Capitol Alert

California voters heading to the polls in November will consider a package of proposed fixes for state governance that includes changes to the budget process.

The constitutional amendment, backed by the California Forward Issue Action Fund, would switch the state to a two-year, performance-based budgeting process and allow the governor to make cuts on his own in times of fiscal emergency. It would also enact legislative transparency measures and let local governments change and opt out of certain laws and regulations if they enact an alternative local rule that achieves the same goal.

Supporters of the measure, which was certified for the ballot today by Secretary of State Debra Bowen, turned in more than 1.2 million voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. The qualification campaign was aided with a major contribution from billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen, who has pledged to spend $20 million to address California's governance issues.

A coalition of labor and environmental groups and Democratic leaders in the Legislature tried to persuade the measure's backers to ditch their efforts this spring, vowing to launch an opposition campaign.

An attempt to craft a compromise measure that could be placed on the ballot by the Legislature has been unsuccessful.

Twelve measures are slated to appear on the November ballot, though the Legislature is expected to move an $11 billion water bond currently on the list to a different election.

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California forward turns in signatures but continues talks

Editor's note: This post was updated at 11 a.m. on June 27 to reflect that an alternative local rule to a state law proposed by a county must meet the goal of the law in question.

New ammunition emerged Tuesday for a behind-the-scenes political battle shaping up over California's multibillion-dollar system of compensating workers for job-related injuries and illnesses.

The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau reported that the insurers who provide coverage for most employers collected $10.4 billion in premiums in 2011, but paid out $7.7 billion in support benefits and medical care, and had expenses of $5 billion and thus lost about $2.3 billion.

It fuels the nascent campaign of insurers to increase premiums and suggests that they may form an alliance with unions, medical providers and attorneys for injured workers to overhaul the workers' compensation reforms enacted eight years ago. That would create conflict with employers, who enjoyed sharp premium reductions after the reforms were enacted.

Historically, the contending factions have formed alliances and fought pitched battles in the Legislature about once a decade. Lobbyists are anticipating that a new outbreak of political hostilities is coalescing.

The new report said that losses on workers' compensation coverage were greater than those experienced in 2010.

Insurers, the report said, paid out $4.4 million for medical care of disabled workers and another $3 million in direct support benefits to workers. The report, however, does not include data from large private and public employers who typically self-insure for job injuries rather than purchase insurance.

After federal officials and California Democratic lawmakers raised objections, Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to limit wildfire liability and impose a lumber tax has stalled for now.

The natural resources budget bill, Assembly Bill 1478, does not contain Brown's proposals to limit payouts in wildfire liability cases or allow timber companies to face less frequent reviews of tree-cutting plans for environmental impacts.

A separate, but related, idea to impose a 1 percent tax on lumber sold in California has not been introduced. That money would have provided additional funding for the state Department of Fish and Game and other regulatory agencies to review timber harvest plans. It was one aspect that environmentalists liked in the proposal, but many of them were suspicious of the liability change that was crucial to getting the lumber tax passed.

A California bill to ban the use of dogs to hunt bears and bobcats has stalled in the state Legislature.

Senate Bill 1221, by Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu, fell short of passage in the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife today. The bill was given the OK to be reconsidered next week. It was not immediately clear whether any members were absent or abstained from today's vote.

Supporters of the bill, which was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, argued that the practice is cruel for both the targeted animals and the hounds. Lieu has in the past questioned the fairness of allowing a dog to chase a bear into a tree where it can be killed at close range, likening it to shooting a bear at a zoo.

The bill attracted strong opposition from a large coalition of hunting groups, which felt they were unfairly targeted by the legislation. They said the type of hunting prohibited under the bill is part of a long-standing and humane tradition that helps control the state's bear population.

Many advocates from both sides turned out for committee hearings on the issue.

The bill narrowly cleared the state Senate by a vote of 22-15 earlier this year.

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CA Senate moves to ban hunting bears, bobcats with hounds

California welfare-to-work recipients could receive six-month extensions beyond a new 24-month time limit for aid if they are making progress in a treatment program, on the verge of finding work or struggle with a learning disability, according to new bill language released today.

The guts of the welfare-to-work compromise between Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers is contained in Assembly Bill 1471. The deal struck last week would generally cut off aid and services to CalWORKs recipients if they cannot find employment after 24 months.

The new rules take effect starting in January. Months on aid before January do not count against the new time limit.

Democratic lawmakers insisted on a series of exemptions that would protect one-fifth of welfare recipients who go past that time limit without finding a job. AB 1471 allows counties to grant extensions in six-month blocks to people who meet any of the following criteria:

The sudden, deep and lasting effects of California's great recession are revealed in a detailed bloc of business data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2006, at the height of the state's housing boom, California had 13.8 million paid employees of 878,128 businesses and they were earning $633.8 billion a year, according to the Census Bureau report.

But just four years later, in 2010, employers had declined to 849,875 and their work forces had dropped to 12.5 million, although total compensation had risen slightly to $635.6 billion.

The voluminous report for 2010 and earlier years covers every state, every county, every ZIP code and dozens of specific types of businesses, but does not include data on government employment. The Census Bureau issues a separate annual report on state and local governments' spending and roughly two million employees.

Dan Walters says 7 million Californians could miss out on health care coverage if the Supreme Court rules universal health care unconstitutional.

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See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Dan Walters Daily: Dan says 7 million Californians could miss out on health care coverage if the Supreme Court rules universal health care unconstitutional.

The bills literally trailing the budget measure this year are surfacing, and Kevin Yamamura reports today on some surprises.

The Senate Budget Committee may meet again today to continue reviewing the legislation, which includes an education bill that would let school districts cut double the number of instruction days Gov. Jerry Brown proposed in May.

Both houses have scheduled floor votes beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the day Brown is required to sign or veto the budget bill lawmakers sent him more than a week ago.

"Those were the days ..." is the theme of an event this event sponsored by the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at CSU Fresno. It's set for 5 to 7 p.m. at the Stanford Mansion at 800 N Street.

Former Senate President Pro Tem (and current state Democratic Party chairman) John Burton will join former legislative GOP leader (and current partner at California Strategies LLC) Jim Brulte to host a fundraising reception for the Bob Beverly Sacramento Legislative Intern Scholarship Fund.

The invitation promises appearances by Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff and Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway. Tickets are $250.

Got a tax problem? The state Board of Equalization will hold its annual Taxpayers' Bill of Rights hearing today. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. at its headquarters, 450 N St., in the first floor board room.