Capitol Alert

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Natural Resources Agency Undersecretary Janelle Beland acting interim director of the California Parks and Recreation Department, after officials learned the department sat on nearly $54 million in surplus money for as long as 12 years, even as state park closures were ordered.

State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned this morning, and her second in command, acting chief deputy director Michael Harris, was fired.

The Natural Resources Agency sought in a release to shift blame from the Brown administration, saying underreporting occurred "over the course of two prior gubernatorial administrations." It said the state Attorney General's Office is investigating, while Brown has ordered reviews be conducted by the Department of Finance and Natural Resources Agency John Laird.

"I welcome Governor Brown's swift action to address these hidden assets," Laird said in a prepared statement. "We will get to the bottom of this situation and work with the Attorney General, the Legislature and the Department of Finance to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

He added, "We will also work with the Legislature to see how this money can be used to mitigate park closures."

Andy Pugno is raising money for an Assembly campaign he once vowed not to run -- and now is undecided about.

Pugno's name will appear on the November ballot for a 6th Assembly District seat, based in Placer County, but he has not yet announced whether he will honor a pledge made months ago to step aside if Assemblywoman Beth Gaines, a fellow Republican from Rocklin, beat him in the primary.

In a fundraising solicitation after last month's voting, Pugno celebrated his razor-thin second-place finish to Gaines and said that "we refuse to surrender to the liberal agenda of forcing conservatives to abandon our core values!" He also asked for contributions to "help support this important effort."

"Now we have to start thinking about the November runoff election," Pugno's solicitation said. "No doubt, the ultra-liberal special interests will come out again in force. Will regular people like you who stood with me in the primary election continue to stand strong and help us finish the job?"

Dan Walters says Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's announcement of a Senate employee salary pay freeze may have backfired because of recent raises.

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

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Update: The press conference call featuring Boxer and Harris has been canceled in light of the shooting at a Colorado movie theater overnight.

VIDEO: In today's report, Dan Walters says that Senate leader Darrell Steinberg won't get any brownie points for his pay-freeze announcement.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is heading back to California in the next few days to pick up some campaign cash, as is President Barack Obama, which David Siders details in this Capitol Alert post.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and state Attorney General Kamala Harris are making use of those Bay Area appearances, hosting a press conference call today that's billed as highlighting the contrasts between Romney's and Obama's economic policies.

Among the words that Capitol Alert expects them to utter: "Bain Capital," "offshore" and "tax returns."

In other news, Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, is crossing the state line to host a fundraiser today at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship being held at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club in Stateline, Nevada.

Tee-off is at 8:30 a.m, and tickets run $1,500 apiece. Proceeds go toward Gaines' re-election campaign this year.