Capitol Alert

California lawmakers are sending Gov. Jerry Brown a bill that would allow some juvenile murderers the chance to get out of prison on parole.

The state Senate approved Senate Bill 9 on a 21-16 vote today, the bare minimum necessary for it to clear its last legislative hurdle. Brown has until the end of September to act on it.

The bill by Democratic Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco would allow some murderers to petition for a hearing to have their sentence changed to 25 years to life, allowing them to later petition for parole. Several conditions would apply: They would have to have been under 18 when they committed a murder that got them life in prison with no possibility of parole. They also would have to have already served at least 15 years of their sentence, and wouldn't be released until they had served at least 25 years. And they would have to have been convicted with at least one adult co-defendant.

Some criminals would not be eligible -- those with a history of violence before the murder conviction, those who had tortured their victims, and those who had killed a firefighter or law enforcement official.

Yee said the bill would only apply when offenders showed remorse and when "it is a very clear case where an individual has made amends and demonstrated that they are not going to re-offend."

Democratic senators Lou Correa of Santa Ana and Michael Rubio of Shafter joined Republicans in voting against the bill. Democrats Ron Calderon and Fran Pavley did not vote.

"It is absolutely outrageous that were going to release these little psychopaths out into the streets to murder again," said Sen. Joel Anderson, a Republican from Alpine.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is up with its second radio advertisement against Gov. Jerry Brown's November ballot initiative to raise taxes, comparing Brown's tax campaign to street robbery.

"Hey, lady, hand over your purse or the schools get it," a voice at the top of the ad says.

The ad, an issue-advocacy spot running statewide beginning today, comes as the Democratic governor begins in earnest to campaign for Proposition 30, his proposal to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners. The Democratic governor has characterized the election as a choice between higher taxes and $5.4 billion in cuts to schools and community colleges.

The taxpayers group declined to say how much money is behind the ad, which is replacing a previous one that hammered "Sacramento politicians" for their approval of California's $68 billion high-speed rail project.

The current ad, in addition to criticizing the rail project, lambastes pay raises given to more than 900 legislative employees this year and the disclosure of nearly $54 million in hidden parks money.

"Sacramento politicians are threatening cuts to education and public safety unless you pay more taxes," Jon Coupal, president of the taxpayers group, says in the ad. "These same politicians just gave hundreds of staffers pay raises. They approved the bullet train against the wishes of most Californians, and now, after Jerry Brown announced the closure of 70 state parks, we find out that the state parks department has been hiding $54 million. What else are they keeping from us? It's time to stop the deception politicians are using to force tax increases on the working people of California."

Brown said last week that his tax measure is "not about any other issue," and he is trying in a series of appearances at schools to refocus public attention on education.

The California Nurses Association, which antagonized Republican Meg Whitman with its relentless "Queen Meg" parody during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, is back for a second act - this time poking fun at wealthy people opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's November ballot initiative to raise taxes.

The influential union, in a campaign to paint tax opponents as "bungling billionaires," will stage a skit on Tuesday at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. The union promised reporters a "colorful event," with visuals including life rings and a model yacht.

The appeal of the spectacle notwithstanding, the label may be difficult for the union to stick. Though donors to the campaign committee opposing Brown's Proposition 30 appear to include at least one billionaire - Forbes magazine has Charles Johnson of Franklin Resources Inc., on its list - the campaign's fundraising has been anemic: Opponents of the tax increase have raised less altogether than the nurses association gave Brown's side in a single $1 million check.

Michael Lighty, a spokesman for the union, said the imagery isn't supposed to be precise. Rather, he said, it is to "discourage others from contributing."

Brown, a Democrat, is proposing to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

PHOTO CREDIT: Elaine Burn, of Los Angeles, arrives in her "Queen Meg For California 2010" as part of the California Nurses Association parallel satire campaign. The Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua

An effort to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act in the last two weeks of the legislative session appeared this morning to pick up, with business leaders calling publicly for changes and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg saying he expects a bill to come up in the Assembly.

The proposal aired by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and other business interests at a news conference this morning resembled draft legislation that would limit the ability to challenge certain projects in court. One proposal would exempt from CEQA projects that comply with a city general plan or other planning document for which an environmental review already has been done.

"We're here to press this effort forward," said Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs. "We need to do this in California. If there's an opening that opens up in these last couple of weeks of session, we're going to take advantage of it if we can. But if not, it doesn't matter that much. We're going to be in it for the long haul. We'll be back."

The business group, which includes retailers and builders, is being advised by Gov. Jerry Brown's top political adviser, Steve Glazer. Brown himself has been critical of CEQA, the state's landmark environmental law, and he signed three bills last year limiting its reach.

Environmentalists today were already lobbying against the proposal at the Capitol. Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said general plans are not sufficiently detailed to address environmental concerns about projects.

"The reason you do this analysis is to figure out how much impact that particular project will have," she said.

Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he is a "strong believer in the importance of our environmental laws" but is open to discussion.

"If and when something comes over to the Senate," he said, "we'll take a look at it."

High school coaches in California will be required to receive training in concussions under legislation signed into law Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Assembly Bill 1451 requires high school coaches to receiving training every two years on recognizing the signs of concussions and responding to them appropriately. The training can be acquired online.

Democratic Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi of Castro Valley proposed the bill, which will take effect Jan. 1.

A study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found that U.S. high schools' two highest rates of concussions per 100,000 players games or practice occur in football, 47, and girls soccer, 36.

Hayashi last year pushed through successful legislation, effective last January, that requires schools to remove from play, pending medical clearance, a student athlete who sustains a possible concussion.

DAN WALTERS DAILY: Dan says there are several major issues pending as the California legislative session draws to a close.

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, outlines some of the big issues still unresolved during the last days of the California legislative session.

It's a sprint to the finish.

Both houses of the Legislature meet today -- the Senate at noon and the Assembly at 2:30 p.m. The Senate has about 360 Assembly bills on its plate between now and Aug. 31, and the Assembly will be considering about 270 Senate bills. Come back to Capitol Alert as we track the action.

Meanwhile, a new Field Poll finds that California voters are more positive about the federal health care overhaul than the nation as a whole, with 53 percent saying it's an important first step and more changes need to be made.

Voters are fiercely partisan about the Affordable Care Act, however. California Democrats support the law, 78 percent to 15 percent, while the state's Republicans oppose it, 72 percent to 18 percent. No-party-preference voters back it, 54 percent to 34 percent.

David Siders has more details in today's Bee. Read the publicly released poll at this link.

Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo will be presenting the poll's findings in the Capitol's Room 4203, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Diana Bontá, the president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation, which sponsored the poll.

Diana Dooley, the secretary of the state's Health and Human Services Agency, and Peter Lee, the executive director of the California Health Benefit Exchange, will be among those participating. The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Click here for more information.

Gov. Jerry Brown plans to call a special session on the national health care overhaul, as David Siders reported last week.

NEW DIGS: The Bay Area Council is opening an office in Sacramento not far from the Capitol. Find it on the 22nd floor of the Esquire Building at 1215 K St.

NEW GIG: Pedro Morillas, the legislative director for CalPIRG of late, is moving camp to Washington, D.C., to work for Fenton Communications.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, turns 61 today.