Capitol Alert

Left-leaning supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown's November ballot measure to raise taxes said today that they will spend more than $1 million in a side campaign targeting minorities and infrequent voters.

The supporters, who had proposed a tax on millionaires before that initiative was merged with Brown's, include the California Federation of Teachers and other activists.

"We are in constant communication and coordination with the overall Prop. 30 effort," Anthony Thigpenn of the group California Calls said at a news conference at the Capitol.

"We think that this particular grouping, again, that grew out of the millionaires tax, is particularly suited for a mission that we've taken on -- making sure that those that are particularly underrepresented in the elections and that are suffering most from the cutbacks and that would benefit most from reclaiming and restoring California are educated and turn out to vote," Thigpenn added.

He said the campaign, called Reclaim California's Future, will make telephone calls, walk door to door and fund a "very robust get-out-the-vote effort at the end."

Spending $1 million would add a modest but not insignificant amount to the fall tax campaign. Yet the group is far from raising that amount. It had just $35,000 in cash on hand at the end of June.

Brown's Proposition 30 proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Opponents of the measure argue the state mismanages what tax money it already has. Among other things, they have hammered Brown for his approval of initial construction of California's controversial, $68 billion high-speed rail project.

"It's not just Republicans. It's many decline-to-states and Democrats who believe we're not getting value for our dollars, and they're right," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

A coalition of California Indian tribes is asking the Legislature not to rush an Internet gambling bill through in the final weeks of session.

"Last minute, back-room brokered deals on an issue that is vital to our tribal governments is the type of action that we must, and will, oppose until the final minute of this legislative session," the California Tribal Business Alliance wrote in a letter sent to lawmakers today.

The group supports legalizing Internet gambling but opposes the most recent bill on the issue -- Sen. Rod Wright's Senate Bill 1463, which hasn't made it out of its policy committee.

The Legislature has been batting around online poker proposals for three years. Gambling tribes -- who are big political donors -- are divided on the details, but they all want to profit from a new form of legal gambling. Tribal leaders from around the state are meeting today at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento to discuss the issue.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Monday that division among tribes is the main logjam in moving forward with an Internet poker bill. He said it was unlikely -- but still possible -- that a bill would come together this month.

A heated legislative battle over municipal bankruptcy has been put on ice in the state Senate.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters yesterday that he has no plans to assign Assembly Bill 1692 to a policy committee in the final weeks of the legislative session.

"Even if it's a tweak of municipal bankruptcy law, it's just, we don't need it. We don't need to have another fight or argument on this same front," the Sacramento Democrat said. "We're trying to accomplish pension reform and that's where we want the focus to be and not on something that is a distraction."

The union-backed bill, by Democratic Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, makes changes to a compromise measure on the subject that was signed into law last year. Cities say it would make the mediation process created by the first bill more difficult.

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The Proposition 8 campaign is facing a $49,000 fine for for violating campaign disclosure laws during the 2008 election.

The Fair Political Practices Commission enforcement division recommended the fine based on finding that the committee formed in support of the voter-approved ballot measure banning same-sex marriage failed to report $1,169,292 in contributions under the timelines required by state law, including $508,150 in late contributions of $1,000 or more given in the final days of the campaign. It also found that the committee failed to identify the donor behind a $10,000 wire transfer.

The investigation was triggered by a campaign committee filing audit by the Franchise Tax Board.

The commission will vote on whether to approve the proposed fine during its August 16 meeting in Sacramento.

Editor's note: This post was updated at 9:17 a.m. with added contribution numbers.

A California bill aimed at strengthening the state's assault weapons laws is gaining support from top Democrats in the wake of high-profile shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin.

Senate Bill 249, by Democratic Sen. Leland Yee, would ban weapons featuring easily detachable magazines, including "bullet buttons," that allow a shooter to quickly reload.

The San Francisco Democrat says the bill, introduced earlier this year and amended this week, clarifies an unintended loophole in state gun law.

The latest version of the legislation has won the backing of Attorney General Kamala Harris and other top Democrats.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who has signed on as a co-author, affirmed his support for the legislation Monday, saying lawmakers "can't be afraid to do what is just plain common sense."

Dan Walters says Gov. Jerry Brown's administration has reacted defensively to The Bee's reporting on problems with construction of the Bay Bridge.

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See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's report, says the Brown administration reacted defensively to The Bee's reporting on problems with the Bay Bridge construction.

POKER FACE: Will a bill to legalize online poker make it out of the final weeks of session? Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is willing to make this bet:

"Three-to-one odds that that bill has a 50 percent chance of passage," he joked in a pow-wow with reporters yesterday. "And I would bet the under."

In a more serious moment, Steinberg said it's unlikely -- but still possible -- that the effort to create legal online gambling in California will come to fruition in the next few weeks. All he's waiting for is the state's gambling factions to get on the same page.

"I'm willing to help see it through if there's a bit little more of a consensus," Steinberg said. "We're going to probably give it one more shot in the next week or so to see if there's a way to break the logjam."

DUI TRIAL: The trial begins today in the drunk driving case against Assemblyman Roger Hernández, D-West Covina. Keep an eye on Capitol Alert for updates from the Walnut Creek courthouse.

MY BALLOT MEASURE! NO, MINE! Proposition 30 has been widely described this summer as Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative. But a once-rival coalition that merged its initiative with the governor's in March wants to make clear that ownership of the tax hike is not Brown's alone. Leaders from the California Federation of Teachers, Courage Campaign and small grassroots organizations are planning to hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. today on the Capitol's west steps.

The November initiative would raise taxes on wealthy earners, as well as impose a higher sales tax of a quarter-cent on the dollar, to help the state budget. The coalition says it will be particularly helpful this fall with African American, Latino and Asian American voters in what it believes will be a close election.

INNOVATION INVOCATION: Three Assembly committees are banding together today to discuss the role of innovation in California's post-recession economy. The goal, according to a news release, is to "examine how California can retain its competitive edge and historic position as a world leader in innovation." It's happening at 9 a.m. in Room 126.

GHOST OF THE GIPPER: The Senate Rules Committee takes up Republican Assemblyman Curt Hagman's bill (AB 2358) to build a memorial to Ronald Reagan inside the Capitol. Catch it at 1:30 pm in Room 113.