Capitol Alert

In his first official response this week, Gov. Jerry Brown said the budget proposed by legislative Democrats includes tough cuts but is "not structurally balanced and puts us into a hole in succeeding years."

Brown focused specifically on Democrats' rejection of his overhaul of welfare-to-work, which would save $880 million in the first year by creating significantly new programs with harsher consequences for welfare families. The governor took exception to the idea that Democrats instead want to save a smaller amount for one year by allowing parents of young children to receive welfare grants without trying to find a job.

"Last year, legislators enacted major reforms that cut spending on prisons and eliminated redevelopment," Brown said in an e-mail statement. "This year, we need additional structural reforms to cut spending on an ongoing basis, including welfare reform that's built on President Clinton's framework and focused on getting people back to work."

"I don't know that President Clinton was dealing with an economy like ours today," Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said earlier in his budget committee when a Brown aide made the same argument.

Police arrested 10 demonstrators for protesting proposed budget cuts to in-home care for low-income elderly and disabled Californians at the Capitol this afternoon.

Gov. Jerry Brown called for cutting hours and services provided by the program as part of his proposal to close a projected $15.7 billion budget deficit. Negotiations with Democratic legislative leaders, who are seeking to craft a budget with fewer cuts to heath and welfare programs, are continuing ahead of Friday's deadline for the Legislature to approve a budget.

The demonstration in the halls of the Capitol was part of an ongoing effort organized by SEIU United Long Term Care Workers and other unions representing In-Home Supportive Services workers.

Hundreds of supporters of the program, including providers and some recipients, filled the first-floor hallway in the Capitol at about 1 p.m., chanting "si se puede" and "hey, hey, ho, ho, these budget cuts have got to go."

Ten individuals standing shoulder to shoulder and linking arms around the entrance to the Governor's Office, including one man in a wheelchair, chose to face arrest after hearing an officer's warning that they would be arrested if they remained in place. They were escorted out of the hallway as other demonstrators cheered them on.

A spokesman for California Highway Patrol said all 10 were cited for demonstrating without a permit and obstructing or interfering with the use of state property and released.

IHSS provider Lesia Louro, one of the arrested protesters, said she was concerned about how the cuts would affect the woman she cares for as part of the program.

"By them cutting her hours, it's going to hurt her because she has seizures," said Louro, who is from Barstow.

The remaining protesters filed out of the building after the arrests, chanting "We'll be back." Organizers are planning a candlelight vigil later tonight and more protests tomorrow, when they say 5,000 supporters will be on Capitol grounds.

PHOTO: An officer reads two protesters asks two protesters outside Gov. Jerry Brown's office whether they would like to leave or face arrest . Torey Van Oot, Sacramento Bee.

It was an honor system: California's redistricting commissioners received $300 for each day they reported working, often from home.

The result was that some commissioners were paid far more than others in the redrawing of legislative and congressional districts, records show.

Commissioner Michael Ward received the most compensation for time served, $68,400 in per diem, while Commissioner Maria Blanco pocketed the least, $35,100, records show.

The disparity between Ward and Blanco represents 111 more days in which the former reported that he had conducted commission business between late 2010 and this month. The panel is scheduled to shut down July 1.

For six of the first seven months in 2011, Ward reported averaging more than five days per week on commission business. In each of his two busiest months, he reported working 28 days and receiving $8,400 in per diem each month.

Ward, a practicing chiropractor when named to the panel, said he was burning the midnight oil studying redistricting publications and handling paperwork required of commissioners in the first few months of its existence.

"My knowledge base, at the start, was very low," Ward said. "Those first few months, I was getting four or five hours sleep, reading and studying like crazy. That's what was required, just to be competent."

The campaign against Gov. Jerry Brown's November ballot measure to raise taxes took shape this morning, with a group of conservative interests announcing a new website and name, "Californians for Reforms and Jobs, Not Taxes."

The proponents, as expected, include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, California, and the Small Business Action Committee.

The campaign is unlikely to begin in earnest on either side until later this summer. The Democratic governor is proposing to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Jon Coupal, president of the Jarvis group, told reporters this morning, "We look forward to giving this tax increase the inglorious defeat that it so richly deserves."

California election officials estimate that 23.7 million Californians could potentially vote - i.e. they are citizens over the age of 18 -- and know that 17.2 million of them are registered to vote.

They're still counting votes from last week's election, but it appears that 5.4 million ballots were cast in person or by mail. That was just 31.6 percent of registered voters and 23 percent of potential voters, a record-low turnout for a presidential primary.

Turnout will certainly be higher for the November presidential election, but how high? Four years ago, there were 13.7 million votes cast in California, nearly 80 percent of those registered and nearly 60 percent of those eligible.

Overall voter turnout in California is among the lowest of any state, but it could be much higher, the Washington-based Center for American Progress says in a new report, if more of the state's fast-growing Latino population would register and vote.

The organization says that there are 4.4 million potential voters among Latinos who are either age-eligible citizens who not registered (2 million) or who are eligible to become citizens (2.4 million), by far the largest numbers of potential voters in any state.

"The numbers don't lie," Angela Kelley, the organization's vice president for immigration policy, said in a statement. "U.S.-born Latinos coming of age as voters have a close connection to their family and their communities' immigrant roots. Add to that the immigrants themselves who are naturalizing and you've got a powerful lens through which candidates from both parties are being examined. If politicians either ignore or demonize immigrants, they can say 'adios' to ever getting a second look by these voters."

A recent Census Bureau report indicated that Latinos are approaching 40 percent of California's population and will become its largest ethic group within a few years.

Sen. Rod Wright folded on today's round of Internet poker debate under the dome, pulling his legalization legislation from a committee agenda before it could come up for a vote.

Senate Bill 1463, which would legalize and regulate online poker in California, was scheduled for a vote in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee today. Wright, who chairs the committee, announced to a crowded room at the start of the hearing that he decided to pull the bill from the agenda, sparking an exodus to the hallway.

Despite months of talks and some recent amendments, the legislation faced opposition from major gambling tribes and card rooms, including many that support the idea of legalizing online poker but oppose the specifics in the Inglewood Democrat's bill. The critics say the current version of the bill gives too much power to horse racing and Las Vegas and international gambling interests, while shutting out some California tribes.

Supporters of legalizing Internet poker in general say the move could raise millions for the state in new revenues, arguing that such business and money is currently going to off-shore operations.

Wright spokeswoman Jennifer Hanson said the senator "can't say for certain this bill is still going to move," though she said it was possible that he will consider another round of amendments to the current language.

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

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Dan Walters Daily: Dan's video report says state lawmakers are facing increasing pressure to do something about pensions.

The Capitol is awaiting word from Gov. Jerry Brown on the budget plan Democratic leaders say they will send him on Friday. The plan is moving quickly in the Legislature (amazing how a deadline tied to pay focuses the mind), but Brown's office says only that discussions are ongoing.

Opponents of his tax measure for the November ballot aren't waiting for a deal on the spending plan. The National Federation of Independent Business/California, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Small Business Action Committee will kick off the campaign against it today.

Their new group name? "Californians for Reforms and Jobs. Not Taxes."

They'll hold a 10 a.m. press conference at NFIB offices, 921 11th Street.

Meanwhile, Torey Van Oot reports that the ongoing debate over legalizing and regulating online poker in California is set to resurface under the dome:

Senate Bill 1463, by Democratic Sen. Rod Wright, is scheduled to be heard at a 9:30 a.m. Senate Governmental Organization Committee hearing. Wright unveiled the bill this spring after Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg hit the pause button on dueling measures at the end of last session.

Wright recently amended the bill to take out language that would leave the door open to online wagering on games other than poker in the future. While that was a major issue cited by some critics, opposition continues from some influential players, including some gaming tribes and card rooms.

Supporters say the move would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for California. But don't expect those figures to come into play as the Legislature works towards Friday's budget deadline.

"We're not counting on any '(online poker) revenues as part of this year's budget framework," said Steinberg, a co-author of Wright's bill. "It's too soon, and its prospects are too uncertain to be able to score it."

As for the prospects for the bill in today's hearing: Wright wouldn't respond to a reporter's request for comment on the floor Monday, but based on Steinberg's comments, we wouldn't bet on an easy passage.

"It may," the Sacramento Democrat said, "And it may be just a good constructive discussion that helps narrow the differences among and between the members and stakeholders here."

ELECTION RECAP - Haven't had enough analysis of Tuesday's election? The Public Policy Institute of California will hold a conversation with Secretary of State Debra Bowen at 4:30 p.m. today in San Francisco. PPIC policy fellow Eric McGhee will discuss how the new top-two primary and redrawn district lines worked in last week's balloting, while Bowen will talk about how to get more Californians to the polls.

See the agenda and register here.