.

"(Supporters) are upset that the resolution died in committee, but it was given an opportunity and no one voted to second it," CRP spokesman Brian Seitchik said. "Now is the time for all of us to come together and support the Republican nominees up and down the ticket."

A November proposition to ban the state from borrowing or shifting local funds to balance the state budget sparked heated debate among Republicans attending the party's semi-annual convention in San Diego.

The debate, which lasted more than 30 minutes during a meeting of the CRP Initiative Committee, boiled down to one question: "Why would we want to send more money to Sacramento?"

Brandon Castillo, a spokesman for the Yes on 22 campaign, said there is more accountability at the local government level for the types of funds targeted in past budget solutions. Taking that control out of the hands of the local governments, he said has produced poor results.

"It's a shell game," he said after the debate. "The state is borrowing from the local governments to fund their obligations."

Opponents of the initiative, including four state legislators at the meeting, countered that the measure would paralyze their ability to balance the budget.

"We are in a fiscal crisis and I am looking for opportunities to balance the budget without raising taxes," said Assemblyman Ted Gaines, a member of the committee.

They argued that redevelopment funds protected under the initiative have been put to better use by the Legislature's decision to redirect the funds.

"The money remained local (in the past), so the question is, do you want to fund local redevelopment schemes or do you want to fund schools?" Assemblyman Chris Norby said. "I'd rather have this money spent to subsidize schools than Costco," he sadded.

In the end, the CRP Initiatives Committee voted 9-8 to recommend the endorsement of Proposition 22. The full delegation will vote on the recommendation during the Sunday general session.

"Proposition 22 is not perfect, it creates new problems in place of the old problems," said Jon Fleischman, a party official who voted to endorse Proposition 22. "But the old problems are worse than the new problems."

The committee also voted to oppose Proposition 19, which would allow the legalization and taxation of marijuana for recreational use.

The liberal advocacy group Courage Campaign played down Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's announcement yesterday that she would defend Proposition 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage, if elected governor.

Courage Campaign director Rick Jacobs noted that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already scheduled a hearing for the week of Dec. 6 to determine whether the initiative's sponsor, the advocacy group Protect Marriage, has legal standing to defend the voter-passed measure.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown are not defending the proposition in the courts. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California, who declared the proposition unconstitutional Aug. 4, had suggested that only the state could defend the law.

If elected, Whitman would take the oath of office on Jan. 3, although it remains unclear whether she could join the lawsuit as a defendant after the December hearing.

"She wouldn't be governor yet," Jacobs said. "The appeals court will decide before there would be a change of governor and attorney general."

UC Hastings College of the Law professor Rory Little said Whitman's ability to defend the proposition would hinge on several factors - the biggest of which, of course, is whether she becomes governor.

It would also depend on whether the 9th Circuit decides the standing issue before January 6 and how the court decides.

"There are a lot of ifs," Little said. "If the 9th Circuit hasn't decided the matter by December, she could attempt to file a brief to say, 'Now, the state of California enters the case.'"

The Courage Campaign is an official supporter of the main independent expenditure group opposing Whitman, California Working Families.

Jacobs said Whitman's announcement from yesterday bolstered the group's resolve to oppose Whitman, although it doesn't endorse candidates.

"You're going to see us making it clear that Meg Whitman is unqualified to be governor on any stand," Jacobs said.

Responding to a question from The Bee yesterday during a campaign stop, Whitman said, "The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals?'And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court."

Whitman's campaign later told The Bee that she would become a defendant in the appeal of Walker's ruling if needed.

The main focus of this weekend's California Republican Party convention is firing up support for the party's slate of candidate's on the Nov. 2 ballot, from gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman on down.

But one Republican candidate for constitutional office isn't taking the stage at the San Diego Manchester Hyatt this weekend: Sen. Mimi Walters.

Walters, who is running for state treasurer, had a reason for not being able to RSVP yes to the semi-annual party. Her oldest daughter is leaving their Laguna Nigel home for college on the East Coast and the CRP confab happened to be scheduled the same weekend as move-in for the freshman dorms.

That, Walters' scheduler said, was an event the senator wouldn't miss for the world.

Half of the Republican statewide ticket pumped up the party faithful Friday night to cap the first day of the state GOP's semi-annual convention at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego.

Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was the star of the night, but she shared the spotlight with secretary of state candidate Damon Dunn and state controller nominee Tony Strickland.

In her fourth address to a state Republican convention, Whitman delivered a populist and at times pep rally-like address, albeit with a business school tinge.

The former CEO of online auction firm eBay took the stage as classic rock shook the hotel ballroom. "Damon Dunn, you are a star!" she bellowed and then told Strickland, "You're going to be the most awesome controller! The CFO of the state!"

Sitting with Strickland at the front table were also Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, who's running for re-election, and Whitman's husband Griffith R. Harsh.

In case you missed it:

Meg Whitman said this afternoon that if elected governor, she would defend Proposition 8 by appealing a recent federal court ruling declaring the proposition unconstitutional.

Internal tensions among party members are already rising at the California Republican Party convention in San Diego as the state GOP denies a venue to the California Republican Assembly.

Perennial candidate Leonard Padilla is claiming as his own idea Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to borrow from the state's pension fund to help solve California's budget deficit. And he says he might run for the late Sen. Dave Cox's seat.

Schwarzenegger has appointed the once scorned former Sen. Maurice "Mo Jo" Johannessen to the State Parks and Recreation Commission.

New senator Bill Emmerson got a rare opportunity on the floor.

Today's deadline for bill changes sparked a flurry of amendments.

More than six decades after World War II, the Legislature has passed a resolution calling the U.S. government's treatment of Italian Americans following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor a "fundamental injustice."

In tomorrow's Bee:

The Bee Capitol Bureau has the latest on the state Republican Party convention.

The California School Boards Association released the salary history of its top executives, with documents showing the director was awarded $539,497 in bonuses and other compensation alone from 2006 to 2009. Melody Gutierrez reports.

Dale Kasler looks at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to borrow $2 billion from CalPERS.

As for that CalPERS proposal, the Bee's editorial board says: Don't make a bad thing worse.

And in a guest op-ed, Art Pulaski -- executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation -- wants the state to shine some light on corporate tax breaks.

No political convention would be complete without a health dose of inner-party squabbling.

As the California Republican Party's semi-annual convention opened today, delegates representing the party's more conservative faction blasted GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman, accusing her of backing away from positions she took in the primary on key issues.

Members of the California Republican Assembly, many of whom backed Whitman's GOP rival Steve Poizner in the primary, took aim at Whitman's stances on illegal immigration, taxes and Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative that would suspend the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions reduction law until the economy rebounds.They warned her current positions could cost the entire GOP ticket votes in November

"There's almost nothing left of primary Meg," said Mike Schroeder, a former state party chair and past CRA president. "As long as that's the case, she's not going to get Republican voters to turnout."

Young Republican Federation of California President Adam Abrahms echoed Schroeder's concerns, saying while he would "absolutely" vote for Whitman, he thinks turnout could be a problem.

California's next secretary of state will

Republican Damon Dunn, a polit

In a housecleaning mood after the state's historic gubernatorial recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasted little time in 2003 booting Maurice Johannessen from his job as state veterans affairs secretary.

Some Republicans had targeted Johannessen because they felt he'd been a little too friendly with Democrats during his time in the state Senate. Former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis appointed the termed-out Johannessen to the veterans affairs post in 2002, a promotion widely seen as a reward for breaking with Republicans to vote for two previous budgets.

But Schwarzenegger seems to have had a change of heart. The Republican governor has appointed Johannessen -- often called "MoJo" in the Capitol -- to the State Parks and Recreation Commission, Schwarzenegger's office announced Friday.

What's changed? It's unclear why Schwarzenegger has tapped Johannessen at this time, but perhaps the governor recognizes the necessity of having a few MoJos in office after having to dole out his own rewards to Republicans who provided budget votes last year.

Update (5:08 p.m.): Interestingly enough, the governor's press release refers to Johannessen's departure as veterans affairs secretary as "his retirement in 2003." Johannessen told The Bee in 2003 that he got a call from a "low-level staffer" to vacate his office immediately, despite offering to stay for 60 days to help with the transition.

PHOTO CREDIT: Then Sen. Maurice Johannessen, R-Redding, listens to fellow lawmakers on June 25, 2002. Sacramento Bee file photo/ Randy Pench

More than six decades after World War II, the California Legislature has passed a resolution calling the U.S. government's treatment of Italian Americans following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor a "fundamental injustice."

While the federal government's forced internment of Japanese Americans is more widely known, thousands of Italian Americans also were characterized as enemy aliens and forced to leave their homes or endure other hardships.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 95, characterizing such treatment as unjust, passed the Assembly and Senate this week without a dissenting vote.

"The Legislature formally acknowledges the events of World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian Americans, deeply regrets these acts, and reaffirms its commitment to preserving the rights of all people," the resolution said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said this afternoon that if elected governor, she would defend Proposition 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage, by appealing a recent federal court ruling declaring the proposition unconstitutional.

Whitman made her clearest stand to date on the issue while speaking at the warehouse of Solar Gard Window Film in San Diego, hours before she's scheduled to address the California Republican Party's convention downtown.

During a brief news conference, the Bee asked Whitman whether she would defend Proposition 8 if elected governor. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has taken up the issue after Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court of Northern California declared the measure unconstitutional earlier this month.

"The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals?' " Whitman said. "And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court."

The appeals court plans to hear the case in December, but Supreme Court appeals are planned by both sides, so Whitman would have plenty of time to intervene if she wins and takes office in January.

Whitman also addressed tensions over her split with the Republican Party's more conservative wing on illegal immigration, including Arizona's controversial new anti illegal-immigration law.

Whitman, who said during the primary she would be "tough as nails" on illegal immigration immigration, has come under attack from critics on the right who say she has softened her stance to pander to more moderate voters in the general election.

Whitman said her position on illegal immigration has not shifted and downplayed the impact of the different stances.

"No candidate will agree probably with every plank in a Republican platform or any party platform," she said, adding that she believes jobs and defeating Democrat Jerry Brown would ultimately unite the party.

The California Republican Assembly, which represents a more conservative faction of the party, is sponsoring a resolution to declare the party's support of SB 1070 and Proposition 187, the 1994 initiative to cease state services for undocumented immigrants.

Whitman, who has publicly opposed the Arizona law and Proposition 187, said she opposes the CRA-backed resolution.

"If we end up having a difference of opinion, it is what it is," she said.

Some CRA members, including former President Mike Spence, have accused the Whitman campaign and its supporters of jockeying behind the scenes to mute debate on the issue by blocking the resolution.

Whitman said her campaign and supporters who are delegates are "letting the process unfold as it naturally does."

When asked whether her supporters were lobbying for votes to defeat the resolution, Whitman replied "that's how politics works."

"We're working see if, not to block, but to see if we can get our point of view across," she said, calling her plan to focus on securing the border the better course for addressing illegal immigration.

A CRP committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow to consider putting the resolution up for a vote among all delegates.

Dozens of bills were amended in the Legislature before today's deadline for making such changes.

Lawmakers must pass, kill or shelve all pending bills, more than 500, by Aug. 31 unless the governor calls a special session to consider legislation targeting a particular emergency, such as the budget crisis.

Amendments proposed this week included:

Internal tensions are already rising at the California Republican Party convention getting under way here in San Diego.

The conservative California Republican Assembly had planned to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. at the convention to tout its resolution supporting the 1994 voter-backed anti-illegal immigration measure Proposition 187 and Arizona's recent law requiring law enforcement check the legal status of people they suspect of being illegal immigrants.

However, former CRA President Mike Spence just told The Bee that the party has refused his group a room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, where the convention is being held, for the news conference.

"I guess they don't want this to be discussed," Spence said.

State party press secretary Crystal Feldman said the convention has other priorities. "The CRP convention is fully focused on the candidates," she said.

The CRA is now searching for another venue for their news conference.

Leonard Padilla, a perennial candidate and the self-proclaimed "World Famous Bounty Hunter & Godfather of Bail," is claiming as his own idea Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to borrow $2 billion from the state's pension fund to help solve California's $19 billion budget deficit.

Padilla, of Sacramento, was running for governor in the 2003 recall election -- the year Schwarzenegger was first elected -- when Padilla proposed paying down state debt by "withdrawing funds from the state's over-funded retirement system." The proposal was laid out in the fifth paragraph of his campaign platform.

Padilla received 1,343 votes that year, less than one tenth of one percent of the vote. He ran for Congress in 2005 and for the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 2006, and he has run four times for mayor.

The 71-year-old said Friday he's mulling another run, this time for the state Senate seat left open by the death of Sen. Dave Cox.

Being a candidate lends a certain standing to what a person says, Padilla said.

"It gives you a platform," he said. "Otherwise you're just another nut standing on the corner at a park."

PHOTO CREDIT: Leonard Padilla, left, stands next to an Orange County deputy in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/ Reinhold Matay)

When Bill Emmerson was an assemblyman, he introduced a bill that would allow marriage counselors and others licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences to be issued special retiree licenses.

The bill (Assembly Bill 2191) cleared the Assembly in April. Two months later, Emmerson, a Hemet Republican, was elevated to the state Senate in a special election.

That gave him the rare opportunity today to present his own Assembly bill on the Senate floor, where it passed handily.

PHOTO: Bill Emmerson, Sacramento Bee file photo, 2009

The "rising Republican tide" touted by party leaders arrives on the shores of San Diego today as delegates gather for the California Republican Party's fall confab.

Candidates and delegates will spend three days at the Manchester Grand Hyatt rallying the troops for the Nov. 2 election.

Meg Whitman is the main event for Day One of the convention. The gubernatorial nominee doesn't have any press conferences scheduled, but she will deliver the keynote speech during tonight's festivities.

Whitman told the LA Times she plans to use her prime time spot throw some jabs at Democrat Jerry Brown.

Tony Strickland, who's locked in a rematch against state Controller John Chiang, and political newcomer Damon Dunn, GOP nominee for secretary of state, also take the stage tonight.

Saturday's speaker line-up includes Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and down-ticket candidates Steve Cooley, Abel Maldonado and Mike Villines. Sen. Mimi Walters, the GOP nominee for treasurer, isn't scheduled to address attendees.

Aside from the political pep talk, the party is expected to take positions on the November propositions -- except Proposition 23, to which the GOP gave its seal of approval in the spring. Also on the agenda: bylaw amendments aimed at giving the party more control in the nominating process under the new top-two primary system.

Be sure to check the blog and follow Capitol Alert on Twitter for all the latest convention action. The full convention agenda is available here.

FURLOUGHS: They're back. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Wednesday they'll stop if the state budget is approved. Otherwise, he told colleague Jon Ortiz, "furloughs will continue as planned Friday the 20th, the 27th, and one additional floating furlough between now and the end of the month." Read more here.

"BOBBLING" ON THE ISSUES: It's Election Day at Raley Field. Bobblehead likenesses of Brown and Whitman go head-to-head in the River Cats' Bobblehead Election. The first fans to arrive get to take home a pint-sized figurine of their favorite candidate. For more info on the minor league baseball team's game against the Iowa Cubs, click here.

BIRTHDAY WISHES: Today is the 59th birthday of Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata. Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado turns 43 on Saturday -- we'll see how many birthday wishes he gets during his address Saturday evening at the CRP convention. Saturday is also the birthday of Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, who turns 66.

In case you missed it:

Jerry Brown doesn't think furloughing state employees is the best way to deal with the budget shortfall.

The Bell pay scandal has sparked a flurry of bills as the end of session nears.

GOP Rep. Dan Lungren blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her comments about opponents of the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of Ground Zero.

Meanwhile, Lungren's state pension has come under fire from Democratic opponent Ami Bera.

Foundations associated with public universities would have to open their books to public scrutiny if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill approved today by the Senate.

The Senate also sent a bill aimed at tightening laws barring public officials from collecting unemployment to the governor's desk.

California lawmakers aren't the only elected officials hoping federal funds for teachers will offset their state's budget deficit.

The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has formally proposed a nearly 30 percent increase in employer-paid premiums.

A fund that provides payments to health providers during a budget stalemate is depleted, meaning more than 1,000 clinics and health care centers won't get payments until a budget is passed.

In tomorrow's Bee:

It's almost impossible these days to turn on the TV without seeing an ad for or against Meg Whitman or Jerry Brown. But will the prolonged advertising campaign produce diminishing returns? Jack Chang has the story.

Legislation aimed at raising awareness about hearing screenings for infants has attracted fierce opposition from parents of deaf children. Find out why in a story by Susan Ferriss.

Jim Sanders has more on the package of bills introduced in response to the Bell pay scandal.

Columnist Dan Walters calls Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg a smart guy who sometimes outsmarts himself.

Ted Gaines and Roger Niello, two Republican assemblymen who are special election rivals for the late Sen. Dave Cox's seat, clashed on the Assembly floor today over a bill that would require kids to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding.

The 1st Senate District in which they are running contains the largest single concentration of the state's ski slopes and the ski industry has endorsed the measure, Senate Bill 880, which would require helmets for those 17 years old and younger.

Gaines, of Roseville, spoke for and joined most Democrats in voting for the measure, Senate Bill 880, while Niello, of Fair Oaks, denounced and joined other Republicans in voting against it. The final vote was 41-20, returning the measure, authored by Democratic Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco, to the Senate for final action.

The two are rivals in a Nov. 2 special election to fill the seat of Cox, who died last month. If no one receives an outright majority, the top Republican vote-getter will face a Democratic candidate in a Jan. 4 runoff.

The district has a strong Republican registration and former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby is also weighing whether to enter the race. Ken Cooley, the mayor of Rancho Cordova, is likely to be the Democratic candidate in the runoff, if one occurs.

PHOTO CREDIT: Shaun White competes during the snowboard slopestyle portion of the Alli Dew Tour on Feb. 20, 2009, at Northstar Resort in Truckee. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/ Getty Images)

Health centers and community clinics that provide services for low-income Californians appear to be the latest casualty of the late state budget.

More than 1,000 health centers and community clinics that serve recipients of the state's public health insurance program are scheduled to stop receiving Medi-Cal payments as early as next week because a reserve of state and federal funding used during a budget impasse has run dry.

Dozens of types of health service providers, including adult day health care centers, home heath agencies and free community clinics, receive Medi-Cal payments from the $2 billion Medical Providers Interim Payment fund when the budget is not enacted by the July 1 deadline. That well is expected to be depleted today. As of next week, Medi-Cal claims filed by those providers will not be paid until the budget is passed.

Medi-Cal payments typically represent 50 percent to 80 percent of total revenue for the affected health centers and community clinics. Community health care advocates say stopping the revenue stream for low-income health care providers still reeling from last year's deep spending cuts could have devastating effects.

"Our clinics and health centers are facing the prospect of not being able to meet payroll and pay their employees," said Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and CEO of the California Primary Care Association. "If the budget stalemate continues there could be even more dire results including the closure of clinics."

A Department of Health Care Services spokesman said the providers can continue to see patients and send claims for processing, but payments will be held until the budget is passed.

Not all providers that receive Medi-Cal payments will be affected. Medi-Cal reimbursements for certain types of Medi-Cal providers, including hospitals and nursing homes, must be paid in accordance with state and federal laws and the federal stimulus act.

See a full list after the jump of provider types receiving MPIP funds that will not receive payments if a budget is not passed.

As the race for California's 3rd District congressional seat heats up, Democrat Ami Bera today took aim at Republican Rep. Dan Lungren's pension, calling it "lavish."

According to the Bera campaign, Lungren received $55,697 in pension income from the California Legislators Retirement Pension in 2009 for his eight years of service as the state's attorney general.

At the same time, the campaign said, Lungren received a congressional salary of $174,000, and he will be eligible for another $64,662 in estimated pension benefits each year when he leaves Congress.

Lungren received a 25.9 percent raise in his final month as attorney general, because the California Citizens Compensation Commission approved increases for all state officeholders effective Dec. 7, 1998. It increased the maximum amount he could collect on his pension by more than $11,500 per year.

California lawmakers unveiled a six-bill package of legislation today in response to a scandal involving sky-high salaries paid to council members and top officials in the tiny city of Bell in Los Angeles County.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez characterized Bell's compensation practices as a "gross affront" to the public trust and said "elected officials and civic leaders need to be tightening their belt along with everyone else."

"Our response must be swift, our response must be strong," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg added.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was noncommital about the package today.

"We're outraged at what happened in the City of Bell and the governor will take a close look at these bills once they are in their final form," said Matt Connelly, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger.

"At the same time, the City of Bell is only one example of pension abuse and the Legislature should be just as concerned about reforming the entire public employee pension system as they are about the City of Bell," Connelly added.

Democratic leaders Steinberg and Perez were joined today by authors of the legislation, including Assembly members Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate; Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills; Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles; and Alberto Torrico, D-Newark.

Public anger has skyrocketed over disclosures that Bell was paying its council members nearly $100,000 per year and other top officials even more, including former city Manager Robert Rizzo, whose base salary of nearly $800,000 was sweetened by about $700,000 in other benefits.

Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, a Santa Clarita Republican who chairs the Assembly Local Government Committee, also attended today's press conference to show bipartisan support for a crackdown on excessive pay.

Pérez said that Republican legislative leaders have not yet committed to the six-bill package but that he is confident that bipartisan agreement can be reached.

Following are the six bills unveiled today:

The Senate voted 33-1 today to tighten up state laws barring politicians from collecting unemployment insurance.

The vote sent the measure, Senate Bill 1211 by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The bill was prompted by disclosure last year that John Nunez, a Rosemead city councilman who finished last in a bid for re-election, had been paid $11,250 in UI benefits even though long-standing state law makes ex-officeholders ineligible for such payments.

The city had opposed Nunez's application for benefits but the state Employment Development Department, citing ambiguity in the law, paid them anyway. That prompted Romero, whose district includes Rosemead, to introduced SB 1211.

The legislation makes the UI ban more specific and authorizes EDD to recover any benefits paid illegally, including filing a lawsuit, if necessary. Romero called it a "no-brainer."

PHOTO CREDIT: Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, talks to Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, after a vote Jan. 6. (AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli)

The Senate voted today to require auxiliary collegiate fundraising organizations to open their books to public scrutiny -- an issue sparked by reports of clandestine financial dealings, topped by the sensation-tinged appearance of Sarah Palin at Stanislaus State University in June.

The legislation, Senate Bill 330 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 22-10 vote, but its ultimate fate is uncertain because the governor vetoed a similar Yee measure last year.

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, whose district includes Stanislaus State, denounced the measure as being "all about politics," adding, "The big issue here is Sarah Palin."

Palin, the former governor of Alaska and the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, spoke at a CSU Stanislaus Foundation fund-raising event, capping weeks of controversy about how much she was being paid. Her $75,000 fee was eventually disclosed and the foundation says it netted more than $200,000 from the event.

Attorney General Jerry Brown investigated the Palin case but this month concluded that keeping details secret didn't violate any state law.

The politics surrounding the proposed construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City continue to simmer, with Republican Rep. Dan Lungren of Gold River firing the latest shot.

Lungren criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who on Wednesday said it was time to "ask who is funding the attacks against the construction of the center."

Lungren said Pelosi's words are from someone "who has lost touch with the idea that American freedom of expression is sacred - even when it runs counter to the beliefs of our liberal elites."

"When the speaker of the House -- the person presently third in line to take the helm of this nation -- had the temerity to call for an investigation of those who think building a mosque in the shadow of the site of our greatest national tragedy is an inappropriate idea, I now think her feelings about dissenting Americans are no slips of the tongue," Lungren said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown said this morning that he opposes furloughing state workers to cope with the budget crisis while accusing current legislators of not dealing with the mess until the last minute.

Brown made the comments on his weekly call in to San Francisco radio station KGO where he was also asked about his use of a state plane as attorney general and of the state pension he would receive when he retires. Listen to the call here, which starts around time mark 42:30.

When asked by host Ed Baxter about furloughs, Brown responded, "No, I don't think as a general practice furloughs are not the best way to go. And secondly, because the Legislature doesn't produce a budget on time, I don't think that's grounds for holding the state workers responsible."

He went on to speculate about possible solutions to the budget mess, including taking budget issues to the ballot box.

"Look, they've got to make the cuts," Brown said of state leaders. "They've got to find, whatever they can do. Move functions in local government, find some fees ... talk to Obama, get some more bailout. Their back is to the wall, and the reason is they didn't make the hard decisions in January or February when they could have gone to the voters to ask to be relieved of certain constitutional mandates or to let the voters vote on some choices about what they want or don't want in state and local government."

School groups rebuked Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg for suggesting that new federal teacher aid could help alleviate California's deficit problems, but the idea may not be so novel, considering Oregon officials also think that money could help offset their deficit.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, has advised his school officials that they should be "smart and prudent" with their share of the federal jobs money because the state's budget shortfall has grown by another $200 million to $500 million, according to the Oregonian. The Mail Tribune quotes one superintendent as saying the new deficit "effectively erases the federal funds."

Under the bill signed by President Barack Obama last week, California is due to receive about $1.2 billion in new federal money for school districts.

California has yet to pass a budget for the year, so the state has not set its spending level for schools. Many districts have built their school-year finances on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget, which would provide K-12 schools between $2 billion and $3.5 billion less than what Democrats have proposed. Because Schwarzenegger's budget leaves schools with less money than they had last year, districts already have laid off teachers, reduced class sizes and shortened the school year.

After Steinberg's remarks appeared on Capitol Alert, Education Coalition leaders met Tuesday with Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to convince them that the federal money should not be considered in budget talks. "That is very clearly not its intended purpose and no one needs it more than California students right now," Education Coalition spokeswoman Robin Swanson said Tuesday after the meetings.

The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has formally proposed a nearly 30 percent increase in employer-paid premiums, touching off another version of the perennial battle over the system that compensates workers for job-related injuries and illnesses.

The bureau has been proposing premium increases for the past several years after they plunged sharply earlier in the decade, thanks largely to a major overhaul of the system. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pushed the overhaul through the Legislature in 2004, and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, both Republicans, have opposed major premium boosts, saying they would damage the business climate in a period of severe recession.

The bureau, in its filing with Poizner's office, said the proposed boost of 29.6 percent in "is largely a reflection of increases in claim severity inflation following the full implementation of the reforms in 2005 that have more than offset declining claim frequency." It said that even were the full proposal to be adopted, premiums still would be 53 percent lower than they were in 2003, before the Schwarzenegger-sponsored changes in eligibility for benefits and medical care..

With Schwarzenegger and Poizner both leaving office in a few months, the premium issue -- along with demands of unions, medical care providers and workers' compensation attorneys for undoing some of the 2004 changes -- will be dropped in the laps of their successors.

The full WCIRB filing an be found here.

Could pressure to pass a budget mount with the return of furloughs and the threat of IOUs in the coming weeks?

Roughly 144,000 state workers will be forced to take an unpaid day off Friday as a result of yesterday's state Supreme Court decision to issue a stay of a lower court's ruling that blocked the new furlough order.

Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order, the thrice monthly furloughs will continue until a budget is signed.

Another development to watch? Controller John Chiang reiterated yesterday his warnings that the state will soon be out of cash and have to issue IOUs to pay its bills.

Chiang has been saying this for some time now, though he said the writing of the pay-you-later notes could come in as soon as two weeks.

For those counting, today is Day 50 of the fiscal year -- seven weeks have passed since the July 1 deadline for having a spending plan in place.

But we're willing to bet that the chances of a budget breakthrough today are slim to none. (Don't forget to track the budget signing bets of other readers' in the Capitol Alert budget pool.)

There are no planned meetings between the four legislative leaders and Schwarzenegger today. In fact, as Bee colleague Kevin Yamamura tweeted yesterday, the "Big Five" haven't met since mid-June, and the four legislative leaders haven't gotten together for budget talks at all this month.

In lieu of budget action, lawmakers continue to express their outrage about the sky-high pay and pensions for officials in the city of Bell.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez are holding a news conference at 11 a.m. in the Capitol's room 317 to introduce a package of bills aimed at preventing situations like the one in Bell from flying under the radar.

No fewer than six other lawmakers are scheduled to be on hand.

Also under the dome, both houses will meet for 9 a.m. floor sessions to continue to plow through the end-of-session bill file.

HOUSE 2010: Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, is hosting a town hall in Elk Grove. Lungren is facing an election challenge from Democrat Ami Bera of Elk Grove. The event is at 7 p.m. at the Wackford Community and Aquatic Center.

SENATE 2010: GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina continues her campaign tour on jobs and the economy with a speech at the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, turns 39 today.

In case you missed it:

Demonstrators protesting state budget cuts to in-home supportive services blocked traffic outside the Capitol this afternoon.

Police arrested 22 participants.

Inspector General Laura Chick says federal stimulus dollars for home weatherization projects are being misspent.

A California Supreme Court move has opened the door for state worker furloughs to resume on Friday.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg blames the election date for Democrat John Laird's loss in the 15th Senate District special election.

The Senate Rules Committee confirmed three appointees to the new Delta Stewardship Council.

State Controller John Chiang says the state could begin issuing IOUs in two to four weeks.

Former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby is considering throwing her hat in the ring for the 1st Senate District race.

A political strategist who ran Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign will now pen columns for a Washington-based publication.

Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado wants to intervene in the lawsuit seeking to block the implementation of the top two primary system approved by Proposition 14.

GOP Secretary of State hopeful Damon Dunn got some national media attention on Fox News.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited troops stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In tomorrow's Bee:

Furloughs are back for state workers starting Friday. Jon Ortiz has the story.

Queenie Wong reports on today's traffic-stopping protest of budget cuts to programs that provide in-home care for the elderly and disabled.

David Siders checked the facts and found that a new union-funded ad attacking Meg Whitman's reign at eBay mostly misleading.

In his State Worker column, Jon Ortiz writes why this governor will never lay off any state workers.

The Bee editorial board writes: "If ever there was a time for lawmakers to pass a bill to reduce the abuses of pension spiking, 2010 would be the year."

Columnist Dan Morain asks: Can Assemblyman Roger Niello survive in the GOP "Party of No"?

And in a guest op-ed, retired public administrator Bob Allen says state employees have become the latest scapegoats for people's frustrations.

A protest this afternoon against proposed state budget cuts to In-Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal and CalWORKs ended with 22 people arrested, police said.

All but one of those arrested had been released by 5 p.m., said Sgt. Norm Leong, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

The intersection at 11th and L streets was cleared up shortly after 4 p.m.

"We have protests all the time, but people do it civilly without causing a disturbance to city residents," Leong said.

Leong said that the protesters, most of whom voluntarily agreed to be arrested, are facing misdemeanor charges.

More than 40 officers had been dispatched to the protest site. Some of these officers were working beyond their 4 p.m. daytime shift, he said.

"We were fortunate because the levels of calls were minimal in the downtown area in this time period," Leong said.

Read more about the protest here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jean Stewart, 62, signs to someone else before being arrested at L and 11th streets today during a rally and march against budget cuts. An effigy of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was placed on the street by officers after they took it from protesters. Hector Amezcua/ Sacramento Bee

Jon Ortiz is reporting over at our sister blog, The State Worker, that because of a court ruling today, state worker furloughs are back on for Friday.

Read more here.

The Senate Rules Committee unanimously voted today to confirm three appointees to the new Delta Stewardship Council, which is charged with reconciling competing demands for water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The seven-member council was created as part of a package of water bills passed by the Legislature last year -- a package that included an $11.1 billion bond issue to finance water projects. The bond issue was to have appeared on the Nov. 2 ballot but, worried about its chances, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators have shifted it to the 2012 ballot.

The three Schwarzenegger appointees -- former Assemblyman Phil Isenberg, San Joaquin Valley farmer and water leader Randy Fiorini and San Diego business executive Hank Nordhoff -- won wide support from water lobbyists during the brief hearing. A fourth Schwarzenegger appointee, Felicia Marcus of Emeryville, has not yet had a confirmation hearing.

About 20 people, including several in wheelchairs, are blocking L Street at 11 Street in front of the state Capitol to protest proposed cuts to in-home health care services.

Sacramento police said they had arrested two protesters for resisting arrest, and are trying to persuade other protesters to leave.

The street blockage began about 2:45 p.m.

The civil disobedience was an unplanned offshoot of a Capitol rally and march by a coalition of senior citizen, working parents and disability rights groups, among others, said Mary Ignatius, who helped coordinate the event.

"It's important for these people to be here because they need to remind our governor and our Legislature that real people's lives are at stake," said Ignatius, who said she is from the Health and Human Services Network, a coalition of advocacy groups.

Dozens of people participated in the march and rally, but only a fraction of them opted to risk arrest by blocking L Street.

Ignatius said the civil disobedience will send an urgent message about the desperation that protesters feel about the budget.

"The inconvenient truth is that these drastic cuts are going to hurt these people way more (than arrest)," she said. "And doing civil disobedience is a way to amplify what that really means."

The protest rally and march featured a 10-foot-tall effigy of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raising a bloody ax.

Participating groups included the California Foundation of Independent Living Centers, Health Access, United Domestic Workers, California Immigrant Policy Center, California Hunger Action Coalition, Alzheimers Services of the East Bay, and the Alliance of Retired Americans, according to a flier distributed by Ignatius.

Photo by Hector Amezcua

An Imperial County social service organization received $2.7 million in federal economic stimulus funds to weatherize homes of low-income residents but its workers are untrained and the organization's financial records are in disarray, Inspector General Laura Chick said today.

Chick, the former Los Angeles city controller whom Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hired to monitor expenditure of federal stimulus finds, made her allegations in a audit report and a letter to the governor.

The money was allocated to Brawley-based Campesinos Unidos, which helps farmworkers with services and jobs, by the state Department of Community Services and Development. Chick urged the department to stop weatherization work in Imperial and San Diego counties until workers are trained.

"My report also found Campensinos' books are in such disarray that we cannot determine how much recovery money has actually been spent or how well it has been spent," Chick told Schwarzenegger. "This is not an acceptable way to account for the people's money."

Jose Lopez, the group's executive director, didn't deny Chick's assertions in a response letter, but pledged that financial discrepancies would be corrected and that workers would be trained as soon as possible.

Chick's report and her letter to Schwarzenegger can be found here.

The stakes were high, with President Barack Obama and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman getting involved.

But in the end, state Senate Democratic leader Darrell Steinberg said today, his party's defeat in a key Central Coast Senate election Tuesday boiled down to one thing: timing.

"I think the die was cast with the special election date being set in the middle of summer rather than November," Steinberg said after Democrat John Laird lost to Republican Sam Blakeslee.

Laird, a former Santa Cruz area assemblyman, agreed. He disputed the GOP version of Blakeslee's victory in the 15th Senate District as a no-new-taxes and cut-spending-only mandate.

"The low turnout of an August election was just too high a hurdle," said Laird, who called Blakeslee, a San Luis Obispo assemblyman, at midnight to congratulate him. With all precincts partially or fully reporting, Blakeslee topped Laird 49 percent to 44 percent.

State Controller John Chiang told the Sacramento Press Club this afternoon that he will soon be printing IOUs if the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can't agree on a state budget.

"If current conditions hold," Chiang said, "we could start issuing IOUs in two to four weeks."

The state issued about 450,000 IOUs for two months last summer during a cash crunch as the 2009-2010 budget was being re-written. The state also issued IOUs in 1983 and 1992.

Chiang wouldn't give an exact date for the IOU issuance. He said the state's cash position changes daily.

Editor's Note: Chiang's quote has been changed from earlier versions to reflect that he said "two to four weeks," not three to four weeks.

Former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby is considering running for the 1st Senate District seat vacated by the death of Republican Sen. Dave Cox.

"My name has been bandied about a bit for this Senate District race and I am very much looking at it," she said, adding she will make a final decision in the coming weeks.