Capitol Alert

California's November ballot will include questions on modifying the state's "three strikes" sentencing laws and requiring labels for genetically modified foods.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Monday that two additional initiatives have qualified for the general election ballot, bringing the total measures slated for a vote this fall so far to eight.

One proposal would change the state's sentencing laws so that only offenders convicted of a "third strike" felony that is violent or serious would face a minimum sentence of 25 to life in prison.

The measure, which is modeled after proposed legislation, would also allow some offenders to seek re-sentencing if they are currently behind bars for a "third strike" that was a minor crime.

The second measure that made the cut today calls for disclosures on the labels of many raw and processed foods containing genetically engineered ingredients, banning producers from calling such products "natural." It includes some exceptions, including for organic products, foods sold in restaurants and animal products supplemented with genetically engineered ingredients.

Validity checks on petition signatures submitted to county election officials projected that proponents of both measures collected the hundreds of thousands of voter signatures needed to secure a spot on the ballot.

The number of statewide measures up for a vote in November is expected to grow in the coming weeks, as county election officials continue to count and verify signatures for a handful of proposals. Three competing tax measures, including one backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, are among the initiatives currently awaiting certification.

The deadline for making the fall ballot through the initiative process is June 28.

Nothing eases the pain of California's economic woes quite like golf and luxury.

The California Legislative Black Caucus has scheduled three fundraising golf events with four- to five-figure price tags this year. Tee times for the first event are set for Saturday, one day after the Legislature is expected to approve a new state budget to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.

"These are all for charitable endeavors," state Sen. Curren Price, D-Los Angeles, said of the events planned at Pebble Beach, Lake Tahoe and the Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.

The events hope to raise big bucks for the Black Caucus's youth scholarship, internship and fellowship programs. Money raised by the three golfing events will benefit worthy kids, Price said.

Assembly Democrats released a budget plan this afternoon that includes a lower reserve and smaller cuts in health and welfare programs than Gov. Jerry Brown proposed to bridge a $15.7 billion deficit.

Both houses will hear the budget tomorrow in committee, with a floor vote expected on Friday. Democratic leaders gave Brown a version of their plan this afternoon, but it remains unclear where Brown stands on the Democrats' plan. Brown spokesman Gil Duran said, "Discussions are ongoing."

Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, chairman of the Assembly budget committee, said in a statement, "Our budget eliminates the structural deficit, includes a modest reserve, and differs only from Governor Brown's plan by less than one percent of total spending. We are down to dotting the I's and crossing the T's in this budget before voting on it later this week."

Assembly Democrats referred to their plan as "the Legislature's 2012-13 budget." But Alicia Trost, spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, said, "It is a version of how to close the budget gap. But it may not be what is considered in committee tomorrow."

The highlights:

-- The Legislature's budget contains a $614 million rainy day fund, $434 million lower than the governor's $1.048 billion reserve.

-- The Legislature rejects the governor's $880 million overhaul of welfare-to-work. Instead, the state would save $327 million by exempting parents of young children from meeting work requirements to receive welfare grants. This reflects the fact that it costs the state more money to provide job training and child care than to provide grants without strings.

-- The Legislature maintains a 3.6 percent cut in hours to In-Home Supportive Services residents but rejects an additional 3.4 percentage point cut that Brown wanted. The Legislature also rejects a proposal to eliminate pay for domestic services like laundry for relatives of recipients.

-- The Legislature would allow districts to cut the school year by 15 days across the next two school years if voters reject the governor's November tax initiative.

-- The Legislature rejects rate cuts to child care providers, including a 35 percent cut that Brown had proposed.

-- The Legislature rejects the governor's proposal to require low-income students to have higher grade-point averages to receive Cal Grant scholarship aid. The Legislature agrees to cut Cal Grants for private college students, but not until 2013-14.

Updated with quotes from Steinberg spokeswoman Alicia Trost and Brown spokesman Gil Duran.

Sen. Sharon Runner thought getting a new set of lungs signaled the end of the worst of her battle with a rare auto-immune disorder.

Then came recovery.

"It's been a long haul," the Lancaster Republican said today. "It takes a while. I'm still not 100 percent, but it's great to be able to breathe, to be able to walk further, to be able to do the things that I used to be able to do."

Runner's comments came as she returned to the Senate floor for the first time this year. Her office announced in January that complications from limited scleroderma, a condition she has had for years, landed her back on the transplant list. The risk of infection kept her away from the Capitol as she waited for a double lung transplant, which occurred Feb. 24.

Legislative Democrats will vote by Friday's deadline on a state budget that has a "very substantial reserve" and is free of gimmicks to erase a $15.7 billion deficit, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said this morning.

Steinberg said he "spent a lot of quality time" with Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez over the weekend working on budget matters, but did not meet with Gov. Jerry Brown. As outlined this morning in The Bee, legislative leaders started negotiations this month about $2 billion apart from the Democratic governor, with differences largely having to do with cuts to welfare-to-work, child care, in-home care and Cal Grants.

Assembly Democrats took a harder line than their Senate counterparts during the budget committee process earlier this year by outright rejecting the governor's overhaul of welfare-to-work and Cal Grants.

Lawmakers face a constitutional deadline Friday to pass a budget under threat of losing their pay. But that threat is not as severe as last year, when Democrats sent Brown a budget but still lost their pay because Controller John Chiang deemed their plan out of balance. A Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled this spring that the controller has no such authority to interpret the Legislature's budget.

Dan Walters says that California lawmakers may be assuming wrong if they pass a budget that assumes that voters will approve Gov. Jerry Brown's tax package in November.

Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page.

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's video report, says California lawmakers may be making the wrong assumption if they pass a state budget assuming voters approve Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal in November.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to make a foray into Sacramento today for not just one event, but two.

First up, Newsom is set to deliver the luncheon keynote speech at this year's California Small Business Day event, which runs all day at the Sacramento Convention Center at 14th and J.

Several dozen legislators and other elected officials are also expected to attend, with other listed speakers including Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Click here for more information.

Newsom also has a fundraiser at the Sterling Hotel, a few blocks away at 13th and H, to benefit his 2014 re-election campaign. Tickets run $2,500 each, and word is that his own Plumpjack and Cade wines will be flowing. That event starts at 5:30 p.m.

The California Women's Leadership Association is also holding a fundraiser at 5:30 p.m., and this one may require some liquid courage -- it's karaoke night. Tickets cost $250, with sponsorships ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. Look for it at Chop's on 11th and L.

Friday at midnight, as Alert readers know, is the Legislature's deadline for passing a state budget. The Senate meets at noon today, and the Assembly convenes at 1 p.m. Kevin Yamamura takes a look in today's Bee at what's in store for the week.

Meanwhile, public support for Gov. Jerry Brown's tax ballot proposal has slipped, according to the latest Field Poll. Even so, as David Siders reported in Saturday's Bee, his plan is doing better than the competing measure proposed by wealthy civil rights lawyer Molly Munger and the California State PTA.

Click here to read the statistical tabulations prepared exclusively for Capitol Alert. You'll find the publicly released poll at this link.

TECH: Members of the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group TechAmerica meet at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento for their 26th annual legislative day in California's capital.