Capitol Alert

A bill that would have banned the use of dogs in hunting bears and bobcats has been amended to provide some exemptions. But the two sides in this hotly contested issue remain firmly in opposite camps, with the Humane Society saying the bill will protect many animals and hunters saying it's an unfair attack on their lifestyle.

Amendments to Senate Bill 1221 by Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, allow for three circumstances when it would be OK for hounds to pursue bears and bobcats: in conducting wildlife research, when a permit has been issued to kill an animal causing a nuisance, and if an animal unintentionally comes onto private property where the owner has a dog.

"These exemptions only apply to some narrow cases," said the Humane Society's Jennifer Fearing. "The vast majority of hounding would be prohibited, which is our goal."

California Houndsmen for Conservation -- the group that has filled the Capitol with hundreds of protesters with orange shirts and signs opposing the bill -- isn't giving up. Josh Brones, the group's president, said the exemptions are burdensome and hypocritical. He said he expects the Assembly to approve the bill but still thinks he can kill it when it returns to the Senate or hits the governor's desk.

"This is our way of life," Brones said. "We're not going to die without a fight."

PHOTO CREDIT: Sequoia, 3, left, and Tanner, 6, lead the way as Josh Brones, 37, of Wilton follows during a hunt for bobcats in Glenn County recently. Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee

In the middle of an end-of-session bid to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act, 33 Democratic lawmakers urged legislative leaders in a letter released today to oppose any significant re-writing of the law.

"Like many important laws, CEQA is not perfect and could probably be improved while retaining its many benefits - but only if such improvements are undertaken in a good faith process and are crafted very carefully," said the letter, delivered today to Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, both Democrats. "Unfortunately, the proposals we have seen and heard about reflect major changes that have not been vetted and are being advanced by special interests in an end-of-session power play."

The letter's release follows a business group's airing Monday of proposed changes to the law, California's signature environmental protection. In a proposal resembling draft legislation circulating at the Capitol, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and other business interests are calling to exempt from CEQA projects that comply with a city general plan or other planning document for which an environmental review already has been done.

Following the letter's delivery, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said he has collected one more signature - from Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena - bringing the total number of signers to 34.

"This is the biggest blow to environmental laws in many years and it's being pushed through at the last minute," Huffman said. "And I just think we need to make sure that the whole world is watching."

Steinberg said Monday that he expects a CEQA-limiting bill to come up in the Assembly before the end of the legislative session. He said he is a "strong believer in the importance of our environmental laws" but is open to discussion.

Robin Swanson, Pérez's spokeswoman, said Pérez wants to protect CEQA while encouraging job creation.

"Any reforms that are adopted would be those that are good both for the environment and for job creation," she said. "It's all about finding a balance that makes sense."

CEQA Letter

Jim Sanders of The Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.

Paul McIntosh, executive director of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) for the past five years, announced his resignation Tuesday to "determine my best course in the twilight years to come."

CSAC is the lobbying arm for the state's 58 county governments and plays a major role in each year's state budget negotiations, including the landmark "realignment" from the state to counties of some penal and social services. McIntosh said in his retirement announcement that "I am convinced that a decade from now, we will look back upon the changes made, particularly in the public safety arena, with great pride and success."

CSAC's former legislative director, Steve Keil, will serve as CSAC's interim executive director while the organization conducts what it said would be a "nationwide search" for a permanent successor.

Education consultant John Mockler, the chief architect of Proposition 98, California's school finance law, finished working this morning on a list of talking points for Gov. Jerry Brown's November ballot initiative to raise taxes.

The top-line message: Brown's Proposition 30 "would avert a fiscal catastrophe for public schools," preventing $5.4 billion in midyear spending cuts to schools and community colleges.

Mockler is a supporter of Brown's initiative, but as recently as January he was paid $12,500 to consult for a rival tax measure, Proposition 38.

Mockler said the measure's chief proponent, civil rights lawyer Molly Munger, produced a "fairly good school finance bill," but he said he told her she should step aside if Brown offered one, too.

Munger "disagreed, and I said 'Goodbye,'" Mockler said.

The question and answer section of Mockler's document strays briefly from education policy to politics, including a parting shot at Munger's campaign.

"What is indisputable is that if neither initiative passes, schools will be facing almost incomprehensible cuts," Mockler wrote. "Up to this point, Prop. 30 has received substantially higher levels of voter support in independent statewide polls, while attracting a broader and more diverse coalition of support, than Prop. 38."

DAN WALTERS DAILY: Dan ponders a state system that allowed the ascension of Manuel Lopez.

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The Senate and Assembly will be "working the file" today, jamming through hundreds of bills before session ends next week.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma is calling attention to two of her own bills with an 11 a.m. press conference on AB 1593 and AB 593. The bills concern victims of domestic violence who have killed their abusers in self-defense. Ma describes her inspiration for the bills in this blog post on her Board of Equalization campaign web site.

The Governmental Organization Committees in both houses take up the amended gaming compact for the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, which runs a casino in Mendocino County.

At 10:30, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez joins with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera to publicize a statewide outreach effort to locate former customers of two Payday loan operations, Money Mart and Loan Mart, who may be due refunds. The event gets underway in Room 317 of the Capitol.

And in San Francisco today, the California Nurses Association -- well known for its Queen Meg skits during the 2010 gubernatorial election -- launches a new skit, this time promoting Proposition 30, AKA Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative.