Capitol Alert

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley issued a tentative ruling today that rejected efforts by death penalty proponents to change the wording on a ballot measure that would repeal capital punishment in California.

Attorneys for the state prosecutors association, as well as Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno district attorneys Jan Scully, Steve Cooley and Elizabeth Egan, charged in a lawsuit that the ballot wording unfairly suggests the initiative would save money and force convicted murders to work in prison, which they already are required to do.

Frawley has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Friday to give the prosecutors an opportunity to change his mind.

The judge said in his tentative ruling he "finds nothing false or misleading" in the ballot-label wording on the death penalty measure.

The ballot title and summary "arguably is misleading in that it suggests that the measure will impose new work and restitution requirements" on life-term prisoners, Frawley said in his four-page ruling. But he said the confusion is the result of "the measure itself," and not the Attorney General's wording, which he said "accurately summarized what the measure does."

Frawley said that theoretically, the intiative, if it passes, could expand the number of life-term prisoners, including murderers, doing prison jobs and paying restitution to victims. He said this could occur by removing inmates from death row and putting them in the general population where they would become subject to work requirements.

When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made a joke that compared California to Greece the other day, the state's Democratic politicians reacted with anger, rather than laughter.

"Entrepreneurs and business people around the world and here at home think that at some point America is going to become like Greece or like Spain or Italy, or like California -- just kidding about that one, in some ways," Romney said during a campaign stop in Iowa.

"Romney knows just as little about the Golden State as he does about the rest of the world," Gov. Jerry Brown's spokesman, Gil Duran, snapped back.

The Atlantic magazine took the dustup seriously enough to generate five charts comparing California with Greece and other troubled European countries. Correspondent Jordan Weissmann concluded, "If anything, Greece, Spain and Italy would love to be in as good shape as California right now."

But at least one of those charts -- dealing with debt -- appears to show California in a better light than it deserves.

Odd it was, but queer? Well, no.

A California lawmaker became confused when a word used historically to mean strange, or as an insult to homosexuals, was spoken on the Assembly floor today by another lawmaker referring favorably to gays and lesbians.

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, R-Fresno, said she had always thought that the word "queer" was a "degrading epithet." She expressed surprise after Assemblyman Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, said the word during a floor debate.

"Define what you mean when you say 'queer'?" she asked, prompting the chamber to grow silent.

Halderman's query occurred during discussion of Assembly Joint Resolution 43, which seeks federal protection against harassment, discrimination or disparate treatment based on sexual orientation.

Lara had said the measure would benefit "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and 'queer' Americans."

Bad is now good, and "queer" is now a compliment, Lara suggested.

"Queer was a term that was used to talk bad about people who were lesbian and gay," he told Halderman. "We turned it around and use it as, now, a term that empowers our community."

The Assembly passed the measure, 52-21. Halderman abstained.

The University of California spent more on payroll in 2011 than in the prior year, though officials say the money for higher salaries is coming more from hospital fees than from rising tuition.

UC's total payroll grew by 6 percent last year, from about $10 billion in 2010 to $10.6 billion in 2011, according to salary data the university released today.

"This increase is likely attributable to a combination of factors, including restoration of furlough reductions, increased research activity and market pressures for more competitive compensation, particularly in the areas of health care, instruction and research," says the university's employee pay report.

About 36 percent of the funding for compensation in 2011 came from fees at UC hospitals, the report says, while less than 26 percent came from general funds and tuition, down a percentage point from 2010.

UC had 22 employees statewide who made at least $1 million in 2011 - mostly doctors and coaches. Scroll over the blue bars below to learn more about them:

Here's a look at the highest-paid employees at UC Davis. Scroll over the yellow bars to see details:

UC's searchable 2011 salary database is available here.

Former state Sen. Dave Cox's memory soon may be honored by the naming of a freeway interchange in Sacramento County.

A concurrent resolution passed unanimously by the Senate today would create the "Senator Dave Cox Interchange" at Highway 50 and Hazel Avenue, not far from the Republican lawmaker's family home.

SCR 97 was proposed by Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, who replaced Cox after his death in 2010.

The measure specifies that no state funds will be for signs marking the Cox interchange. Private donations and other non-state contributions will be sought, Gaines said.

California's delegates to the Republican National Convention will kick off their week in Tampa later this month with a visit from two high-profile GOP guests.

The delegation has booked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and House Speaker John Boehner as speakers for its Aug. 27 breakfast, delegation spokesman Mitch Zak confirmed today. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt has been tapped to emcee the talks.

Zak said the speaker lineup shows that a decline in registration numbers on the state level "does not devalue California as a priority to the Republican Party." While the blue state isn't expected to be in play in the presidential election this November, it is still a major fundraising source for both parties and home to half a dozen competitive congressional races.

"It underscores California's importance to America," he said.

Christie, who is in Northern California today raising money for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is already a hit with some delegates.

From Tony Bizjak:

Sarah Anderson of Pinole came to the state Capitol this week to take a dramatic walk.

A paraplegic since a drunk driver hit her nine years ago, Anderson now is able to push herself out of her wheelchair and walk with the help of a bionic, battery-powered exoskeleton suit built by Bay Area firm Ekso Bionics.

Anderson's demonstration, which you can see in a video after the jump, was in support of Assembly Bill 1657, by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, that would raise funds for spinal cord research in California via a $1 fee imposed on anyone convicted of a traffic moving violation. The funds would be administered through the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 2000.

Go for the gold, get a ..... tax bill?

A group of state legislators is looking to prevent that situation from happening in California with new legislation to exempt Golden State Olympians from paying state taxes on their medals and prize money.

The tax rate on medal earnings varies based on income levels, but the office of Republican Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, one of the authors of the bill, estimates that a gold medal winner would pay an average of $1,450 in state taxes. An athlete who brings back the bronze would owe an average of $580.

While taxes on the victory earnings have generated plenty of buzz on the national front as well since the London games began, supporters of this bill say the issue is particularly relevant in the Golden State because California athletes make up nearly a quarter of the United States Olympic delegation.

California's state-managed public employee retirement systems appear to have outpaced those of other states in 2011 investment earnings, according to a new Census Bureau report.

The annual statistical report reveals that California pension funds' $433.3 billion in assets were 17 percent of all state-managed retirement systems' assets, but that California's investment earnings of $82.4 billion were 20 percent of all earnings.

The three largest California funds are the California Public Employees Retirement System, the California Teachers Retirement System and the University of California's pension system.

The California funds received $19.1 billion in contributions - $13 billion from government employers and $6.1 billion from employees - last year, according to the report. They served 1.9 million active and inactive members, and paid out $27.9 billion in benefits and other payments to 847,135 retirees.

Dan Walters says that the California Senate's last-minute decision Wednesday not to let the California Channel broadcast a hearing on four November ballot measures meant that few people had a chance to hear proponents' and opponents' arguments.

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 report, likens a California Senate hearing on four November ballot propositions to "a tree falling in the forest and nobody heard it."

Gov. Jerry Brown heads to Frito-Lay's distribution center in Los Angeles County today for the company's rollout of its fleet of all-electric delivery trucks. Brown will be talking about California businesses going green. The event starts at noon at 1500 Francisco St. in Torrance.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, is slated to headline a luncheon in Sacramento County for Republican Mitt Romney's campaign. Tickets to the event -- held at the Wilton home of Dave Lucchetti of Pacific Coast Building Products -- start at $1,000 per person ($5,000 per couple for both the photo reception and lunch) and top out at $50,000 per couple for founding members.

As of late Wednesday, Christie's role at the Republican National Convention later this month was still unclear.

Back in Sacramento, the ReFund California Coalition says it plans to "take over the Wells Fargo branch in midtown" -- the quote comes from its news release -- to show its support of a tax-related measure pending before the Senate.

Members of the coalition will also be gathering in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara "take over the offices of some of California's largest corporations, demanding that they disclose the taxes they have paid to the state," the release says. The Sacramento event is set for 11 a.m. at 19th and S streets.

Assembly Bill 2439, by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, would require the state's Franchise Tax Board to publish a list of the 1,500 largest corporate taxpayers per taxable year, starting on Dec. 1, 2013. The Assembly passed the bill along partisan lines in May.

KUDOS: Arnie Sowell, policy director for Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, is one of 20 state legislative staffers nationwide honored recently by the National Conference of State Legislatures with an achievement award. Sowell was chosen by the conference's Leadership Staff Section for recognition.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, turns 44 today.