Capitol Alert

Gov. Jerry Brown, on public radio this morning to promote his budget plan and ballot measure to raise taxes, was asked by the host of "Marketplace Morning Report" to reveal his "happy place."

"When you want to get away from all this stuff up there in Sacramento, where do you go?" host Jeremy Hobson asked. "What's your happy place in California?"

"Well," Brown said, "I live in Oakland. I find that extremely happy, if you want to call it that. It's a great place. We've got great parks and trails. I can see out into the Pacific 50 miles on a clear day.

"And I like to read about the decline of the Roman Empire, and then I like to read about all the successes that people were able, in the face of challenge, to overcome against terrific odds. And I think that through facing things with clarity and courage, we can get the job done, and maybe we can inspire some of the same spirit of resolve both for Washington, and maybe even in Europe."

The Democratic governor, a voracious reader, has been talking about the Roman Empire for months. He and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, own a house in the Oakland hills.

The honeymoon is ending for Gov. Jerry Brown.

For the first time in a major California poll since Brown took office, a plurality of likely voters disapproves of the job he is doing, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released this evening.

The margin is pencil thin - 43 percent disapprove to 42 percent approve - but follows more than a year of relatively favorable marks for the Democratic governor. In April, Brown's job approval rating among likely voters was 47 percent.

Brown's dip in public opinion was registered in the days immediately after his announcement last week that California's budget deficit had grown to $15.7 billion, up from $9.2 billion in January.

"There are things that, as governor, you don't have any control over, and in particular the economy seems to have either stalled or worse over the last few months," poll director Mark Baldassare said. "People are getting worried again."

Despite their dimmer view of Brown, likely voters remain supportive of his November ballot initiative to raise taxes - 56 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll. That level of support is slightly higher than in April.

The initiative, a major part of Brown's agenda this year, would raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Gov. Jerry Brown, burdened by persistent budget deficits and with much of his agenda still unfulfilled, has tried in recent weeks to lower expectations for his second year.

His predicament, he suggested this morning, is like that of a protagonist in a classic play.

"For you students of classic drama - and I know there's a few left - you read Aristotle's poetics," Brown told about 1,000 people at the California Chamber of Commerce's annual Host Breakfast in Sacramento. "He talks about ... three acts: There's a beginning, there's a middle and the end."

Said Brown: "We're just beginning Act 2."

Politicians, Brown knows, do not always survive long enough to reach the final act. But some do, and the Democratic governor said "I hope I'm one of them, because the third act is when it gets good.

"The second is when the tension, the protagonist is under pressure, can he get out of the box he's in. That's always in Act 2. All right, you wait. We're going to get to Act 3 very soon."

Gov. Jerry Brown said in an interview televised this morning that the water project he proposes this year will be a $14 billion endeavor.

The Democratic governor's remark suggests the administration is fine-tuning its proposal for a peripheral canal or other way to move water through or around the Delta, even as a public announcement has been delayed. In January, Brown said the project would cost water users "well over $10 billion."

Brown was on "CBS This Morning" to promote his November ballot initiative to raise taxes and to defend the budget he revised on Monday. The state budget deficit has grown to $15.7 billion from the $9.2 billion Brown estimated in January.

"California is growing," Brown said in an interview taped Thursday. "This is not Europe ... We're very entrepreneurial, very innovative, and people are still coming here. You know, this is where they put in, they invented Facebook. Not in Texas, not in Arizona. Not in Manhattan, and certainly not under the, you know, the White House or the Congress. This is still the Wild West, and we're going to prove to the rest of this country and the world that we know how to do it."

Told by CBS' Charlie Rose that Facebook was invented in Cambridge, Mass., Brown said that after tinkering there, "they learned fast to get on a plane and get out to California, where all the other innovative people are."

Brown's comments about the water project came as he defended another multi-billion infrastructure project: high-speed rail.

"California's not stopping," Brown said. "We're not some tired country of Europe. We're a buoyant, dynamic society that will both discipline itself on a daily basis, but it will, on the long term, plant the seeds of future growth."

Watch the video:

Against Gov. Jerry Brown's wishes, the California Public Employees' Retirement System board voted today to phase in a higher cost to the state over two years rather than bill the state immediately in full.

In a letter to the board, Brown called that "not a prudent decision."

The disagreement was over the pace at which PERS is lowering its assumptions about future investment returns from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent, called the discount rate. Such changes are intended to compensate for lower market returns. When the rate of return assumption goes down, governments must contribute more.

The PERS board agreed to phase in the change over two years at a onetime $137 million savings ($78 million general fund), but Brown had wanted the board to drop the discount rate immediately. In a letter he sent to the board today, Brown reasoned that despite the onetime savings, the delay would actually cost the state general fund $145.9 million over 20 years in higher interest costs.

On the eve of a series of public hearings on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial but little-regulated method of oil extraction in California, an industry group said today that its members will voluntarily post information about their "fracking" operations on a disclosure website, Frac Focus, likely by the end of June.

The disclosure comes as Gov. Jerry Brown's administration, pressured by lawmakers, prepares to draft the state's first regulations for fracking, in which water and chemicals are injected thousands of feet underground to break up rock formations. Unlike some other states, California does not have special regulations for that method of oil production, and regulators say they do not know how prevalent it is.

The Western States Petroleum Association said today that hydraulic fracturing was used in 628 of California's tens of thousands of wells last year by association member companies, mostly in Kern County. Those companies represent about 80 percent of oil production in the state.

Association president Catherine Reheis-Boyd said companies will disclose what chemicals they use in fracturing jobs, but not in exactly what combination.

Environmentalists warn fracking can damage wells and pollute groundwater. Industry representatives say the technology, used at least since the 1950s, is routine, with no evidence of any hazard in California.

The state Department of Conservation is hosting a series of workshops on the technology this summer, starting Wednesday in Bakersfield. In addition to developing regulations for fracking, it is reviewing how the state regulates cyclic steam injection drilling, in which steam is used in shallow rock formations to help extract oil.

That method of oil recovery was linked to the death of a Chevron oil worker in Kern County last year.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who in the past year has likened Republican resistance to tax increases to a pope's resistance to abortion or to a broader audience's fear of "some kind of a sexually transmitted disease," tried a new line this morning.

The one involved conditioned dogs.

"It's difficult for Republicans because they have a theological imperative that says every time that somebody says, 'Tax,' they say, 'No,' " the Democratic governor told a crime victims group in Sacramento.

" 'Tax?' 'No.' That's built-in stimulus response," Brown said. "I don't know how many of you remember, studied about Pavlov."

For those who didn't remember or know about the Russian scientist, Brown briefly explained to the chuckling crowd that Pavlov studied dogs' tendency to salivate in anticipation of food.

The Chicago Tribune caught up recently with California Gov. Jerry Brown's sister, Kathleen Brown, the former state treasurer and Goldman Sachs executive who moved to Chicago after her brother won election in 2010.

Inevitably they talked about Sutter, the Pembroke Welsh corgi Kathleen Brown left behind.

"He humanizes my brother, makes him more approachable," she told the paper.

Kathleen Brown said Sutter, who lives with the governor and is referred to by the administration as California's "first dog," was "a celebrity waiting to be discovered."

PHOTO CREDIT: Sutter Brown, 2011.

Gov. Jerry Brown this morning defended his proposal to use $410 million in proceeds from the national mortgage settlement to help solve California's budget deficit, offsetting other costs.

The Democratic governor said he would consider any "vital programs" that may be affected, but he suggested much of the money from the settlement with large banks would otherwise have been used for lawyers.

"Any program that will help homeowners I will take a good look at," Brown told reporters one day after releasing his May budget revision. "We have time to work on the budget, but we're looking for money where we can find it."

In a written statement Monday, Attorney General Kamala Harris said the bank settlement was designed to help struggling homeowners and that money "should be used to help Californians stay in their homes."

Brown said before speaking to a crime victims group in Sacramento that budgeting is "all a balance."

"Whether it's courts or children or teachers or vulnerable people, it's not pretty," he said.

Brown is seeking a mix of spending cuts, borrowing and tax increases to close a $15.7 billion budget deficit.

California Gov. Jerry Brown released today a revised plan to close the state's projected $15.7 billion budget gap.

Here is the summary of the May budget proposal:

Gov. Jerry Brown's May budget revision summary 2012-2013

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Gov. Jerry Brown: Cut state workers, health and welfare to solve budget

Gov. Jerry Brown: State budget deficit now $16 billion

Gov. Jerry Brown said in a video release today that California's budget deficit has mushroomed to $16 billion, nearly twice as high as the $9.2 billion he estimated in January.

Brown blamed a slow recovery from the recession and the federal government's blockage of state spending cuts for the widening gap.

"This means that we will have to go much further, and make cuts far greater than I asked for at the beginning of the year," Brown said in a 2 minute, 41-second video released on YouTube. "But we can't fill a hole of this magnitude with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools."

The Democratic governor then went on to ask voters to approve his November ballot initiative to raise taxes on sales and wealthy earners. The proposal would raise the sales tax by a quarter-cent and hike taxes on income above $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for joint filers.

Brown is scheduled to release his revised May budget on Monday morning at 10 a.m., an event that will set in motion serious budget discussions as lawmakers attempt to approve a spending plan before the June 15 deadline.

After tax returns were disappointing in April, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that the state is now about $3 billion behind for the year in revenues and would be a "few billion" behind through June 2013.

Under pressure from health advocates, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday removed a controversial physician from a state health board after she appeared in an industry-funded ad against a tobacco tax hike on the June ballot.

La Donna Porter, a physician at San Joaquin General Hospital, had served since 2005 on a state advisory panel of medical experts and scientists that identifies chemicals known to cause developmental or reproductive harm. She was an appointee of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Brown also took the opportunity to remove five other Schwarzenegger appointees from the panel, according to George Alexeeff, head of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which oversees the California Proposition 65 Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee.

That leaves two members standing: Ellen B. Gold and Hillary Klonoff-Cohen, both Democrats. Meanwhile, at least two of the people removed - Calvin J. Hobel and Carl Keen - are registered Republicans. A third appointee removed, Linda Roberts, works for the Chevron Research and Technology Company.

Brown press secretary Gil Duran offered little explanation, other than to suggest the governor has been making his way through the various appointees from the previous administration.

Duran did not directly refer to the Proposition 29 firestorm. But he said health advocate complaints and media investigations of Porter "certainly brought this board more attention than it usually gets. It brought it to the forefront."

Tobacco companies are spending heavily against Proposition 29, a measure that would raise taxes by $1 per pack of cigarettes and a comparable amount on other forms of tobacco. The initiative would raise $735 million annually for cancer and disease research, as well as smoking prevention.

Less than a month before California voters decide on tobacco-tax and term-limits initiatives, Gov. Jerry Brown remains unlikely to take a public position on either one.

The Democratic governor, who submitted signatures this morning for his November ballot measure to raise taxes, declined to discuss the ballot measures on the June 5 ballot.

"Focus, focus," he said, telling reporters he is "sticking to the measure that we're filing signatures for today."

Proposition 28 would alter legislative term limits, allowing lawmakers to serve 12 years either in one house or divided between the Assembly and Senate. Lawmakers are currently restricted to eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly.

Proposition 29 would impose an additional $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes to pay for cancer research and smoking cessation programs.

Brown's November initiative would raise income taxes on California's highest earners as well as the state sales tax rate.

"As governor, my responsibility is to balance the budget, protect our schools, protect public safety," he said today. "That's what I'm doing. I need to get this initiative passed, so that's my focus."

Philip Morris USA is among the most recent large contributors to Brown's re-election campaign, donating $26,000 last month.

PHOTO CAPTION: Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, delivers signatures for his ballot tax measure to the county registrar's office in Sacramento on Thursday, May 10, 2012. Sacramento Bee / Randall Benton.

A week after announcing that he had collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign to pass the measure appeared this morning to take shape.

The Democratic governor, appearing at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters to submit the first of about 1.5 million signatures collected statewide, was accompanied by political consultant Ace Smith, whose company, SCN Strategies, will run the campaign.

Smith managed Brown's bid for attorney general in 2006, and SCN oversaw California Attorney General Kamala Harris' run in 2010.

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

"It's balanced, it's fair and it will take a major step forward in putting California in a very solid position," Brown said, leaning into a podium outside the registrar's office flanked by boxes of signatures and about two dozen supporters. "We are facing a world that is full of economic uncertainties, but with this tax measure, and with the cuts that I'll be proposing on Monday, California will put itself in a very, very strong position."

Brown is expected to propose further spending reductions in a revised budget proposal on Monday. He declined to discuss his proposal in detail but said it "will be a difficult day in Sacramento."

Brown was joined at the press conference by his wife and special counsel, Anne Gust Brown, and his dog, Sutter. Following his brief remarks, Brown said to his supporters, "That's it? All right guys, let's get 'em filed."

A San Diego County woman who has fought the California Department of Fish and Game for years over her keeping 10 wild birds at home is preparing to surrender them to the state Thursday, apparently unsuccessful in her appeal to Gov. Jerry Brown to "pardon" them.

In a half-page ad in The Bee's print edition this morning, Lindy O'Leary penned an open letter to the Democratic governor under the headline, "Dear Governor Brown: Please Pardon These Birds!" She included photographs of seagulls and a hawk she has been keeping without a permit, and she said the birds are "on their way to being killed."

The state disputed that. Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for Fish and Game, said the birds will be placed in other facilities.

"Our intent is not to kill these animals," Traverso said.

The state and O'Leary have been wrangling in court for several years about the legality of O'Leary keeping her birds at her home, where she operates the Wildlife Center of San Diego. Last month, Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, dropped legislation she had proposed to help O'Leary get permission to keep the animals.

Walters' chief of staff, Garth Eisenbeis, said this afternoon that the senator helped broker a proposed compromise between O'Leary and the Department of Fish and Game, but that O'Leary ultimately rejected it.

"She's done what she believes she can do on her behalf," Eisenbeis said.

Jennifer Hegemier, O'Leary's lawyer, said terms of the proposed compromise were unreasonable and that O'Leary will keep pressing her case in court. Ultimately, she hopes to have the birds returned to her.

Meanwhile, Hegemier said the birds will be surrendered to the state Thursday.

"We are planning to comply," she said. "We don't have a choice."

Gov. Jerry Brown today defended the work of the public sector as that which "ties us together," speaking at a memorial for Caltrans employees killed while working last year.

The memorial at the Capitol was the third in three days for Brown. The Democratic governor attended ceremonies on Monday and Tuesday for California Highway Patrol and other peace officers killed last year.

"We ought to recognize the public calling," Brown said, "which is absolutely indispensable for the social and political fabric."

A member of the honor guard fainted during the ceremony, briefly interrupting it. An organizer said he was alert and talking to emergency workers before he was taken off in a stretcher.

Earlier today, Brown appointed Malcolm Dougherty, 43, director of Caltrans. Dougherty, of Fresno, has been acting director of the department since last year and chief deputy director since 2010.

The position, which pays $155,040 a year, requires Senate confirmation. Dougherty is a Democrat.

Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning that the public has a "legitimate interest" in knowing his whereabouts, but he still won't say where he vacationed while out of state over the weekend.

"I have to have a few moments of privacy," the Democratic governor told reporters after a California Highway Patrol memorial event in West Sacramento.

Asked about the public's interest in knowing his whereabouts, Brown said, "They have a legitimate interest," but he declined to say where he was.

Brown has left the state only a handful of times since taking office last year, mostly for short trips on official business. He traveled far more frequently when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983, and running for president.

Brown said this morning, "I was on R&R," which is more than his office would say about the trip. When Brown left California on Thursday, the administration's advisory said only, "The Governor has left the state."

Gov. Jerry Brown called California's law enforcement officers the "the best of our state" this morning as hundreds of police, sheriffs' deputies, Highway Patrol officers, correctional officers and their friends and families remembered those who have fallen in the line of duty.

Brown and other dignitaries spoke at the 36th annual California Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony under a canopy of oaks and redwoods across the street from the Capitol's west steps. Many in the somber crowd of about 700 dabbed their eyes with tissues during the 90-minute event.

Outside the enclosed area for dignitaries, colleagues of the fallen and their family and friends, hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the state stood silently, looking on.

The ceremony at the memorial monument recalled the careers and sacrifice of 18 law enforcement officers, eight of whom died in 2011. Their names join those of more 1,500 others who have fallen in the line of duty since California gained statehood in 1850.

"More than ever we need the inspiration of those who give without asking the cost, who find more and more ways to serve. as opposed to just advancing whatever their interests or their rights might happen to be," Brown said.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Attorney General Kamala Harris struck similar notes of service and sacrifice in brief remarks to the crowd.

The nonprofit California Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation sponsored the event. The foundation also funds scholarships and grants for dependents of state peace officers who die in the line of duty.

Here's a list of the officers remembered this year:

Gov. Jerry Brown ordered Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley this week to form a task force to write a 10-year plan for improving Californians' health and controlling health-care costs.

In an executive order Thursday, Brown called for a "Let's Get Healthy California Task Force" to include representatives of patients, providers and labor unions, among others. The group is to report by Dec. 15 on targets for reducing diabetes, asthma, childhood obesity and other chronic conditions, as well as reducing hospital re-admissions and increasing the number of children who receive vaccines.

"Preventable and chronic health conditions are detrimental to every Californian's quality of life, cause disproportionate social and economic burdens, and result in California spending 80% of the state's total healthcare dollars on just 20% of the population," Brown said in his order.

"Let's Get Healthy California" is the name of a Service Employees International Union campaign with similar goals.

Brown slipped out of the state for parts unknown on Thursday, his office declining to say where he is.

SAN JOSE - Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he has collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot.

"We should have them all," the Democratic governor told reporters after speaking to a business group in San Jose.

Constrained by a short timeline, Brown and his supporters raced to collect more than 800,000 valid voter signatures by early this month, relying on robotic telephone calls, mailers and payment of as much as $3 per signature for signatures gathered on the street.

The measure would raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Brown's remarks came just hours after Republican leaders assembled at the Capitol to kick off their campaign against the measure. Brown had no comment about the Republican effort, except to say it wasn't news.

In his speech to business leaders, Brown suggested he will propose additional spending cuts in his May budget revision. His tax proposal, he said, is "reasonable."

"Vote for the tax," Brown said. "Suck it in."

Four months into his second year in office - still with major parts of his agenda unfulfilled - Gov. Jerry Brown this morning tried a little expectation control.

Asked by Bob Schieffer on the CBS public affairs show "Face the Nation" for any advice he might have for politicians, Brown said, "I've learned you don't get things done overnight. It does take time.

"Things that I was talking about 30 years ago - pension reform, renewable energy, completing the California water plan, high-speed rail, they're right at the top of the agenda today. So what do I say? Hey, you've got to take 30 years to get it done, because you can't get it done overnight, you can't get it in a term. But we're into instant gratification, get it done, if you don't do it in two years, you're a failure. Life doesn't work that way, at least from the point of view of somebody in their 74th year. It looks like things take longer, and now I'm kind of glad they do, because I still have something to do."

The Democratic governor, asked what he thought the presidential election would come down to, suggested one reason he may have been happy to keep quiet for months in his own gubernatorial contest in 2010.

"I think it turns on if one of the candidates screws up first and makes a mistake," Brown said. "Elections tend to move on the other person making the mistake."

Brown is in Washington D.C. this weekend meeting with officials on a range of policy issues. He and first lady Anne Gust Brown also attended the 98th annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association.

Brown still wouldn't say if he will run for re-election, though he is raising money for a re-election campaign.

"I'm thinking about it," he told Schieffer. "I wouldn't rule it out."

Schieffer recalled an interview he did with Brown in 1979 "on a log in the hills above Sacramento." Here's that video:

Gov. Jerry Brown, campaigning at a Sacramento church this morning, called on California's religious leaders to engage in a "campaign of civic activism" to pass his ballot initiative to raise taxes.

"We've got to take this message to the schools, to the colleges and, yes, to the churches, to the faith community that knows that man doesn't live by bread alone," the former seminarian told about 200 clergy members from throughout the state at Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The event comes as the Democratic governor moves to broaden support for his tax campaign even before the measure is qualified for the November ballot. Brown is expected to submit signatures early next month.

Members of PICO California, a network of faith-based community organizations, said they will embark on a campaign to urge 100,000 new and infrequent California voters to support the tax initiative.

"For far too long we have disinvested in our communities," the Rev. George Cummings, founding pastor of Imani Community Church in Oakland, told the crowd. "The time has come for us to begin to reinvest in our schools, and in the programs and services that will restore fiscal stability to our state."

Brown, who proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, said wealthy Californians have "been blessed, and they must join with us in blessing those that have not been as fortunate."

Church leaders said they are collecting signatures for Brown's initiative at their churches.

California voters are inclined to support Gov. Jerry Brown's sales and income tax increase, but by a less than overwhelming margin, a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California has found.

The PPIC poll of likely voters found 54 percent in favor of Brown's tax measure, for which signatures are now being gathered, and 39 percent opposed. The poll also indicated that a rival measure sponsored by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and the state PTA to raise income taxes on most taxpayers for schools faces an uphill struggle.

Brown has attempted to persuade Munger to drop her initiative, but she's poured millions of dollars into signature-gathering and is likely to turn in signatures soon.

Brown has portrayed his measure as one that would save schools from massive cuts, building on an assumption -- confirmed by the PPIC poll -- that K-12 education is the most popular area of the state budget. But Munger contends that Brown's measure would actually give schools little or no new money.

Overall, the poll found, voters are more than willing to tax high-income Californians, as Brown's measure would do. The poll didn't ask about Munger's plan specifically, but showed nearly three-fifths of voters opposed to raising income taxes on most taxpayers for schools, which her measure would do. They also oppose the sales tax component of Brown's proposal, a quarter-cent increase. That opposition drags down overall support for the governor's approach.

The PPIC poll also found that Brown's approval rating among all adults is 43 percent and among likely voters 47 percent, but support for his handling of public education - -the broad subject of PPIC's polling -- drew approval at just half of those levels. In fact just 23 percent of likely voters like his education policies.

However, Brown is doing much better than the Legislature, which gained the approval of just 15 percent of likely voters in the PPIC poll.

Gov. Jerry Brown ordered state agencies today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption by at least 20 percent by 2020, formalizing longstanding goals.

"We must lead by example," the Democratic governor said in a written statement announcing his executive order. "Greening the state's buildings will shrink our environmental footprint and save taxpayers millions of dollars."

The order also requires new state buildings and major renovations of old ones larger than 10,000 square feet to meet certain green-building standards. It requires that, where economically feasible, those buildings include green power generators such as solar panels.

Brown touted the order as a measure to reduce state spending. Reducing state energy purchases by 20 percent could eventually save $45 million annually, his office said.

SAN JOSE - Gov. Jerry Brown, who has personal reservations about the death penalty but enforced it as state attorney general, said this morning that he is glad a measure to abolish the death penalty will be on the November ballot, though he declined to say how he will vote.

"I think it gives people a chance to express themselves on a very, very important issue, so yeah, sure, I think it will be a good thing," the Democratic governor told reporters after an event in San Jose. "Just like I think it's a good thing that people get a chance to vote on taxes. Death and taxes are things we can't avoid, so it's good that people get to weigh in occasionally."

Brown, speaking the day after a measure to replace the death penalty with a maximum life sentence qualified for the November ballot, said he will "have a lot of time" to talk about his view of the measure. Brown is also seeking to qualify for the ballot a measure to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

"I'm not going to get into a death penalty discussion in May," he said.

Brown vetoed death penalty legislation in 1977, when he was governor before. The Legislature overrode his veto, and he said during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign that he would uphold it as governor.

Brown was at an IBM research facility for a panel discussion on business and the economy with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Gov. Jerry Brown's Yale Law School classmate and close friend, Appellate Justice J. Anthony Kline, is mediating a judicial summit conference today that will attempt to heal the years-long political war that has divided the state's judiciary.

Kline served as Brown's legal adviser during his first governorship three decades ago, and Brown appointed him to the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal, where he is now presiding justice.

Today's meeting will involve Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and a number of prominent judges, including two representatives of the California Alliance of Judges, which has been highly critical of the State Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts, which the chief justice heads.

The breakaway group has sponsored legislation to shift financial power from the AOC and the Judicial Council to local judges, alleging that local courts are being starved for funds while the two central agencies waste money on bureaucracy and an unworkable computer system.

The Judicial Council recently stopped work on the computerized case management system and Cantil-Sakauye is pressing the Legislature for more money, citing $653 million in state support reduction in recent years. But she has bitterly opposed the Alliance's legislation as a breach of the court system's independence.

The California Taxpayers Association handed ammunition Monday to opponents of this year's proposed tax increases - a report that outlines $7.3 billion in operational savings and non-tax "revenue enhancements" in state and local governments.

That's roughly 5 percent of annual state and local tax collections and approaches the revenue estimates for Gov. Jerry Brown's sales and income tax boost and a rival income tax increase sponsored by wealthy attorney Molly Munger. Brown's measure would address the state's budget deficit while Munger's would boost spending on schools.

"This report makes tangible, pragmatic recommendations that will yield long-term savings to address our current fiscal constraints and get state and local governments back on solid financial footing," CalTax president Teresa Casazza said in a statement that accompanied the report's release.

CalTax is a Sacramento-based organization, supported mostly by business groups, that tracks state and local government tax and budget matters and generally opposes tax increases. Its report lists $4.01 billion in permanent savings items, another $104 million in one-time savings and $3.19 billion in revenue increases.

None of the individual proposals involves big money, as the Capitol defines it; they are a grab bag of operational changes, such as reducing lease costs and privatization of some public services, many of which have kicked around the Capitol for years, mostly as Republican suggestions.

The "revenue enhancements" are fewer and larger, such as cleaning up delinquent tax accounts that, CalTax says, could produce $2.3 billion in one-time revenue,

Steve Glazer, a top unpaid adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, cleared a key hurdle today for winning confirmation to the California State University Board of Trustees.

The Senate Rules Committee approved Glazer's appointment by a bipartisan vote of 5-0 at a confirmation hearing this afternoon, signaling smooth sailing for the Brown appointee as he heads to a vote of the full Senate.

Glazer's confirmation hearing had been delayed last week amid questions about support from Senate Republicans, whose votes are needed to hit the two-thirds threshold for approving CSU trustees.

Another Brown appointee to the board, former chairman Herbert Carter, failed to win approval after Republicans signaled they would not support him in a floor vote. But unlike Carter, Glazer had not made a controversial vote for a generous campus president pay package on the same day the board moved to increase tuition.

Glazer told members of the committee today that while he believes the board should do what it can to attract top-tier talent for open posts, "we need everyone in the system to make sacrifices" during a time of budget constraints.

"We have to live within our financial means," he said. "We have to set the right example."

Glazer, who is helping run Brown's tax measure campaign, was appointed to the board by the Democratic governor last year. He faces a May 3 confirmation deadline.

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Despite lowering the proposed cost of California's high-speed rail project to $68 billion, the Brown administration still relies on "highly speculative" funding for the project, the Legislative Analyst's Office said in a report today recommending that construction funding not be approved.

The nonpartisan LAO did recommend that the Legislature approve minimal funding to continue planning for the project.

Gov. Jerry Brown and the California High-Speed Rail Authority propose to use $2.6 billion in high-speed rail bond funds and $3.3 billion in federal funds to start construction in the Central Valley by early next year.

The LAO and other critics of the project have long questioned the authority's reliance on uncertain federal funding to complete the project, an objection raised by the LAO again today.

"Given the federal government's current financial situation and the current focus in Washington on reducing federal spending, it is uncertain if any further funding for the high-speed rail program will become available," the report said, which may be viewed online at this link.

The LAO also questioned whether the state could use revenue from its new cap-and-trade program for the rail project. Cap-and-trade money is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the high-speed rail project could eventually help the state reduce emissions, the LAO said, it would not come online until after 2020, the year by which the state is trying to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The LAO said the administration's shifting focus to rely on existing rail lines in urban areas could be positive. However, it said it is concerned changes to the plan "have been rushed with many important details not having been sorted out."

The LAO said the California High-Speed Rail Authority "has not made a strong enough case for going forward with the project at this time."

PHOTO CREDIT: A rendering of a high-speed train moving through a wind farm in the proposed high speed rail network. Courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Calling politics at the Capitol a "contact sport," Gov. Jerry Brown welcomed the California Medical Association this afternoon "to the arena" - then recalled that the Kings arena deal is dead.

Perhaps, he suggested, the city might take in some other sport.

"I feel the gladiatorial instincts can be adequately sated by coming to the legislative galleries and watching the various forces of the state contend," Brown said.

Asked later who is to blame for the arena deal crumbling, Brown said maybe no one person, at all.

"It might be the economy. It might be lack of money," he said. "I don't think you should be looking for fault. It's a business proposition, and somebody has to say that by investing the money, they're going to get more than they put in, and if you can't find that, it won't happen, and if that does turn out to be the case, I'm sure somebody will step up."

Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that the state budget deficit could be $1 billion or more greater than the $9.2 billion he previously thought.

"I think it will be bigger than it was before," the Democratic governor told reporters after speaking to the California Medical Association in Sacramento. "Whether it's $1 billion or a couple billion, we'll let you know in a couple weeks."

Brown will release revised budget projections in May.

Legislative Democrats so far this year have resisted spending cuts Brown proposed and his request that they be enacted by March. Lawmakers have said they will wait until later in the budget calendar to make cuts.

Brown said today that he isn't frustrated by that resistance.

"The way the minuet is played," he said, "first you go through the next couple of months, and then, after June, then you really get down to business."

Brown said he is "doing my best" to push reluctant Democrats for pension changes and spending cuts.

"I keep pushing it, and I keep pushing the cuts," he said. "But it's a little early yet ... The moment of truth will be here in June."

Gov. Jerry Brown, who said in December that he wanted state agencies to stop writing so many reports, announced today a list of 718 he'd like canned.

Among reports the Democratic governor finds wasteful are the Department of Transportation's annual report on the use of waste tires and an annual report by the Australian government on the country's kangaroo harvest, which the Department of Fish and Game is required to transmit to the Legislature.

"It wastes a lot of time and money to write, track and file these reports," Brown said in a prepared statement. "Government should be focused on providing information that is actually helpful to taxpayers, not on checking boxes to meet outdated bureaucratic requirements."

Of the 718 reports Brown finds wasteful, 375 require legislative action to eliminate, Brown's office said. The governor's Department of Finance will direct the Legislative Counsel to stop tracking the remaining reports, effectively ending the requirement that they be produced, the office said.

Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning that the Legislature should "man up" and make spending cuts, acknowledging the state budget deficit is likely larger than he previously thought.

The Democratic governor, in an interview on the Bay Area talk radio station KGO 810, said the deficit is "probably bigger now" than the $9.2 billion he estimated earlier this year.

"We're trying to be as prudent as we can," Brown said. "That's why the Legislature has to man up, make the cuts, and get some taxes and we'll make it."

Legislative Democrats have resisted many of Brown's proposals to reduce spending, and his demand that cuts be enacted by March fell flat.

Brown's "man up" remark was reminiscent of when Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called legislative Democrats "girlie men" in 2004, also in a budget dispute.

"Uh-oh ..." Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's former press secretary, said on Twitter, "sounds a lot like 'Girly Men.'"

An experimental online poll of California voters by the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has found strong support for Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase ballot measure - almost identifical, in fact, to a simultaneous telephone poll.

The USC/Dornsife telephone poll last month found that 64 percent of the respondents supported Brown's package of sales and income taxes with 33 percent opposed. The online poll found a 63 percent-30 percent split.

Both surveys were based on a capsule description of Brown's plan. The online poll also tested the official ballot summary of Brown's plan and found 60 percent in support and 30 percent opposed.

Both polls found scant support for a rival income tax measure sponsored by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and the PTA. It was 32 percent in the telephone poll and 24 percent in the online survey.

Dan Schnur, the poll's director, said the online survey was an experiment to test methodology and ask more in-depth questions than the phone version asked. Other questions in the online poll dealt with President Barack Obama's approval rating, online privacy issues and Internet piracy.

A Senate confirmation hearing for California State University Trustee Steve Glazer was put on hold today as Gov. Jerry Brown sought to shore up Republican support.

Senate Republican leader Bob Huff said he met with the Democratic governor today to discuss Glazer's confirmation vote and other issues. The caucus has not yet taken a position on the appointment, which requires a two-thirds vote of the full Senate.

"I think we're going to a good place," Huff said after the meeting. "We just weren't ready to make a decision this week."

Glazer, a top unpaid political adviser to Brown, was scheduled to appear in front of the Senate Rules Committee today. But Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg announced that consideration of Glazer's appointment would be pushed back a week.

Steinberg spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the "hearing was delayed to allow further conversations with the minority party."

"Steve Glazer is an excellent candidate and the pro tem looks forward to his confirmation," she wrote in an email.

Less than a week after Gov. Jerry Brown started using robotic telephone calls and mailers to gather signatures for his ballot initiative to raise taxes, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association plans to launch its anti-tax campaign today on the conservative "John and Ken" talk radio show.

The taxpayers group this morning posted a red banner on its website inviting viewers to join a "Don't Sign the Petition" campaign. The banner links to a campaign website opposing Brown's effort to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Jon Coupal, president of the Jarvis group, criticized as misleading Brown's characterization of his tax measure as a tax on millionaires. It includes a proposed sales tax increase and higher income taxes on people who earn at least $250,000 a year.

"A second grader," he said, "knows that $1 million does not equal $250,000."

Brown has previously said that people who make at least $250,000 a year will become millionaires if they save.

Coupal is expected to appear at 5 p.m. on the Los Angeles radio show hosted by John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou.

Gov. Jerry Brown today commuted the prison sentence of a woman convicted of shaking her baby grandson to death in Los Angeles County in 1997, citing an appeals court ruling that called her second-degree murder conviction a likely miscarriage of justice.

The commutation, Brown's first since taking office last year, follows a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals six years ago that overturned Shirley Ree Smith's conviction.

The court concluded there was insufficient evidence to convict Smith of shaking to death her grandson, Etzel Glass, and she has been free since. The U.S. Supreme Court in October, however, ordered Smith's conviction reinstated, finding the lower court had inappropriately substituted its judgment for that of a jury.

"When Ms. Smith was convicted, she was 37 years old and had no criminal record," Brown said in his commutation message. "Now, she is 51 years old and has been law-abiding since her release in 2006."

He said "significant doubts surround Ms. Smith's conviction" and that "in light of the unusual circumstances in this particular case, the length of time Ms. Smith has served in prison, and the evidence before me that Ms. Smith has been law-abiding since her release from prison, I conclude that reducing her sentence to time served is appropriate."

Gov. Jerry Brown is turning to robotic telephone calls and mailers in his race to qualify a tax initiative for the November ballot.

"Hi, this is Gov. Jerry Brown," he said in a recorded telephone message that went out last night. "I'm calling because California really needs your help. We have to save our schools and stop even deeper cuts to public safety. You'll get a petition in the mail very soon. Please sign it, and return that petition so that you can take the first step in preventing even more cuts to schools and public safety.

"Thanks a lot."

The California Democratic Party, which paid for the call, said it reached more than one million households deemed likely to support the measure. It will be followed today by a mailer in which Brown is pictured talking with children beneath a chalk headline, "SIGN UP TO SAVE OUR SCHOOLS."

Brown and the California Federation of Teachers, which originally proposed its own tax initiative, agreed last month to a compromise measure, bidding to increase the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Brown and his allies are now trying to collect more than 800,000 valid voter signatures required to qualify for the November ballot. Time is short, and the use of mail is an indication of how expensive paid signature gathering by clipboard has become for the initiative campaign - at a cost of perhaps $3 per signature on the street.

Facing a "very tight timeline," California Democratic Party spokesman Tenoch Flores said, "we're all doing everything we can to make sure it gets on the ballot."

Slpsa Mailer

California lawmakers expressed skepticism Saturday about the timing and magnitude of Gov. Jerry Brown's high-speed rail revision, saying it may take longer than the governor wants to sort through the numbers.

The administration will announce Monday settling on $68.4 billion, according to sources familiar with the plan, proposing major design changes in and around Los Angeles and the Bay Area in an eleventh-hour bid to improve the project's chances of approval by the Legislature.

But some legislators noted today that just last year the Brown administration itself raised the proposed cost to $98 billion.

Gov. Jerry Brown today signed an Indian gambling compact allowing development of a casino near the Sonoma County city of Rohnert Park.

The compact allows the 1,300-member Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to operate as many as 3,000 slot machines. Eventually, the casino will pay up to 15 percent of the slot machines' net win to local and state agencies for gambling mitigation programs and services.

The Democratic governor's office, citing tribe estimates, said in a statement that the project would create about 700 construction jobs and 2,500 jobs at the casino once it is built.

The casino's development has faced local opposition, with opponents objecting to its impact on the environment, among other things.

The influential California Teachers Association reported giving $1.5 million today to Gov. Jerry Brown's effort to raise taxes.

The donation, the single largest yet reported, is a lift for a campaign committee that is racing to collect signatures after Brown and the California Federation of Teachers brokered a deal this month on components of the tax plan.

"I think we have a decent chance to get it passed," the Democratic governor told a luncheon crowd in Sacramento today. "I'm going to do everything I can."

In the same filing, the CTA, which represents some 325,000 teachers and education workers throughout the state, reported donating $1 million to the California Democratic Party.

Gov. Jerry Brown was late to speak at an Alliance of California Law Enforcement luncheon this afternoon, and his remarks were hardly his most inspired.

But before finishing, the Democratic governor offered perhaps his most complete assessment yet of the lineage of California's budget deficit, starting in 1959, with a deficit he said Gov. Goodwin Knight left Brown's dad.

"And then, when my father left and Reagan came in as governor," Brown said, "he left him a deficit."

Even though his tax initiative includes a sales tax increase and higher income taxes on people who earn at least $250,000 a year, Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he can call it a "Millionaires' Tax" because people who make that much money will likely become that rich.

"Because everybody who makes $250,000 becomes a millionaire very quickly if you save," Brown told reporters after a speech in Sacramento. "You just need four years."

The Democratic governor launched a campaign website today that calls his proposal a "Millionaires' Tax," while explaining the proposed tax increases in detail on a secondary page.

He said this afternoon that he hasn't seen the website and would review it for accuracy. He included a link to the site in a tweet earlier today.

"Yeah, but we, I still haven't seen it," Brown said. "But I do think it is a Millionaires' Tax. It taxes millionaires."

A lengthy hearing in the California Assembly on Wednesday indicated that one of the Capitol's longest-running political wars is being reignited.

It's over the rules governing workers compensation, the multibillion-dollar system that provides medical care, rehabilitation and financial support to those with work-related injuries and illnesses, what those in the Capitol call "work comp."

Gov. Jerry Brown, who has had some difficulty working with the Legislature, suggested this morning that combat training might help.

Marking the promotion of California National Guard Col. Sylvia R. Crockett to the rank of general, Brown told Crockett, whose job will include interacting with the Legislature, that she is "taking on the most difficult mission of all -- dealing with the legislative branch."

"You'll have to call forth all the skills and training that you got for combat," the Democratic governor said.

Crockett may already have a knack for politics. She told Brown, who was also governor from 1975 to 1983, "You're the first man I ever voted for."

When Gov. Jerry Brown reached a tax compromise with the California Federation of Teachers and liberal activists, apparently their "Millionaires' Tax" slogan was included in the deal.

Brown launched a new campaign website today whose front page calls the proposal a "Millionaires' Tax" even though it contains a quarter-cent sales tax increase and starts hiking income taxes at $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for couples. The site explains these particulars only on a secondary "frequently asked questions" page.

CFT and its coalition previously circulated a tax plan that taxed only those making at least $1 million or more, single or married. Its initiative had been polling best partly because it had the "Millionaires' Tax" label.

The governor's website does say his tax plan would pay for more than schools. It notes the plan would fund "health and dental care, childcare, police, fire, parks, transportation and programs for seniors, disabled and the poor." Brown had faced criticism since launching his original initiative last year for implying that all new tax money would fund schools rather than other parts of the state budget.

We'll never know whether it played a role in quarterback Peyton Manning's decision to play for the Denver Broncos rather than the San Francisco 49ers, but the California Taxpayers Association says that it could save the football star millions in state income taxes.

Cal-Tax did some horseback calculations that assumed he would have been paid the same by both teams ($96 million over five years).

It also assumed that he would have paid all of it at each state's highest income tax rate, and in California's case that would be both the current rate and what it would be if Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed income tax hike is approved by voters. It also applied the state Franchise Tax Board's formula for professional athletes, which assumes that roughly 90 percent of the salary is taxable in a team's home state.

Those assumptions would give Manning, Cal-Tax said, a taxable income over five years of $86.4 million, which would mean $8.9 million in taxes for California under the current system or $11.5 million under Brown's proposal, against $4 million in Colorado.

Of course Manning could have opted to play in Florida, which has no state income tax.

GOLETA - It appeared to throw Gov. Jerry Brown momentarily when, in an on-stage interview about energy and the economy, he was asked this morning about California's poet laureate.

"To tell you the truth, I hadn't even heard about this poet laureate a week ago," said Brown, who appointed Juan Felipe Herrera poet laureate on Wednesday, on a recommendation from staff.

"Nuclear power, poetry," he said. "I've got to kind of focus my attention."

The announcement from Brown's office included a link to a poem in which Herrera describes poetry as "a way to attain a life without boundaries."

In Southern California this morning, Brown said he wanted none of that.

"Life without boundaries?" he said, "I think the key is boundaries. So, maybe you put it this way: Imagination, in some sense, doesn't have boundaries. But if all you have is imagination, that's akin to insanity."

The Democratic governor moved from poetry to other media, appearing outside for an interview streaming online with The Wall Street Journal, the host of the conference.

"Follow me on Twitter if you want," Brown told viewers. "But it's a little, it's a little bit nerve racking to watch that, those Twitter messages come down minute after minute."

GOLETA - Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he will push the state to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025, reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent over 1990s levels.

In an executive order, the Democratic governor directed state agencies to help facilitate that effort.

Meanwhile, Brown announced a $120 million settlement between the California Public Utilities Commission and NRG Energy Inc. - resolving a years-old claim related to power costs during California's energy crisis - to fund construction of 200 fast-charging stations for zero-emission vehicles and 10,000 plug-in units around the state.

"This executive order strengthens California's position as a national leader in zero-emission vehicles," Brown said in a prepared statement, "and the settlement will dramatically expand California's electric vehicle infrastructure, helping to clean our air and reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

Brown's announcement came as he defended his record on oil production at a conference on the economy and the environment just outside Santa Barbara. Four months after firing the top two overseers of drilling operations in California, Brown said, "I fired the people in charge, and now our permits are dramatically up."

When asked about his position on nuclear energy and hydraulic fracturing, Brown said he is still studying them.

The administration said the zero-emission vehicle settlement would fund charging stations in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Los Angeles Basin and San Diego County.

GOLETA - Here's Gov. Jerry Brown, "A" student.

In Southern California for a three-day conference on green energy and the economy, the Democratic governor has been sitting up front, drinking coffee and taking notes. His cellphone hasn't gone off once.

Brown is scheduled to speak Friday at the conference, at the posh Bacara Resort & Spa just outside Santa Barbara. Nibbling on a cookie during a break this afternoon, he was not inclined to provide a preview.

"There's no news," Brown said. "This is my study."

First lady Anne Gust Brown came by a few moments later, and they headed into an auditorium for another round of sessions. Inside, the governor stopped for a few minutes to talk to T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oil executive.

As the nation's economy recovered, albeit slowly, from recession last year, most states saw a surge of revenues - but not California, a new Census Bureau data dump indicates.

Nationally, state government revenues rose 3.5 percent to $183.8 billion during the fourth quarter of 2011 over the same period of 2010, the Census Bureau report said, but in California, they dropped 8.2 percent to $25.6 billion.

But there may be less import than those numbers would indicate. Temporary income and sales tax increases enacted by the Legislature in 2009 were still in effect in 2010, but had expired by late last year, which largely explains the sharp declines in revenues from those two sources.

Fourth-quarter California income tax revenues last year were $11.3 billion, the Census Bureau report said, down from $12.2 billion in 2010, while sales taxes dropped from $8.1 billion to $7.5 billion.

Gov. Jerry Brown tried to get the temporary taxes extended, but Republican legislators refused to support his plan. He's now pushing a November ballot measure that would raise sales taxes by a quarter-cent and sharply boost income taxes on high-income Californians. He says it would raise about $9 billion a year but the Legislature's budget analyst says that number is likely too high.

Gov. Jerry Brown today appointed to be California poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, a son of migrant workers who went on to become a university professor and a poet of critical acclaim.

Herrera, 63, the author of 28 volumes of poetry and other works, is a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside. He was previously a professor and chairman of Chicano and Latin American Studies at California State University, Fresno, according to the governor's office.

Herrera holds degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford University and University of Iowa.

Like Brown, Herrera is a Democrat.

The governor's announcement included a link to Herrera's 2008 poem, "Let Me Tell You What a Poem Brings."

In it, Herrera describes poetry as "a way to attain a life without boundaries."

A week after negotiating the compromise tax measure with the California Federation of Teachers, Gov. Jerry Brown said today that despite recent talks with Molly Munger, the proponent of a competing tax initiative, there is no sign of a deal.

"I spoke to her on the phone, she sent my wife a nice e-mail, and my wife responded, and then she responded back, and that's where we are," the Democratic governor told reporters in Sacramento.

He said the exchange "left things as they are, with a very fierce campaign on the horizon, which I'm fully prepared for."

Brown said his compromise tax measure, despite its greater reliance on income tax, will not lead to budget volatility.

"We're coming out of a recession, and we're coming out slowly," Brown said. "By the time we get to the point of the next recession, this tax measure will have expired."

He said, "My goal is to use the money from the tax measure, if it passes, and pay for the programs, pay down debt, and get ready for the next recession with a reserve ... I'm going to build a reserve to guard against the falloff in revenue that comes from having so much reliance on the income tax."

Brown said a representative of Occidental Petroleum Corp., which donated $250,000 to Brown's tax campaign in January, told him in a telephone call that the company is still supportive of the measure.

The compromise tax initiative between Brown and the CFT would extend a higher tax on California's highest-income earners to seven years instead of five. Business groups have objected to permanent tax increases or ones that remain in place for a long period.

Hours before the California State University Board of Trustees considers approving annual salaries of more than $300,000 for two college presidents, Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he opposes the increases, and suggested any number of people - including him - could do the work of a college president for less.

"The colleges ... a lot of public employers think that they have to give pay raises, and I don't think so, because the average person has not gotten a pay raise, and the kids have been paying more in tuition," Brown told reporters before speaking to optometrists in Sacramento. "So I think they have to find ways of attracting people, and they have to widen the pool."

The Democratic governor dismissed the argument that the potential pool of college presidents is so small that salaries must be raised to remain competitive.

"I think there are a lot more people that can be college presidents, maybe even some of you," Brown told reporters.

Asked if he could be one, Brown said, "I have no doubt."

"I have no doubt that I could be a college president, and I think a number of legislators could," he said "since basically it involves raising money, it involves being diplomatic with all the different constituencies, including the faculty, and it takes some skill."

The CSU board is scheduled to consider compensation packages this afternoon for the presidents of the Fullerton and East Bay campuses, Mildred Garcia and Leroy Morishita, respectively.

Two days after Gov. Jerry Brown announced a compromise ballot measure to raise taxes, California's top budget analyst said today that the measure will generate $2.2 billion less next year than Brown has estimated.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated in its review of the measure that the tax increase would generate $6.8 billion in fiscal 2012-13. Brown had estimated raising some $9 billion.

The tax initiative, a compromise Wednesday between the Democratic governor and the California Federation of Teachers, would increase the state sales tax less than Brown originally proposed, but include a larger tax increase on California's highest earners. The state Department of Finance has estimated that the revised plan would raise about $2 billion more through June 2013 than Brown's initial plan.

The LAO's analysis is in line with its review of Brown's first tax plan, in which it also estimated lower revenues than Brown did. Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer attributed the difference to the agencies' different revenue forecasts, with the administration anticipating higher revenue from capital gains.

Frustrated by tuition increases and ongoing spending cuts, California college student leaders criticized Gov. Jerry Brown in an open letter Thursday and complained he hasn't met with them.

"When you were elected in 2010," the students wrote the Democratic governor, "many students hoped that your election would usher in a new era for public higher education in California and reverse the approach taken by your predecessor.

"Thus far, things have not improved, and in fact, in many ways they have worsened."

In their letter, presidents of the University of California Student Association, California State Student Association and Student Senate for California Community Colleges complained Brown hasn't invited them to participate in meetings with college administrators.

Read the letter below.

Press Release Open Letter to Brown 3.15

If lawmakers won't make nearly $1 billion in cuts to California's welfare-to-work program, Gov. Jerry Brown said today, he'll find somewhere else to cut, promising a balanced budget.

"It's very simple. This is arithmetic, and it's really, I would call it seventh grade arithmetic," Brown said today, after an Assembly budget panel rejected his proposed CalWORKs cuts last month. "If you don't want to cut what I propose, find something else, and then show it. But we're going to have a balanced budget. That you can take to the bank."

The Democratic governor's remarks followed a speech to the California Police Chiefs Association in Sacramento. Brown, who is proposing tax increases and spending reductions to balance a budget deficit he estimates at $9.2 billion, said he is looking for more money for law enforcement, but he urged patience.

"You cops know what it is to deal with a tough neighborhood, OK?" Brown said. "I'm working in a tough neighborhood."

Brown told reporters that the spending plan he signs this year will "have its pain," but that the economy will improve in future years.

"I'm promising wine and roses," he said, "but not in 2012."

Gov. Jerry Brown's speech to California Police Chiefs Association today at Sacramento's Sheraton Hotel recalls one of the odder incidents in his first governorship 30-plus years ago.

Brown 1.0 also wanted to talk to the association one year to plug his anti-crime agenda but ran into a sticky political problem. The chiefs were meeting at the Red Lion Inn in Sacramento (now the Doubletree), but the hotel was on labor unions' do-not-patronize list and Brown didn't want to antagonize them by going to the hotel.

The solution was to herd the police chiefs onto buses and take them to nearby Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds, where Brown could speak without angering union leaders, then returning the chiefs back to the Red Lion.

Speaking at the Sheraton carries no such danger.

BERKELEY - On Friday afternoon, while college students started their weekends barbecuing down the street, Gov. Jerry Brown found himself on the University of California, Berkeley, campus, at the symposium "Anthropology in the World."

He came 20 minutes late. But professors run behind, too, and Brown was in time to hear a contemporary, Ralph Nader, lecture on the following prompt: "Anthropology from Margaret Mead to 2012."
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Nader, the consumer activist and six-time presidential candidate, suggested anthropologists consider such questions as, "Why is it that bureaucracies are so tyrannically successful in blocking the most rational courses of action." He took note of the Democratic governor in the front row.

"We have here tonight Gov. Jerry Brown, whose ability to change the state is constantly blocked by bureaucracy and corporate interests," Nader said. "Why aren't these studied vigorously, bottom up by anthropologists?"

The symposium was held in honor of Nader's sister, the Berkeley anthropologist Laura Nader.

To the extent that anthropology considers the ways in which human beings relate to one another, Brown may have some thoughts of his own.

"Government," Brown told a group of biomedical industry reps earlier Friday, "can best solve those problems that it itself first created."

The war over tax increase ballot measures escalated Friday when sponsors of the so-called "millionaires' tax" denounced the Business Roundtable for its opposition.

Terming it "us vs. Goliath," the Courage Campaign, a co-sponsor of the measure that would raise income taxes on Californians with $1 million-plus incomes, accused the corporate leaders of the Business Roundtable of protecting their own wallets.

"Of course the CEOs of corporations like Chevron, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PG&E would oppose the Millionaires' Tax of 2012 through their umbrella organization, the California Business Roundtable," said Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign.

The Courage Campaign, the California Federation of Teachers and the California Nurses Association are sponsoring the initiative measure, one of three major tax proposals that may be headed for the November ballot.

Earlier this week, the Business Roundtable declared opposition to the millionaires' tax measure, which would boost financing for education and social services, and another income tax measure sponsored by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and the California PTA, whose proceeds would go to schools.

The business group did not, however, oppose Gov. Jerry Brown's measure that would raise sales and income taxes to balance the state budget, saying that it wanted to see whether Brown and the Legislature would enact pension reforms and business climate improvements before taking a position.

Brown has been trying to persuade sponsors of the other measures to pull back, saying that if all three are on the ballot, voters will be confused and likely reject all three. He's particularly concerned about the millionaires' tax, which fares the best among voters in recent statewide surveys, saying that it would do little to close the state's budget deficit.

Jacobs' sharp retort to the Business Roundtable indicates, however, that he and other sponsors of are not backing down, despite Brown's private and public pleas.

"Game on," says an "action report" that Courage Campaign sent to its members, denouncing the Business Roundtable's stance.
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Two days after the Sacramento City Council approved a financing plan to build a $391 million arena for the Sacramento Kings, Gov. Jerry Brown was asked today for his opinion.

"Don't ask me about that," the Democratic governor told The Sacramento Bee's editorial board. "I don't know. I don't know how Santa Clara borrows $850 million (for a football stadium). I don't know how any of these things happen. I don't know where the parking revenue's going to go. I just haven't dedicated myself to that proposition. But I do think it's something we ought to look at."

Brown said Mayor Kevin Johnson invited him to a game the other night. But the governor, who doesn't attend many sporting events, was out of town.

Gov. Jerry Brown, in an increasingly public effort to clear the November ballot of competing tax measures, said this afternoon that his own initiative to raise taxes could survive the presence of one of those other proposals, but likely not the other, more popular "millionaires tax."

The Democratic governor said the "millionaires tax," sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers and Courage Campaign, would siphon supporters from his own initiative to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest-earners, leaving both to fail.

"That would, I think, pretty well ensure the defeat," Brown told The Sacramento Bee's editorial board, his second meeting with a newspaper this week to promote his initiative. "I don't want to say it's an absolute, but it's - I want to choose my words wisely - but I wouldn't be counting on that tax measure."

Brown said his initiative could withstand the presence on the ballot of an income tax proposal backed by attorney Molly Munger, because he said that measure is sufficiently less popular.

Neither Munger nor the California Federation of Teachers have suggested they will back down.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who will turn 74 next month, found himself last night in the company of an older politician, a rare enough occurrence Brown's thoughts turned to age.

"It's good that we have old politicians around," said Brown, in San Francisco to welcome Israeli President Shimon Peres, 88, to Temple Emanu-El. "There's a lot of these young ones, and they give us a lot of energy, but we need the wisdom of those who've gone through all the struggles."

The Democratic governor recalled meeting Peres some 40 years ago, when Peres was promoting Israeli bonds.

"I had purchased one by then, so that was very good," said Brown, who once reported the investment in his financial disclosures. "And I still have it, testifying to my faith in the future."

Brown said he and Peres spoke about brain research, and Brown suggested California and Israel could create a joint research program similar to the California-Israeli solar energy initiative Brown promoted when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983.

The Legislature's budget analyst says that lawmakers should postpone action on Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to make changes in the state Unemployment Insurance Fund until "a long-term solvency plan" is formulated.

With double-digit unemployment, California has been running multi-billion-dollar deficits in the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which is financed by payroll taxes on employers, and has borrowed $10 billion from the federal government to keep state payments flowing. The state is responsible for the first 26 weeks of benefits while the federal government pays for up to 73 more weeks.

Interest payments on the federal loan, more than $300 million, must be paid this year, and the state is borrowing money from the Disability Insurance Fund, which is paid by a tax on workers, to cover the interest. Brown proposes to continue that borrowing next year, but also to raise payroll taxes on employers to pick up the interest costs and tighten eligibility for unemployment benefits. The federal government, meanwhile, will also increase those taxes to repay its UIF loans if the state does not act.

In a new report,

"We recognize that, in light of uncertainty regarding federal UI reforms and the recovery of California's labor market, the Legislature may wish to take a wait-and-see approach during 2012 and delay enactment of a long-term solvency plan until next year," the LAO report says. "Enactment of a long-term plan will likely necessitate significant legislative deliberation and compromise among the various stakeholders of the UI system. For this reason, if the Legislature elects to delay addressing UI fund insolvency, we think that is would be premature to enact the governor's proposed employer surcharge and monetary eligibility changes."

The LAO says that to make the UIF solvent, the Legislature would probably have to boost payroll taxes and reduce eligibility for benefits further - tough issues with the economy still struggling.

Gov. Jerry Brown has reported another $631,000 in contributions to a campaign committee formed to support his proposed tax initiative, bringing his fundraising total so far to $3.4 million.

More than half of the contributions to Brown's committee reported in the Tuesday morning campaign filing came from pipe trades' and plumbers' unions. The committee, "Californians to Protect Schools, Universities, and Public Safety," also reported a $100,000 donation from the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians.

The Democratic governor is gathering voter signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot. His proposal, one of three competing measures in circulation, would temporarily increase income taxes on Californians making $250,000 a year and enact a half percent hike in the state sales tax. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that the proposal would raise roughly $5 billion a year to help close the state's budget gap.

Brown's supporters must collect 807,615 valid voter signatures in the coming months to make it on this year's ballot.

Brown also reported $45,000 in contributions to his 2014 re-election committee today. The Washington, D.C.-based Entertainment Software Association gave him $25,000 and software company Intuit wrote a $20,000 check.

As hundreds of students continued to protest cuts to higher education at the state Capitol this afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown said in a prepared statement that the students reflect the frustration of millions of Californians.

About 350 of the thousands of demonstrators who descended on the Capitol this morning remain inside the building. About 200 protesters gained entry to the Capitol rotunda before California Highway Patrol officers blocked entrances to the area, leaving others to shout from the hallways.

"The students today are reflecting the frustrations of millions of Californians who have seen their public schools and universities eroded year after year," the Democratic governor said in a prepared statement. "That's why it's imperative that we get more tax revenue this November."

Brown is behind a November ballot initiative to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, one of three competing initiatives.

Many of the protesters at the Capitol today are affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the protest inside the Capitol adopted a familiar tone. It was only after lengthy discussion that the protesters decided how many demands to make - one to five - and started considering what those demands should be.

"There are a lot of things I'd like to see changed," said Ruthe Offill, a senior at University of California, Merced.

The size of the crowd, alone, she said, was inspiring.

"Just seeing so many people standing up," Offill said, "that's at least a step in the right direction."

When asked why it had blocked protesters at the rotunda entrances, the CHP said it would comment later.

California Republican Party spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns suggested on Twitter on Friday that a pundit who criticized Rush Limbaugh for calling a law school student a "slut" is herself one, touching off a flood of criticism on the social networking site.

"Stripper, or strategist?" said Kerns, who posts on Twitter as @CAPartyGirl. "Democratic strategist on MSNBC raging against Limbaugh, her name is supposedly 'Krystal Ball.' Speaking of #sluts ..."

Stripper, or strategist? Democrat strategist on MSNBC raging against Limbaugh, her name is supposedly "Krystal Ball." Speaking of #sluts...

— CA Party Girl (@CAPartyGirl) March 3, 2012

Ball, an MSNBC contributor, was a failed congressional candidate in 2010, in an election in which suggestive photographs of her at a party years earlier surfaced.

On Twitter, Democrats criticized Kerns for her remark and moved swiftly to capitalize on it.

"Wow," wrote Gov. Jerry Brown's press secretary, Gil Duran. "Sure seems like one of those 'apologize or resign' moments to me."

Kerns wrote, "C'mon, it is a sense of humor. Woman to woman, I've never called anyone that. If I offended Krystal in any way, that was not my intention."

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro called the Tweet a "mistake" but came to Kerns' defense.

"She knows she made a mistake," he said this morning. "She apologized for it."

Kerns' Tweet came the same day President Barack Obama made a supportive telephone call to the Georgetown law school student Limbaugh criticized on his radio show. The student, Sandra Fluke, had testified before Congress in favor of birth control coverage.

On Twitter later Friday, Ball addressed Kerns' Tweet.

"I call Rush out for slut-shaming and in response, CA GOP spokesperson @capartygirl calls me a #slut," she wrote. "Ah the irony."

Former Marin County Supervisor Hal Brown, Gov. Jerry Brown's cousin, died today of cancer, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

He was 66.

Jerry Brown was governor before when, in 1983, he appointed his cousin to the county board, filling a seat left open when U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer went to Congress. The supervisor resigned from the board last year after being diagnosed with cancer.

"Hal was a champion for the people of Marin County, to whom he dedicated his life of public service," the governor said in a prepared statement. "His concern for the community shined through in all of his actions as a public official and he greeted the greatest of challenges with courage and humor."

The nonprofit foundation used by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to finance overseas trade missions and a going-away party for administration officials was used by Gov. Jerry Brown last year to pay for a climate change conference and for hotel lodging for staffers from out of town, among other activities, an official said.

The California State Protocol Foundation, funded primarily by donations left over from Brown's inaugural committee, spent about $24,000 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel for administration staffers traveling to Sacramento from out of town, mostly in the months immediately after Brown took office, said George Kieffer, the Los Angeles lawyer who heads the foundation.

The foundation spent about $13,000 on travel and about $7,500 for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Capitol, he said. It spent about $1,200 for a reception at the Capitol to celebrate swearing in of Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court.

After Brown was sworn in last year, his inaugural committee donated leftover funds to the foundation and to the California State Residence Foundation, which pays the rent at Brown's loft in Sacramento. Kieffer said the Protocol Foundation received $150,000 from the committee, whose donors represented a range of interests with business before the state.

At the Democratic governor's behest, donors including the California Ocean Science Trust and the California Academy of Sciences also contributed about $100,000 to the Protocol Foundation to host a climate change conference in San Francisco. AT&T donated $13,065 for 1,500 long distance telephone cards for California National Guard troops overseas.

The Protocol Foundation's remaining balance is about $100,000, Kieffer said.

The foundation's operations were more expansive when Schwarzenegger was governor. In 2010, his final year in office, corporate donors contributed more than $1 million to the foundation at his behest.

"So far, the governor has made this a fairly easy task," Kieffer said of Brown. "He's just not spending a lot of money."

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez has given Gov. Jerry Brown a beer stein, the governor disclosed today.

The Los Angeles Democrat, it would seem, would like Brown to drink in style: In a statement of economic interest filed with the state, Brown listed the value of the December gift at $125.64.

The Democratic governor also reported receiving a dinner valued at $104.58 from a California building association. On Valentine's Day last year, the president of Delancey Street Foundation, a program for former drug addicts, ex-convicts and others, gave Brown $75 in flowers.

Except for the three gifts, Brown's financial interests remain largely unchanged from the previous year. They include six interests valued at between $100,001 and $1 million. Among those, Brown holds stock in Health Fusion Inc., a medical office software company. Anne Gust Brown, the first lady and former Gap executive, holds stock in Jack in the Box.

Gov. Jerry Brown urged charter school supporters at the Capitol this afternoon to back his ballot initiative to raise taxes, as he continues to try pushing the proponents of competing tax initiatives to step aside.

"We need your support," the Democratic governor told a cheering crowd on the Capitol lawn. "We need the support of all the teachers and the supporters of the public schools in California."

Brown's remarks follow his private meeting in Los Angeles on Tuesday with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. A so-called "millionaires tax" proposed by the California Federation of Teachers is one of two tax measures threatening to compete with Brown's November ballot initiative to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Brown, who met with other labor leaders in Washington over the weekend to "build support for the single tax," believes the presence of multiple tax initiatives on the ballot could dilute support for any one of them, causing all to fail. He said as he left the rally this afternoon that his meeting with Weingarten was "very good," but he declined to discuss it in any detail.

"She's a real educational leader, and we found a lot to agree with," Brown said. "It was a very, I thought, very stimulating meeting, and I certainly learned a lot, and I might have even given her an idea or two."

Weingarten, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Brown, who started two charter schools when he was mayor of Oakland, was warmly received at the California Charter Schools Association rally. He compared starting a charter school to giving birth.

"Sometimes births are associated with pain," Brown said. "But after the pain comes the joy and the excitement of some new being and reality, and that's what charter schools are in California."

Brown said charter schools represent "power coming up from the bottom."

He told the charter school supporters, "That's what you represent: You're rebels out there, insurgents."

WASHINGTON - As he lobbied the Obama administration for four days for authorization to enact further cuts to Medi-Cal to help balance California's budget, Gov. Jerry Brown talked frequently about his frustration, the administration having recently turned down his request to charge co-payments for doctor visits, prescription drugs and other services.

After meetings this afternoon with Obama advisers at the White House and, later, with members of California's Congressional delegation at the U.S. Capitol, Brown aide Nancy McFadden suggested he stop.

"There are possibilities that are being examined that will enable California to more tightly manage its Medi-Cal program, and some of that involves co-payments," the Democratic governor was telling reporters.

"But if you talk too much about it, you might hurt your negotiations," McFadden said.

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown has run into any number of old acquaintances while in Washington over the weekend, most of whom he seemed to recall.

But there are others. Approached by a man following a meeting at the White House this morning, the 73-year-old Democrat shook his hand, looked twice at his name tag and said he had to go.

"I'm late," Brown said.

Brown, in town for a meeting of the National Governors Association, said while walking to his car that the governors' White House dinner with President Barack Obama on Sunday night was "pretty good."

"I didn't eat the steak, but I ate the crab cakes," he said. "I try to avoid eating red meat."

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown continued to press President Barack Obama today for authorization to enact further cuts to Medi-Cal to help balance California's budget, even as the administration showed no sign of relenting and complained about the severity of state budget cuts in other areas.

Obama told governors in a meeting this morning that too many states are cutting education programs too deeply, citing teacher layoffs and rising college tuition.

"We've all faced some stark choices over the past several years," Obama said. "But that is no excuse to lose sight of what matters most. And the fact is that too many states are making cuts to education that I believe are simply too big."

California is among states that have reduced spending on higher education in the weak economy. Leaving the White House, California's Democratic governor said, "He definitely emphasized the importance of education, but the fact is, you only have so much money, and that's why I'm asking for waivers in the Medicaid program, which I haven't gotten yet."

Brown, in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association, planned to return to the White House this afternoon to "press our cause" with Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president.

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown had just finished meeting privately with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this afternoon when, on his way out, he ran into The Washington Times.

It did not go well.

"I'm just saying you've got some criticism that you've ceded way too much to the unions," said the Times' Kerry Picket.

"Give me an example," the Democratic governor said.

"As far as the education, teachers unions, and just as far as some of the contracts that have been negotiated, and that you could be making the same mistake that you made during your last administration."

"Which one was that?"

"Back in the day."

"When California had a $6 billion surplus, and was leading America, if not the world, in many different fields?"

Picket said, "Well, right now it's going bankrupt."

Brown and his advisers bristled.

"Untrue," said Brown, in Washington for the winter conference of the National Governors Association. "I've reduced the deficit that was left to me by a Republican governor from $26 billion to $9 billion, and I have a plan to reduce it to zero, and I'm working on it."

Picket kept on about bankruptcy, and Brown's press secretary, Gil Duran, told her, "You need to ask a question that's based on the truth."

Brown said, "You don't have to argue with her."

Then it went south. Picket suggested things changed in California when Republican Gov. Ronald Reagan came into office "later on," after Brown's first two terms as governor, from 1975 to 1983.

"No, Reagan came before me," Brown said. "Reagan came after my father, and then I came after Reagan."

When Picket asked again about bankruptcy, Duran said, "You're lying."

Brown asked her, "Are you a Moonie, by any chance?"

Here's video of the aftermath between Duran and Picket.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown doesn't think much of the Republicans running for president, but he encouraged them this morning to keep fighting through the summer nominating convention.

"I certainly think Ron Paul's going to keep going, and why not?" the Democratic governor and former three-time presidential hopeful said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The campaigns are to illuminate the issues, give voters a real insight into the character of the candidate. So, yeah, I say, keep going all the way."

Brown, in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, accused Republicans of making an "extreme move to the right." He said of a match-up between President Barack Obama and any of the Republican candidates, "What we're looking at is a reasonable man versus reckless men."

Brown appeared on the show with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Her state's tough immigration law came up, as did Brown's signature of legislation allowing undocumented immigrant college students to receive public financial aid. But no sparks flew between them.

Brewer, a Republican, stole some of the spotlight, using the occasion to announce her endorsement of Mitt Romney for president.

Brown referred to his November ballot initiative to raise taxes only indirectly, when asked if California is less governable now than it was when he was last governor, from 1975 to 1983.

"No," he said. "It's different. But I think it actually will be more governable, and one thing we have in California that you don't have in the United States government, we can appeal to the people through the initiative process. So when we have a breakdown of the two parties, we can go directly to the people as the tie-breaker, and I think that's the way we're going to break the logjam."

Brown said on his way into the studio that he last appeared on "Meet the Press" in 1992, the year he last ran for president.

"Hopefully they're going to put on the old pictures," he said.

Host David Gregory didn't have pictures, but he read briefly from a transcript from an appearance Brown made in the 1970s. Brown took it with him when he left.

"The politician was the star then," Brown said. "Now the interviewer is the star."

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown, who in recent weeks has become increasingly interested in luring Chinese investment to California, said today that he will lead a delegation to China, likely this year.

"I think we've got to get moving on this," the Democratic governor told reporters at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

Brown announced last week, while meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Los Angeles, that the state would open privately-financed foreign trade offices in China. California's taxpayer-funded offices there and in other countries were closed amid controversy in 2003, with critics questioning their effectiveness and cost.

Brown said he hopes to convince Chinese investors to invest in California projects instead of Treasury bills. He said China is a country of staggering wealth and that, from California's perspective, "it's a source of investment, direct investment."

Brown said Mike Rossi, an adviser, is handling the formation of a group of private interests in California to collaborate with their counterparts in China. Brown dined yesterday with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui and discussed China privately with officials at the State Department.

"This is going to be an important mission," Brown said.

Brown has rarely left the state since taking office last year and has not left the country on official business this term.

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown, arriving at the Newseum this evening for a private dinner for the Democratic Governors Association, was asked if he found it ironic that, at a building erected to celebrate the news, no reporters were allowed inside.

"You can come in," he said. "Just come in and see what they say about that."

Brown was persistent - "He can just walk through a little bit and get a smell of it," he said - but the association had already spoken, and Brown's wife and special counsel, Anne Gust Brown, suggested to her husband that with so many other governors present he could not change the rules.

So on his iPhone 4S, Brown consulted Siri.

"Should this meeting be closed to the press?"

Siri said it didn't see any meeting about that.

Gust Brown translated: "She doesn't think there's a meeting about 'Be closed to the press.'"

Brown, on the second day of a weekend trip to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama and the nation's governors, is expected to speak at the gathering. A string quartet was playing inside.

Earlier today, Brown said he did not know how much money he raised for his ballot initiative to raise taxes at another private function he attended, a fundraiser Thursday at the home of Washington lobbyist Tony Podesta.

He downplayed the event, describing it as "an opportunity for people to come together and talk a little bit."

Later, as governors arrived at the Newseum, they walked past the front pages of newspapers from around the country and, printed on the building's facade, the First Amendment.

Standing by the entrance was Mark Giangreco, a Democratic Governors Association spokesman. More reliable, perhaps, than Siri, he said the organization hosts lots of meetings.

"Many are open to press," Giangreco said. "Some are not."

WASHINGTON -- Gov. Jerry Brown lobbied the Obama administration today for authorization to enact further Medi-Cal cuts, after the administration earlier rejected California's bid to charge copayments for prescription drugs, hospital visits and other services.

"We're optimistic that we can get some compromise on that waiver," Brown told reporters after meeting with President Barack Obama and Democratic governors in Washington.

The Medi-Cal waiver that the Democratic governor is seeking includes authorization to charge copayments and, he said, a "few other things." Brown is counting on about $296 million in savings from a waiver to help balance next year's budget.

Brown, who met Thursday with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said he also is seeking relief from mandates of the No Child Left Behind law. Obama has offered to let states opt out of No Child Left Behind, but the conditions of a waiver include teacher evaluation and testing requirements that may be difficult for the state to meet.

Brown described his discussions with Duncan as a "work in progress."

Brown is in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, a gathering he skipped last year. He cited the Medi-Cal and No Child Left Behind waivers as primary reasons for coming.

"As governor of California, my goal was to get greater flexibility so that we can cut the Medi-Cal program where we need to, and where we can get flexibility on some of the federal restrictions on our education programs, and I think, I think we made a positive step to achieve all that."

Brown arrived for the meeting with Obama on a chartered bus carrying about 15 Democratic governors.

In a briefing at the White House, Josh Earnest, a spokesman, said Obama was "eager to continue the ongoing discussion with Democratic governors about the ways that the federal government and the states can work together to create jobs and grow the economy."

Outside a few minutes later, Brown heaped praise on Obama in return.

"He's all fired up, extremely knowledgeable," Brown said. "I was very impressed with the way he understands this government from top to bottom."

Brown ate lunch with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui and was scheduled to meet privately with officials at the State Department to discuss China. Brown, who met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping last week in Los Angeles, said he is "very serious" about promoting Chinese investment in California.

Brown also raised money at a private fundraiser on Thursday night for his ballot initiative to raise taxes.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to give drivers a $5 discount for avoiding Department of Motor Vehicles offices when they renew their registration, but the state's top fiscal analyst questioned the plan Friday as a money loser.

Drivers would save $5, dropping the renewal rate from $43 to $38, if they register by mail, phone, online, auto clubs, private vendors or self-service terminals. Brown says this would cut wait times and congestion at DMV offices.

But in its review, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says the proposal would result in $75 million in lost revenues in 2012-13 and $100 million annually thereafter. Meanwhile, the state would ultimately lose only 25 positions for $706,000 in annual savings. It would not affect the state's general fund budget -- for now, at least -- but instead the special Motor Vehicle Account that pays for DMV operations and is funded largely through registration fees.

WASHINGTON -- Gov. Jerry Brown said today that Senate Republicans are getting "a little petty" in their unwillingness to confirm the appointment of Herbert L. Carter as chairman of the California State University Board of Trustees.

"They don't have much power left, so when they can take a shot, they will," the Democratic governor told reporters after meeting with governors and President Barack Obama in Washington.

Brown said he has "no idea" if Republicans will also move to block his appointment of Steve Glazer, Brown's political adviser, to the CSU board.

But, Brown said, the "reserve of good appointments is very large," adding that he is "prepared to make annual appointments if they're unprepared to collaborate."

Gov. Jerry Brown, who has rarely left the state since taking office last year, will travel to Washington this weekend to meet with President Barack Obama and governors at the National Governors Association's winter meeting.

The Democratic governor is scheduled to meet with Obama, senior administration officials, California's congressional delegation and the Chinese ambassador, among other meetings.

When he skipped last year's meeting of the nation's governors, Brown spokesman Gil Duran cited "pressing business" in California. Brown also avoided such meetings early in his first two terms as governor, from 1975 to 1983, citing similar reasons.

Within two years, however, he changed course and attended several of the gatherings, raising his political profile while lobbying for various California interests.

Nine years after California disbanded its foreign trade offices amid controversy, Gov. Jerry Brown announced today that the state will open two offices in China.

California shut down 12 taxpayer-funded trade offices in 2003, after the Legislative Analyst's Office, among other observers, questioned their effectiveness and cost. Brown's office said in a statement that new trade offices in Shanghai and Beijing will be financed by "partners in the private sector."

"The Pacific Rim has become the center of the world economy, presenting California with countless opportunities to grow alongside our neighbors across the ocean," Brown said in a prepared statement. "The office will encourage direct investment and further strengthen the existing ties between the world's second- and ninth-largest economies."

The announcement coincides with a visit to Los Angeles by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. The Democratic governor is in Los Angeles today hosting him.

The idea of reestablishing a presence in China came up last year, when Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would seek to reopen California's foreign trade offices, first in China.

Gov. Jerry Brown reversed course this week by restoring $496 million in school bus money in his budget proposal for next fiscal year after facing criticism from education groups.

The decision comes after the governor signed legislation Friday that restored bus funding for the remainder of the current school year after districts lost that money in December's midyear cuts. Brown quietly issued a new education budget plan this week ahead of a Thursday state Senate hearing.

Brown's reversal in 2012-13 comes with some caveats. First, it relies on voters approving his plan to raise income taxes on the wealthy earners, as well as sales taxes by a half cent. It allows districts to spend their bus money on other purposes. And the governor intends to eliminate school transportation earmarks in 2013-14, though districts may receive funding in a new form allowing them to maintain bus service.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced today that he has signed legislation reconstituting the California Board of Registered Nursing, whose legal authority expired on Jan. 1 after Brown vetoed a bill last year to extend its existence.

The Democratic governor signed Senate Bill 98 without comment, reinstating the board through 2015.

When he vetoed legislation last year to extend the nursing board's existence, Brown said he objected to language that would have expanded pension benefits for board investigators -- language not included in the bill that Brown signed today.

The nursing board regulates nearly 380,000 registered nurses in California. It is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations regarding nursing education and licensing, among other duties.

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks Saturday at the state Democratic Party convention.
AP photo/Gregory Bull


SAN DIEGO - While supporters of a competing "millionaire's tax" waved banners outside, Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledged today having a "few issues" with his own bid to raise taxes.

But in a speech to California Democrats at their annual convention, Brown said almost nothing more about an issue central to his agenda and to a growing rift between Democrats in this election year.

"Look, we've got some issues. We've got a tax measure, we have a little, few issues there, and we'll be talking about that from time to time," he said. "You'll get your marching orders soon enough."

Backstage, Brown told reporters, "I think you guys have to take each speech one at a time ... We have a good plan. We've laid it out, and now we have our work to do, and we're going to do it."

SAN DIEGO -- Backers of a "millionaire's tax" proposed for the November ballot got a boost from activist and former Obama adviser Van Jones last night.

Jones, the guest speaker at the Friday night kick-off of the state Democratic Party convention in San Diego, told attendees that a tax on top earners would motivate young voters facing large student loan debt and dismal job prospects in a down economy.

"That will get their attention," he said. "The idea that the people who have already climbed that ladder have to give back to them, that's the pathway forward I think to electrify that generation."

The California Federation of Teachers and the California Nurses Association are trying to qualify an income tax hike on Californians earning more than $1 million for the November ballot to fund schools and other services. Jones did not specify whether he was referencing that proposal or the general idea of a millioniare's tax, but the remarks drew applause from the crowd gathered at the Friday night reception. Supporters of the initiative have been out in full force during the annual party gathering, distributing signs and campaign literature promoting the plan.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who has filed his own tax initiative to help balance the state budget, is scheduled to address the convention delegates later this morning. He has argued that a ballot with multiple tax initiatives will increase the chances of failure for all measures aimed at budget relief. His proposal would temporarily raise income tax rates for California's top earners and enact a half-cent sales tax increase.

SAN DIEGO -- California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton agrees with Gov. Jerry Brown that Molly Munger's November tax initiative could hurt the governor's bid to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Too many tax measures on one ballot, the thinking goes, and wide-eyed voters might look at all of them and say, "No."

But the powers of a party chairman are not without limits.

"What are you going to do, you know, go get a hit squad to tell Molly Munger, 'We'll burn down your house if you don't do it?' " Burton told reporters this afternoon in San Diego, where state Democrats arrived for their annual convention.

Munger, the daughter of a business partner of Warren Buffett, has contributed nearly $1 million to her campaign, an initiative to raise income taxes on all but the poorest Californians.

Burton said he hasn't talked to her and wouldn't know her if he saw her. But if he called her about her initiative, he said, he thought the conversation might go something like this:

"You really want to do this?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanna."

"OK."

Burton should know. He has proposed an initiative of his own, a tax on oil production, though even he said today that he is "of the opinion that more people would look favorably on the governor's proposals than the others."

A reporter asked Burton if he thought Munger's initiative, should it qualify, would doom Brown's.

"That's a good question," he said. "How in the hell would I know?"

The Legislative Analyst's Office raised concerns with Gov. Jerry Brown's higher education budget in a new report today, including his plans to tighten Cal Grant requirements and automatically increase funding if his tax plan passes.

After the state slashed its higher education spending by 21 percent during the recession, the Democratic governor has proposed 4 percent annual increases to the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges for three fiscal years starting in 2013-14 -- but only if voters approve his plan to hike taxes on sales and wealthy earners. If voters reject the plan, the systems would lose state funding in 2012-13.

Brown made the 4 percent promise as a sweetener to his tax proposal, which he's trying to bill as a plan for funding education and public safety. The analyst's office recommended that lawmakers reject the 4 percent promise. Pledging to give automatic increases presents problems, the LAO said, because other parts of the budget could suffer, lawmakers would have little discretion if one higher education system needed more money than another, and the pledge ignores enrollment and inflation, among other reasons.

Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said the governor wants to give the education systems "a level of stability and predictability."

The analyst's office also raised questions with Brown's plan to increase grade-point average requirements to receive Cal Grant awards.

Gov. Jerry Brown built his budget on the hope of voters passing a multibillion-dollar tax hike in November, but the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office raised questions about his treatment of education funding in a new report issued today.

The governor has said that if voters reject his tax hike on upper-income taxpayers and sales, schools would face mid-year cuts equal to eliminating three weeks of instruction.

The analyst's office said that in order to cut school funding that much, the governor would have to pursue "risky" budget maneuvers that raise serious policy questions. Beyond that, the analyst warned that districts will find it difficult to absorb a roughly 5 percent mid-year program cut and may need special ability to lay off teachers after the November vote.

Brown has political motivation to put education funding on the line in the November election - polls show voters list it as their top priority. While it is true that education takes roughly 40 percent of the state budget - and any revenue loss would thus have to fall partly on schools - the governor's plan may run into problems with the constitution and education groups.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation allowing the state to borrow $865 million from earmarked funds to help avoid a cash flow problem in March, Brown's office announced today.

Senate Bill 95 was approved by the Legislature on Thursday, after Controller John Chiang warned that without additional borrowing and payment delays, the state would fall into the red by March. The bill mostly involves transportation funds.

The Democratic governor signed the bill without comment.

Gov. Jerry Brown said this evening that California is losing manufacturing at a rate no faster than the rest of the country, telling the TV show host and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm the problem is a national one.

"This is the place where Facebook started, where Hewlett-Packard started, where Steve Jobs built Apple Computer just a few miles from where we're sitting," California's Democratic governor said on Current TV's "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm. "This is a place of innovation."

Granholm told Brown, "When I was governor of Michigan, I would come here and try to get people in Silicon Valley to take their technology to scale in Michigan, because California seemed to be so expensive."

Brown defended his state, saying California "has lost manufacturing at about the same rate as the rest of America, so this is a national problem."

Said the former Michigan governor: "Oh, for sure."

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pops up from time to time to snipe at Gov. Jerry Brown, suggested today that his fellow Democrat lacks a "vision for greatness" and is "not necessarily the most collaborative executive," and he criticized social service cuts Brown has proposed.

"We've got a governor who is doing a very good job focusing on solvency," the former San Francisco mayor, who dropped out of the gubernatorial race in 2010, said on KQED Radio's Forum. "But what we need is a vision for greatness again."

Brown and Newsom have a distant relationship, and about the warmest thing Newsom would say about Brown today is that he is a "unique person" and "in many respects a brilliant political tactician."

As he has before, Newsom said he was disappointed by proposed cuts to early education and welfare programs. But he also suggested that he could do better, and that he had an answer for the administration when asked what budget measures he might come up with instead.

"You give me your finance team, give me the controller, and give me your department heads, and give me 48 hours," Newsom said, "and I'll come up with them."

Brown spokesman Gil Duran declined to comment, except to say, "We stay busy over here in the governor's office."

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown was confiscating state-issued cellphones and cars. This year, he's finding grout pumps and chairs.

Such is his attention to budget dust in austere times.

In a memorandum last week to agency secretaries, Brown's executive secretaries, Jim Humes and Nancy McFadden, ordered agency secretaries to review their property-accounting procedures.

"We recognize that the state has over 190,000 employees, and that property can be occasionally lost or misplaced in the regular course of business," their memo said. "However, every state employee must use state property responsibly, and departments must have effective internal controls."

The agencies are to report their findings within six months.

Brown's office provided some examples of state-owned items that were found after being reported lost, stolen or destroyed.

They included one $415,000 X-ray machine and four $26,000 dental chairs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a surveillance system erroneously listed as "missing" at a Department of Motor Vehicles field office, and a $26,000 grout pump reported stolen, but later found.

Brown is trying to improve documentation and tighten controls, spokeswoman Elizabeth Ashford said.

Gov. Jerry Brown said in an interview airing in Los Angeles today that California's high-speed rail project will cost far less than the state's current estimate of nearly $100 billion and that environmental fees paid by carbon producers will be a source of funding.

"It's not going to be $100 billion," the Democratic governor said on ABC 7's Eyewitness Newsmakers program. "That's way off."

Brown's remarks come as his administration prepares revisions to the California High-Speed Rail Authority's latest business plan. Brown is trying to push the project through an increasingly skeptical Legislature following a series of critical reports.

"Phase 1, I'm trying to redesign it in a way that in and of itself will be justified by the state investment," Brown said. "We do have other sources of money: For example, cap-and-trade, which is this measure where you make people who produce greenhouse gasses pay certain fees - that will be a source of funding going forward for the high speed rail."

Brown said, "It's going to be a lot cheaper than people are saying."

The annual spending plan Brown released this month included $1 billion in cap-and-trade revenue for programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The budget document lacked detail, however, saying, "Further detail on specific program areas will be developed when there is more certainty of fees received from the Cap and Trade Program."

The interview aired following Brown's trip last week to Southern California, his second in two weeks as he begins campaigning for his ballot initiative to raise taxes.

"It isn't all, you know, going to football games and buying clothes and cars and gasoline and all the things people want to do in their private life," Brown said. "We also have a public investment, and that's part of the balance of a civilization."

Brown has also proposed changes to reduce pension costs, and he suggested he may take that measure to the ballot, too, if the Legislature does not act.

"One way or the other, if we can't get it through the Legislature," he said, "then there's always the initiative route at some point."

Less than a week after Gov. Jerry Brown claimed widespread business support for his ballot initiative to raise taxes - including donations from big healthcare and oil companies - the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business urged business groups this afternoon to resist any effort by Brown to "cajole" them.

"We know that Governor Brown, just through the power of his office alone, can cajole and perhaps even threaten vulnerable businesses," the groups said in an open letter. "It is therefore not lost on us that, under certain circumstances, modest support to help the governor place his measure on the ballot might be viewed a lesser of two evils or, more likely, as an insurance payment. However, on behalf of citizen taxpayers and the small business community, we appeal to your sense of doing what is right for all of California."

The Democratic governor, who is proposing to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest-earners, has enjoyed a relatively favorable relationship with business interests since taking office, and he met with business groups last week in Southern California. The letter was released on the eve of an appearance by Brown before the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Brown spokesman Gil Duran cited favorable polling for the tax measure - including among Republicans - and dismissed as "a baseless accusation, a hyperventilation meant to generate headlines" the suggestion that business groups might feel threatened by Brown.

The taxpayers association and business federation said the higher taxes proposed by Brown would hurt California's already-shaky economy.

"We also would like to reiterate our belief that when citizen taxpayer groups, small business interests and major corporations stand together for the common good, we constitute a formidable force to prevent a further erosion of California's tax and regulatory climate," the groups said in their letter. "Therefore, representing citizen taxpayers and small businesses in California, we appeal to you and your members to do the right thing and oppose any and all proposed tax increases. As Benjamin Franklin once noted, we must hang together in order to avoid hanging separately."

In yet another blow to California's troubled high-speed rail project, California's state auditor said this morning that the project's financing is "increasingly risky" and its oversight inadequate.

In a follow-up report to her agency's 2010 critique of the project, state Auditor Elaine Howle said the California High-Speed Rail Authority's most recent business plan relies on uncertain funding sources and that "the program's overall financial situation has become increasingly risky."

Howle's report is the latest in a series of critical reports about the project, including by the Legislative Analyst's Office and the rail authority's own peer review group. Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to press the nearly $100 billion project through the Legislature this year.

Howle's report questions the authority's ridership projections, saying the group that reviewed those numbers was "handpicked" by the authority's chief executive officer, and it accused the authority of failing to adequately manage its many contractors.

"Without sufficient staffing," the report said, "the authority has struggled to oversee its contractors and subcontractors, who outnumber its employees by about 25 to one."

Howle also said the rail authority violated a state rule prohibiting agencies from splitting contracts to avoid competitive bidding requirements, dividing $3.1 million in information technology services into 13 different contracts with one vendor over 15 months.

In a written response, the rail authority said contract management remains "a huge challenge for the authority due to a lack of sufficient qualified staff." But it discounted as "purely speculative" Howle's claim that the plan is financially risky.

The authority all but conceded that it had mismanaged its information technology contracts, saying it "will develop procedures to detect and prevent contract splitting."

Tom Hayden, the former state senator and animal rights activist urged Gov. Jerry Brown in an online video today to look at his dog, Sutter, before repealing a state law requiring animal shelters to keep dogs and cats longer before euthanizing them.

"Governor, I see you're a dog owner. I can tell from the publicity that you love that dog, your wife loves that dog," Hayden, the former Santa Monica state senator who wrote the 1998 bill, says in the video. "So stop and think: Thousands of dogs and cats are put to death needlessly every year ... I urge you to look at your dog before you allow this bill that protects animals to die."

The mandate, suspended since 2009, lengthened the time animal shelters must hold stray animals before euthanizing them, generally to six days from three. It is one of about 30 local government mandates the Democratic governor is proposing to repeal next fiscal year to save money - about $46 million from the shelter mandate alone.

In a report recommending the mandate's repeal, the Legislative Analyst's Office in 2008 found no link between the mandate and programs encouraging animal adoption.

Sutter, the Pembroke Welsh corgi, has been a source of reliably positive publicity for his owner for more than a year. But animal rights activists this month began using his name in opposition to Brown's proposal to repeal the shelter mandate. Those efforts include a Facebook page, "Sutter's Friends."

SAN DIEGO - Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he will make a proposal by summer for a peripheral canal or other way to move water through or around the Delta, a controversial, multi-billion project.

The Democratic governor said the project itself - not including the cost of restoring the Delta - will be paid for by water users and will not require a general obligation bond. He did not address financing for environmental mitigation in any detail.

"To get the project, we do not need tax money," Brown said. "The big water users will pay for having water reliability."

Brown, concluding a two-day swing through Southern California to promote infrastructure spending and his ballot measure to raise taxes, said he is "cleaning up a mess" in state spending that requires both additional tax revenue and service cuts, as Brown discussed here:

While Gov. Jerry Brown sold his budget plan to outside groups in Southern California, state lawmakers greeted his proposal with a skeptical eye Thursday inside the Capitol.

In a Senate budget committee hearing, Democrats raised concerns not only about Brown's cuts to schools and health and welfare programs, but also about the strength of his revenue projections, which the nonpartisan legislative analyst has called optimistic.

One Democrat, Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, took issue with Brown's tax hikes because he said the sales tax increase would hurt the poor.

"I understand the politics, but in terms of policy and benefiting poor people, I think this does them a disservice," Wright said. "If somebody makes $10,000 a year or somebody makes $300,000 a year, the sales tax on toilet paper is the same. I'm just saying that disadvantages the people I represent in Watts or Compton."

SAN DIEGO - One day after urging a series of education changes in his State of the State address, Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he expects a major part of his plan to face staunch opposition, while other elements remain murky.

The Democratic governor called his proposal to change the categorical funding system for public schools a "heavy lift," and he predicted a tussle in the Legislature. He said wealthy areas of the state are likely to object to a plan he said would shift money to lower-income schools.

"That's a big, major reform with real bite in it," Brown said.

Brown is also proposing less state testing, but it is not yet clear exactly how some of his other ideas about education might come to fruition.

"The actual details we'll get soon," he told reporters after speaking in San Diego this afternoon.

A Republican senator's push to override Gov. Jerry Brown's veto of his state parks legislation failed today in the California Senate.

Sen. Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, brought up for reconsideration Senate Bill 356, which had proposed giving local governments the opportunity an opportunity to take over operation of state parks slated for closure due to budget cuts.

Blakeslee said the override would send a message to Brown, whom he described as California's "dreamer" governor in light of Wednesday's State of the State address, that the Legislature is working to "to economize and keep parks open."

"We have real world problems today that need immediate addressing and this is an opportunity for us potentially to keep state parks open that would otherwise close," he said.

Thirty-five senators had voted for the measure when it cleared the upper house unanimously in September. But support for bucking the Democratic governor, who called the legislation "unnecessary" in a veto message, was not as strong. Blakeslee's attempt to secure the two-thirds vote needed to override Brown's action failed with 13 lawmakers voting yes and 22 voting no. Those turning thumbs down included 20 Democrats who supported the bill last year.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said that while the legislation is "meritorious," a move to override a governor's veto is "not a decision to be made lightly." Such a decision, he said, should be made by leaders from both caucuses, not an individual member.

"This isn't the bill, this isn't the time," the Sacramento Democrat said.

Blakeslee bristled at Steinberg's response, arguing that it shouldn't be left to "two people to emerge from a smoke-filled room" for the Legislature to use its constitutional authority to act independently of the governor and override a veto.

The presiding officer, Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian, admonished Blakeslee for mischaractarizing Steinberg's remarks, and Blakeslee conceded that one part of his statement wasn't accurate.

"Smoking in state buildings in California is not allowed, so it probably would not be a smoke-filled room," he quipped.

IRVINE -- Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning that he expects "widespread business support" for his campaign to raise taxes, including from health care and oil companies.

"Business is not only supporting it, but they're putting their money where their mouth is," Brown told reporters after meeting privately with about 50 members of the Orange County Business Council.

Brown has raised more than $1.2 million for his November ballot initiative to raise the state sale tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

He said of the proposal, "It's balanced, it's reasonable, and it's temporary."

The Democratic governor's remarks came on the second day of a two-day swing through Southern California to promote his plan to raise taxes and to invest in infrastructure and schools. Brown is scheduled to address the City Club of San Diego at noon.

On the club's website, the speech is titled "The State of the State, Plus One." Brown delivered his State of the State address on Wednesday.

His appearances today are in more conservative territory than on Wednesday, when Brown addressed the Democratic-controlled Legislature in Sacramento and an invitation-only crowd in Los Angeles. Both San Diego and Orange counties went for Brown's Republican opponent, Meg Whitman in the 2010 election -- in Orange County, by almost 20 percentage points.

Lucetta Dunn, president of the Orange County Business Council, said the group has not endorsed Brown's tax proposal but that "the room was supportive." She called it a "terrific meeting."

After meeting with teachers in Burbank on Tuesday afternoon, Brown was optimistic about his chances of passing a ballot measure to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

"I think the voters are understanding," he said.

LOS ANGELES -- Hours after delivering his State of the State address to the Legislature this morning, Gov. Jerry Brown arrived this afternoon in Los Angeles, where he essentially read it again.

The Democratic governor told an invitation-only crowd at Los Angeles City Hall, including former Gov. Gray Davis and philanthropist Eli Broad, that he flew down this afternoon because "the business of government is not just under the Capitol dome," though a bank of television cameras at the back pointed to another reason a politician might visit L.A.

Brown is proposing a ballot measure to raise taxes, and he told reporters later, after meeting privately with teachers at an elementary school in Burbank, that he plans to travel more often this year.

"You can expect to see me in Los Angeles a lot more in the coming months," he said.

Brown is scheduled to appear in Irvine and San Diego on Thursday, concluding a two-day swing through Southern California.

Brown was accompanied by senior advisers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento, including his wife, Anne Gust Brown.

He told reporters an updated business plan for California's controversial high-speed rail project will be released in three weeks.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants the green light to move forward with construction of California's proposed bullet train.

The Democratic governor called on the Legislature to approve funding for the high-speed rail project today, telling lawmakers in his State of the State address that a revised business plan that will allow construction on the project to start by the end of the year will be released within weeks.

Despite ongoing criticisms about the cost and blueprint for the voter-approved rail project, Democratic legislative leaders appear poised to back the governor's commitment to the bullet train.

See why Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg support the project and where they stand on the question of where to start laying the track in this video from their Capitol press conference today.

Gov. Jerry Brown can begin collecting signatures on his tax initiative thanks to a timely release by state Attorney General Kamala Harris today.

Minutes before Brown took the podium in the Assembly chambers for his State of the State address, Harris' office issued petition language on his plan to ask voters for a temporary hike in income taxes on the rich and sales taxes.

The governor received a favorable title: "TEMPORARY TAXES TO FUND EDUCATION. GUARANTEED LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING." Brown hopes to frame his initiative as a $6.9 billion increase to pay for schools and public safety, the two highest priority issues for voters.

First Lady Anne Gust Brown and top aide Nancy McFadden said Brown's campaign team would begin collecting signatures today.

The petition language reflects the disparity between the governor's tax projections and those of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Though Brown believes his plan will raise $6.9 billion annually, the analyst thinks it will raise only $4.8 billion in the first budget cycle and $5.5 billion on average at full implementation.

Gov. Jerry Brown began his speech Wednesday by chiding Republican lawmakers who responded a little too rapidly to his State of the State address. Assembly Republican leader Connie
Conway and Senate Republican leader Bob Huff put out their videotaped response a day earlier.

"I noticed that Connie and Mr. Huff put out their critique of my speech 24 hours ago," Brown said. "I'll let you in on a little secret -- my speech wasn't finished 24 hours ago."

Given what he called their "powers of precognition and clairvoyance," Brown said he planned to check with Conway and Huff on some stock tips after the speech.

"We could use them -- especially the state," he said.

Here's an assortment of responses that arrived after Brown stopped talking:

Here is the full text of Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State 2012 address, "California on the Mend," as released by the Governor's Press Office on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. Remarks as prepared.

As required by the state constitution, I am reporting to you this morning on the condition of our state.

Putting it as simply as I can, California is on the mend. Last year, we were looking at a structural deficit of over $20 billion. It was a real mess. But you rose to the occasion and together we shrunk state government, reduced our borrowing costs and transferred key functions to local government, closer to the people. The result is a problem one fourth as large as the one we confronted last year.

Gov. Jerry Brown defended his plan to raise taxes in his State of the State address this morning, the second of his third term, depicting California as a place of opportunity ripe for investment in high-speed rail, water infrastructure and schools.

"California is on the mend," he said.

Brown called his ballot measure to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest-earners "fair," and he suggested, as he has for weeks, that schools would suffer if higher taxes aren't approved.

"Given the cutbacks to education in recent years, it is imperative that California devote more tax dollars to this most basic of public services," he said to applause. "If we are successful in passing the temporary taxes I have proposed and the economy continues to expand, schools will be in a much stronger position."

Republican legislative leaders rolled out their response to Gov. Jerry Brown's 2012 State of the State address Tuesday, slamming the Democratic governor for telling Californians that the"sky will fall" without higher taxes.

"Today Governor Brown shared his vision for California for the year ahead," Assembly GOP leader Connie Conway says in a video. "Republicans were eager to hear his ideas for the many challenges facing our state. Unfortunately, the governor's vision is centered around one thing: higher taxes."

The only thing is Brown hasn't shared that vision yet.

Gov. Jerry Brown will call for less statewide testing and expanding classroom focus beyond math and English in his annual State of the State address tomorrow, according to his top education adviser.

Sue Burr, executive director of the State Board of Education, told hundreds of school finance officials today that Brown will seek to reduce student testing and push districts to focus on a broader array of subject areas. She spoke at an annual workshop produced by School Services of California, which advises districts on how to budget for the next school year.

"We think there's way, way too much testing in our system right now," Burr said. "Just as an example, a 10th grade student takes 15 hours' worth of tests. So that sophomore is losing 15 hours of their instructional program."

Burr said that while some testing is necessary for measuring schools, Brown will ask lawmakers to "take (hours) away from testing and give it back to instruction."

Gov. Jerry Brown scored a tactical victory in his quest to raise taxes Tuesday when the "Think Long Committee for California" decided not to pursue its own tax reform plan this year.

The committee, which was created by billionaire Nicholas Berggruen and counted a number of prominent Californians in its membership, had proposed a massive overhaul of California taxes to reduce revenue volatility. The group was planning for the November ballot.

That complicated Brown's plans to ask voters for a more modest temporary increase in sales and income taxes that he wants to balance the state budget. He and other advocates worried that having a multitude of competing tax measures on the ballot would confuse voters and perhaps lead to rejection of all.

It's still possible, however, that Brown will have competition because Molly Munger, a wealthy civil rights activist, is pursuing a broad income tax increase to bolster public school financing. Brown is trying to persuade her to back away as well.

The Think Long Committee's announcement that it would postpone its measure until 2014 didn't mention the complicated politics of the situation but rather said it was taking more time to refine its tax reform proposal.

"It is clear from public reaction, stakeholder meetings and our own public opinion research that Californians are hungry for real reform and are more willing than ever to support a sweeping plan that is fair and will put an end to California's perpetual financial volatility and suffocating wall of debt," the committee said in a statement. "At the same time, we recognize the practical constraints of the 2012 election calendar - and have come to the conclusion that it will take more time to perfect these proposals, eliminate unintended consequences and provide every stakeholder and everyday Californians a meaningful voice in that process."

Gov. Jerry Brown is taking a mulligan, tripped up by a typographical error and forced to re-file his ballot initiative to raise taxes.

The Democratic governor on Friday filed paperwork with the state for "The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012- ver. 2." The measure is identical to one Brown filed in December, the governor said in a filing with the attorney general's office, "except that we have corrected a typographical error that resulted in two numbers being transposed."

Re-filing an initiative can delay the attorney general's preparation of its title and summary, potentially condensing the period for a proponent to gather signatures and making that effort more expensive.

But Brown adviser Steve Glazer said this afternoon that he does not expect the mistake to affect Brown's timing ahead of the November election.

"We don't think it will affect our schedule," Glazer said. "It was a typo."

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, opposes Brown's tax measure, but he was sympathetic about Brown's mistake.

"It's when you find that mistake after spending $1 million on signatures that that's a real problem," he said. "This is really part of the whole initiative game."

Coupal said he expects the re-filing to "affect the timing a little bit." But for the initiative to be on the street by the end of the month, as Glazer expects, "sounds about right," Coupal said.

Brown's measure, to temporarily increase the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, is expected to be a major focus for the governor this year, in the second year of his third term.

To see the correction, read Brown's letter on the jump

Less than 24 hours after the chief administrator of California's troubled high-speed rail project resigned, Gov. Jerry Brown this morning defended the $98.5 billion project and said he will push it forward.

The resignation of Roelof van Ark, the chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and an announcement the same day of the planned installation of Brown adviser Dan Richard as chairman of the rail board, were viewed by many as an effort by Brown to recast the project ahead of legislative hearings this year.

"I'm putting my own stamp on state government, slowly but surely," the Democratic governor told reporters after an event in Elk Grove.

He said Richard "knows his material."

The Legislature is highly skeptical of the project, and public opinion has turned against it, according to a recent Field Poll.

"We're pushing forward," Brown said. "We're going to build, but we're not going to be stupid ... We're going to be very careful and build incrementally as we go."

He said, "A lot of people want to turn off the lights. I'm not one of them. We're going to build, we're going to invest, and California is going to stay up among the great states and the great political jurisdictions of the world."

Brown was asked what people might expect to hear from him in his State of the State address next week.

He said, "You're going to hear so much that I wouldn't miss it if I were you."

The political shootout of the year, at least in Southern California, is the duel between two veteran Democratic congressmen who were thrown into the same district by the independent redistricting commission, Howard Berman and Brad Sherman.

Their high-octane contest in the new 30th Congressional District has divided Los Angeles' Jewish and labor communities. As it turns out, it has also stirred the embers of a bitter, 32-year-old battle in the state Capitol over the speakership of the state Assembly.

In 1980, Berman, then a state assemblyman, tried to oust fellow Democrat Leo McCarthy, who had become speaker six years earlier. That led to a year-long conflict that eventually ended in a draw. Willie Brown -- whom McCarthy had defeated for speaker in 1974 -- succeeded his old rival, elected over Berman by McCarthy Democrats and Republicans.

Roelof van Ark, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, announced this afternoon that he is quitting, the latest setback for the state's beleaguered campaign to build a nearly $100 billion rail network in California.

His resignation, announced at a board meeting in Los Angeles and effective in two months, comes at a critical point for the project, with rail officials bidding for Legislative approval to start construction in the Central Valley this fall. Public opinion about the project has fallen sharply, according to a recent Field Poll, and the Legislature is highly skeptical.

Minutes after van Ark's announcement, Tom Umberg announced that he is stepping down as chairman of the rail board, though he will remain a member of the board. Umberg is to be replaced next month by Dan Richard, an adviser Gov. Jerry Brown appointed to the board last year.

Brown, a Democrat, became a vocal supporter of the project last year and appointed two advisers, Richard and Mike Rossi, to the rail board. This month, Brown proposed folding the authority into a new state agency, the Transportation Agency, a measure rail officials support.

Van Ark was hired in 2010 and oversaw the authority's creation of an updated business plan that raised the estimated cost of the project to almost $100 billion over 20 years. Lawmakers said the plan was more credible than before, but many lawmakers remain critical of the project's management and cost.

Van Ark cited personal reasons for his resignation.

"I need to focus myself more on my family, and maybe some other interests," he told board members. He said he may continue on the project as a consultant.

Van Ark used his resignation announcement to reiterate his support of the rail authority's decision to start construction in the Central Valley, controversial because it is far from California's population centers. The administration signaled no change of course.

While Richard said he was "very skeptical of that notion" when he joined the board, he said, "I sit here today as somebody who's been fully convinced."

Van Ark told The Bee last year that he considered it a personal challenge to ensure implementation of the project.

"I really believe that California should have a system like this," he said. "This state is so well positioned for high-speed rail."

Editor's note: Updated at 3:05 p.m. to include comments from the meeting in Los Angeles.

PHOTO CREDIT: Roelof van Ark, 2011. The Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling

One of the best examples of the complexity in California budgeting is how Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed saving $1 billion through deep welfare-to-work cuts.

The state cannot cut $1 billion of its own money on welfare, or else it would spend so little on the program that the federal government would take away federal funds. On paper, it looks like Brown would only cut $248 million in state welfare costs, even though $1 billion in welfare programs would be reduced.

To actually save the full $1 billion, the state needs to play the annual fund shift game. Brown's solution: Rather than use only state money to fund Cal Grants - college scholarship aid for the poor - California would use $736 million of federal funds that formerly went to welfare recipients.

California receives a $3.7 billion Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant from the federal government each year, which the state uses to help pay for welfare-to-work and other programs that help the poor. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor suggested Wednesday that this block grant gives states more freedom than other federally funded programs like Medicaid.

In grappling with a deficit, the state is looking for all of the freedom it can get. So when budget writers find outside dollars that can be tapped for other purposes, they use it.

California would likely justify its federal low-income dollars for scholarships by saying that Cal Grants help poor students become employable and discourage them from starting families without financial means, thus keeping them out of the state's welfare-to-work program.

"It doesn't have to be spent on direct assistance," said Caroline Danielson, a policy fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California. "It can serve to help needy families reach self-sufficiency."

Phil Tagami, the Oakland developer who made headlines by defending his building with a shotgun during Occupy protests last year, has been appointed to the California Lottery Commission, one of three commission appointments Gov. Jerry Brown announced this afternoon.

Brown's recasting of the three-member commission comes a month after his appointment of a new lottery director, former business consultant Robert O'Neill. The lottery does about $3 billion in game sales annually and provides about $1 billion to California schools.

Like Brown, the appointees all are Democrats. Brown and Tagami, 46, know each other from Oakland, where Brown was mayor, and Tagami is a political supporter of his.

The Bay Area News Group reported in November that Tagami guarded his Rotunda Building in Oakland with a shotgun when Occupy protesters tried to force their way in.

"They took a few steps forward, and I racked the shotgun and they left," the newspaper quoted Tagami as saying. "It's sort of the universal 'Don't come any farther' sign."

Also appointed to the commission were Nathaniel Kirtman III, 40, senior vice president of publicity for NBC Universal, and John Smolin, 43, a Los Angeles County firefighter.

Brown was under some pressure to make the appointments. The terms of two of the previous three commissioners expired in November, though they continued to serve. A third commissioner stepped down in December.

The appointments require Senate confirmation and pay a $100 per diem.

A year ago, Gov. Jerry Brown said at an annual breakfast celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that education funding was a civil rights issue, defending his budget plan in the first days of his new administration.

This year, Brown didn't attend. The Democratic governor has a new budget proposal now, and lawmakers at breakfast this morning said it would hurt children, the sick and the poor.

"The members of the California Legislative Black Caucus are aware of how our communities are hurting, and we're doing all we can to prevent the budget from being balanced on the backs of those who can least afford it," said Sen. Curren Price, the Inglewood Democrat and chairman of the black caucus, which put on the event. "We're joining with (Senate) President Pro Tem (Darrell) Steinberg and others in asking the governor to hold off on his proposed budget cuts that are going to hurt schools, the sick and the working poor until the budget initiative is voted on."

If approved by voters in November, the initiative would raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest-earners. But Brown wants the Legislature to enact spending cuts by March, a measure legislative Democrats have dismissed.

"Why would we make cuts that are going to harm people and harm the economy in March when in fact in May there's a ... probability that the deficit number is going to be less?" Steinberg said when Brown proposed his budget last week.

Steinberg invoked King's legacy in his remarks this morning, at the downtown Holiday Inn.

"The politics, the difficulties, the struggles, the bills, the differences, sometimes the partisanship, the elections - they are all about the larger purpose that Dr. King spoke so eloquently about," Steinberg said. "How do we make sure as Californians that every kid has a chance, that the words about equal opportunity and good education are not just words, but are reflected in our public policies? How do we make sure we don't do any more damage to the poor and the needy and those who have suffered more than others because of the difficult budget cuts and decisions we've had to make over the last number of years?"

Brown has said the cuts are necessary in California's poor financial state.

Among the crowd at breakfast was Mervyn Dymally, lieutenant governor when Brown was governor before. Dymally, a former congressman, assemblyman and state senator, was honored in a video tribute, for which Brown recorded a message.

Brown, who had a sometimes strained relationship with Dymally, called him a friend and "one of the legends of California political history."

The 73-year-old governor added, "I'm very glad that he's upholding the finest traditions of us older folk who still cling to power."

Gov. Jerry Brown's budget would help California bring its spending in line with revenues over time, but it relies on volatile income and may contain welfare cuts that are "too severe," the state's top fiscal analyst said Wednesday in his first review.

The Democratic governor released a $92.6 billion general fund budget last week that includes health and welfare cuts while relying on voters to pass a $6.9 billion increase of income taxes on the wealthy and sales taxes. He also outlined an alternative path if the taxes fail that would reduce school program funding by $2.4 billion, about 5 percent.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, in a press conference today, emphasized the wide divide between his tax projections and Brown's. Dating back to 2010-11, Brown is more optimistic by $3.9 billion. If that gap holds, Taylor noted, eventually lawmakers and the governor will have to find more revenues or cuts than Brown proposes.

They disagree mostly over how much Californians will receive in capital gains. The governor's Department of Finance believes taxpayers will reap $96 billion in 2012; the Analyst says it will only be $62 billion, a $34 billion difference. That translates into a $3 billion tax revenue swing.

"I think what we're concerned about is that the capital gains assumptions the administration is making is a little bit optimistic," Taylor said.

"At this time we're really not asking the Legislature to do anything in particular about it," he added. "It's a little bit more, I think, waving the cautionary yellow flag that there is in our view more downside risk to the administration's numbers."

Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos responded in a statement, "As both we and the Analyst's office have indicated, revenue forecasting during this time of economic uncertainty is difficult ... While some have commented that our revenues are too low and others have said they are too high, we believe they are just right."

Taylor's report suggests that Brown's $1 billion cut in the welfare-to-work program may have some merit in emphasizing work. But he warned that scaling back aid as dramatically as Brown wants may be "too severe."

The governor's proposal drops aid to parents who fail to find jobs after 24 months, rather than the current 48 months. It also would restrict child care access to those making the equivalent of about $37,000 for a family of three, down from about $42,000.

The analyst also warned that because of the way school districts build their budgets, the governor and lawmakers need to be mindful that they may install program cuts this summer before voters have a chance to decide on taxes.

"This means schools in '12-'13 likely will implement most, if not all, of the reductions that many hope to avoid," he wrote. "Given this possibility, the Legislature needs to be very deliberate in structuring a workable trigger package."

Story has been updated with quotes from the Legislative Analyst's press conference and the Department of Finance. Child care income thresholds have been corrected to reflect state median income rather than federal poverty level calculations.

Rachel Wall, press secretary for the embattled California High-Speed Rail Authority, is leaving the agency to do public relations for a company that has its own image issues from time to time: Wal-Mart.

Wall's departure, announced in an email late Monday night, comes as the rail authority considers overhauling its multimillion dollar outreach and communications effort statewide. The authority's nearly $100 billion bid to build a rail system connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco has come under increasing criticism from the Legislature and public, and its prospects for funding are uncertain.

Rail officials last month put on hold their effort to replace its $9 million outreach contract with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, instead considering handling public relations in-house. Lance Simmens, the authority's deputy director for communications and public policy, is scheduled to brief rail officials on the matter at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday.

That will also be Wall's last day at the authority before starting work in Los Angeles for Wal-Mart, the Arkansas-based retailer.

Civil rights attorney Molly Munger has contributed $500,000 toward her tax initiative to raise $10 billion annually for education, the first significant cash backing a measure that competes with Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal, according to a campaign statement posted today.

Munger wants to raise income taxes on all but the poorest residents, with progressively higher rates up the income scale. She has filed two versions of her initiative; one would give the money entirely to education, another would provide $3 billion in state budget relief on top of money for schools.

The money flowed in two contributions for $100,000 and $400,000 to the new "Our Children, Our Future," campaign committee.

The Democratic governor and his aides are trying to convince other tax proponents to shelve their proposals, for fear that voters will be confused and vote down all tax plans. But Munger still indicates she will move forward. The donations marking the latest sign. Munger, an attorney and daughter of billionaire Charles Munger, has significant wealth to help finance the initiative.

It remains early. The major tax proponents - Brown, Munger and California Federation of Teachers - must still wait to obtain ballot language from state Attorney General Kamala Harris before they can gather signatures. At that point, each group would likely have to spend $3 million or more on signature gatherers to qualify their measures.

Brown has raised more than $1.2 million so far, campaign statements show.

The state's top fiscal analyst says Gov. Jerry Brown's tax hike would raise $2.1 billion less than he is banking on to balance his new budget, requiring deeper cuts than the governor proposed or more revenues if lawmakers use that estimate.

The Democratic governor is counting on a voter-approved tax increase on sales and the wealthy to generate $6.9 billion for the 2012-13 budget. But the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says Brown's plan would raise only $4.8 billion in the first budget cycle.

The Analyst's Office and Department of Finance included their separate projections in a joint letter to Attorney General Kamala Harris that is required for ballot preparation.

"The volatility described above makes it difficult to forecast this measure's state revenue gains from high-income taxpayers," stated a joint letter from Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and Brown's Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos, after describing how unpredictable state tax revenues have become. "As a result, the estimates from our two offices of this measure's annual revenue increases vary."

Banks have tried to discourage customers from using tellers in person; now Gov. Jerry Brown wants to do the same for renewals at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The governor, in his latest budget plan, proposed a $5 discount for drivers who use the internet or mail to renew their "routine" vehicle registrations. The plan would save drivers an estimated $100 million statewide annually.

It's unclear how much this would save the state, as opposed to drivers. But Brown's budget says it would "result in savings for the DMV by moving customers from more costly field offices to less expensive methods of renewing vehicle registrations."

As California moves toward an earlier cutoff age for kindergarten, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed axing funds for a transitional program aimed at children newly shut out of those classrooms.

In his latest budget, the Democratic governor proposed a permanent elimination of funds for transitional kindergarten, a new program designed to serve children not yet ready for regular kindergarten. It would save $223.7 million in 2012-13 and $672 million at full implementation in 2014-15.

In 2010, lawmakers passed a measure to phase in an earlier cutoff age for kindergarten over three years starting in the 2012-13 school year. Students previously could enter kindergarten if they were 5 years old by Dec. 2.

Gov. Jerry Brown reiterated his commitment to California's high-speed rail project today, but he also proposed additional oversight, seeking to fold the troubled High-Speed Rail Authority into a new state agency.

The annual spending plan proposed by the Democratic governor this afternoon includes continued funding for the Rail Authority's operations, but it doesn't yet include bond proceeds to start construction in the Central Valley.

"The Authority's funding plan is under review by the Department of Finance," according to a budget summary. "After the review, the Administration will propose a plan for the initial train segment."

As part of a measure to consolidate state agencies and departments, Brown proposed creating a Transportation Agency, including the Rail Authority, the Highway Patrol and the departments of Transportation and Motor Vehicles, among others.

Tom Umberg, chairman of the Rail Authority board, said in a prepared statement this afternoon, "We embrace the reorganization proposal as it provides additional support and the necessary resources to support this project."

The $98.5 billion rail project faces an increasingly skeptical Legislature and electorate as it prepares to start construction this year. Earlier this week, a peer review group said it could not recommend bond funding until the project's long-term financing plan is more certain.

Brown told reporters today that some of the objections raised by the group "were not that well founded."

"I'm of the view that this is a time for big ideas, not shrinking back and looking for a hole to climb into," he said. "I think we've got to move forward."

It was only a few hours and one computer glitch ago that Gov. Jerry Brown was freely dodging questions about his annual spending plan, telling reporters this morning to wait for its release next week.

"You got enough for today," the Democratic governor said after meeting with county officials in Sacramento. "This is a budget, it's got hundreds of pages. I want you guys to read it."

Sooner than later, it turned out.

"Due to a tech glitch, the state budget was posted to a public website today," Brown spokesman Gil Duran said on Twitter this afternoon. "Therefore, we will roll it out at 2:30 p.m. in (Room) 1190."

According to state Finance Department spokesman H.D. Palmer, a budget document that was intended to be uploaded to an internal site was instead posted mistakenly on the state's public budget website, www.ebudget.ca.gov.

The document was up for only about an hour this morning, but, Palmer said, "in this day and age, you can't put that toothpaste back in the tube."

The administration seemed to take it in stride. When asked after Brown's news conference to explain what had happened, Finance Director Ana Matosantos said, "The budget got released, and I think we're about done."

Upstairs at the Capitol, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, was even spinning it for Brown.

"The governor is so committed to an on-time budget," Pérez said, "that he's even five days ahead of himself."

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Jerry Brown discusses the cuts he has already made to help reduce the state's budget deficit from nearly $20 billion last year to a gap of about $9.2 billion as he unveiled his proposed $92.5 billion 2012-13 state budget at a Capitol news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli)

It takes a special regard for history -- or for oneself -- for a politician to quote from his own old speeches.

But Gov. Jerry Brown, who was speaking in Sacramento this morning to members of the California State Association of Counties about shifting responsibility for certain services from the state to local government, found one he thought was on point.

"I was flipping through, going through a few of my old papers," the 73-year-old former governor said. "That's one of the things you do when you're my age, you go through old papers."

He came across a speech he gave to a group of county supervisors in San Jose in October 1975.

Brown said, "Were any of you there?" Then, for the benefit of everyone who wasn't -- everyone but Brown, judging by their silence -- he read from it.

"I'm going to quote, if I could, if you'll indulge me quoting myself," Brown said. "And the quote I said, 'And I'd like to devise ways in which authority and responsibility can be left with those who are closest to the problem. If I have learned anything in my 10 months, it is that the further you are from a situation or problem, the less you're able to understand it. Instead of dealing with people, you deal with paper.' "

"And that's pretty much the way it is today," he added, "only worse."

Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he will push forward with plans to shift control for some social programs to local government, after California controversially shifted responsibility for certain low-level offenders last year from prisons to county control.

"We want to do more realignment," the Democratic governor told county officials in Sacramento. "We want to look at taking over the health, the In-Home Supportive Service, the Medi-Cal, and maybe switching on some of the welfare. So, we're working on that for something we might do next year. We really want to clean up the relationship between state and local government."

A year ago, Brown proposed a Phase 2 for realignment linked to national health care reform. The plan, included in his budget proposal at the time, involved the state assuming costs associated with health care, including In-Home Supportive Services, and counties assuming responsibility for welfare and child support costs.

"We want to talk about taking the Medi-Cal, moving that more to the state," Brown told reporters after meeting with the county officials. "With social services, more authority at the local level. These are complicated. We're going to work it out over the next 12 months."

Brown was at a California State Association of Counties board meeting urging county officials to abandon a ballot measure that would guarantee state funding for additional responsibilities assumed under realignment, a protection the tax measure Brown is proposing also includes.

The governor is trying to clear from the November ballot a handful of measures that might compete with his own initiative to raise taxes.

"Obviously, not all of them can pass, and the more confusion, the more difficult it will be," Brown said.

He characterized his initiative as "your initiative, essentially, plus a little under $7 billion for schools. ... More money is better than less money, and there's more money in my initiative."

Brown suggested county officials consider their ongoing relationship with him.

"If you lose and I lose, and we're starting to squabble," he said, "that's not good, is it?"

Counties and sheriffs organizations are expected to decide today whether to pursue their own initiative protecting about $6 billion in annual state revenues - or back Gov. Jerry Brown's measure that would do the same while asking voters for higher taxes.

The Democratic governor will appear at a California State Association of Counties board meeting this morning to convince local officials to join his effort. Brown has filed an initiative that would increase the sales tax by a half-cent and raise income taxes starting at $250,000 for single filers.

Counties agreed this year to assume a host of state responsibilities, most notably incarcerating lower-level offenders and overseeing parolees. The state agreed to pay them for accepting those duties, but counties want that guarantee in the state constitution, where it cannot be easily changed by lawmakers and future governors.

In another setback for high-speed rail in California, the project's peer review group told lawmakers today that it could not recommend bond funding for high-speed rail construction until its prospects for long-term funding are clearer.

"The fact that the Funding Plan fails to identify any long term funding commitments is a fundamental flaw in the program," the California High-Speed Rail Peer Review Group said in a letter to legislative leaders. "Without committed funds, a mega-project of this nature could be forced to halt construction for many years before additional funding could be obtained."

The peer review group, chaired by former Caltrans director Will Kempton, said many of the California High-Speed Rail Authority's projections remain optimistic.

The group said in its report that "we cannot overemphasize the fact that moving ahead on the HSR project without credible sources of adequate funding, without a definitive business model, without a strategy to maximize the independent utility and value to the State, and without the appropriate management resources, represents an immense financial risk on the part of the state of California."

The report comes at a crucial time, with high-speed rail proponents planning to ask the Legislature this year to appropriate bond proceeds to start construction in the Central Valley. The Rail Authority last year revised the project's estimated cost to almost $100 billion over 20 years, and public sentiment is turning against it, according to a recent Field Poll.

Gov. Jerry Brown last week reiterated his commitment to the project, and the Rail Authority today blasted the Peer Review Group's report.

Tom Umberg, chairman of the authority board, said in a letter to lawmakers that the report is "deeply flawed, in some areas misleading and its conclusions are unfounded." He appealed to lawmakers to look beyond it as they reconvene for the year on Wednesday.

"As the report presents a narrow, inaccurate and superficial assessment of the HSR program," Umberg wrote, "it does a disservice to policy-makers who must confront these decisions."

Brown spokesman Gil Duran said in an e-mail that the Peer Review Group's report "does not appear to add any arguments that are new or compelling enough to suggest a change in course."

PHOTO CREDIT: A view of a high speed train moving through a wind farm in the proposed high speed rail network. Newlands & Co. Inc., courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Gov. Jerry Brown today released "2011: Milestones and Accomplishments," a 31-page report on his first year in office.

Spoiler alert: It's a favorable review.

The online document discusses the budget and other basics, of course, but also so much more.

"The interactive report also covers other highlights," Brown's office said in a release, "including the State of the State Address, the Royal visit, Sutter Brown's appointment as First Dog, the California Hall of Fame and more."

The document is not unlike one circulated internally when Brown was governor before. In a March 1975 memorandum to the eventual Gov. Gray Davis, who was then Brown's chief of staff, press secretary Bill Stall wrote in the subject line, "Accomplishments," and went on to sing Brown's praises in "capsule form."

The Democratic governor "presented a balanced budget with a prudent surplus as a safeguard against the economic uncertainty of the times," Stall wrote. Brown was frugal (think blue Plymouth). He "launched open administration," and he met with interest groups that previously were ignored.

Their comments about Brown, Stall wrote, were made "both in awe and appreciation."

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Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign to raise taxes has raised more than $1.2 million in two weeks, according to the campaign's first financial filing with the California secretary of state's office.

The sum was raised from just nine donations, the largest of which, $500,000, came from an arm of the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. The state building trades union donated $250,000 through its political action committee, Members' Voice of the State Building Trades.

The contributions are the first large donations following Brown's announcement this month of a ballot measure to temporarily raise the state sales tax and higher income taxes on California's highest-earners, raising about $7 billion annually for five years.

"Our interest is that there be a budget that, you know, is halfway balanced," Duane Dauner, president of the California Hospital Association, said this morning. "This is an overall effort to be supportive of balancing revenues and expenses so we can, in fact, get the state back on track."

He said Brown's initiative "gets you a good part of the way there."

Blue Shield of California donated $100,000 to the effort, and California gambling tribes combined to give more than $300,000.

In a separate report filed this week, The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens reported contributing $12,500 to Brown's re-election campaign. The Democratic governor has not yet said whether he will seek re-election in 2014, but his political adviser, Steve Glazer, has said he expects Brown to do so.

Gov. Jerry Brown's political adviser, Steve Glazer, has been tapped to advise the California Chamber of Commerce's heavy-hitting political action committee in legislative races next year.

The chamber's JobsPAC, whose donors include insurance, oil, tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, spent more than $9 million statewide last year, including opposing the elections of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, all Democrats. The chamber itself attacked Brown during the campaign, though it became largely supportive of the Democratic governor this year.

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Mark Nechodom, a senior adviser to the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the husband of Secretary of State Debra Bowen, to be director of the California Department of Conservation, Brown's office announced today.

Nechodom, 56, replaces Derek Chernow, the acting director Brown fired last month.

Like Brown, Nechodom is a Democrat. He was previously acting director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Environmental Markets and senior climate policy adviser for the U.S. Forest Service.

The position, which requires Senate confirmation, pays $136,156 a year.

Chernow and Elena Miller, who oversaw oil drilling operations in California, were released amid conflict between the agency and oil producers about permitting, especially in Kern County.

Brown appointed Jason Marshall, 42, to be chief deputy director of the department, a position he has held before. Marshall, a registered independent, is to be paid $109,752 a year.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who has been quiet for months about the Occupy movement, said today that despite its focus on the distribution of wealth, the movement is unlikely to help his campaign to raise taxes.

He said the movement has made people "more sensitive" to inequality but in a "separate domain."

"I think the Occupy movement is focused on city halls and universities and maybe other institutions," Brown said. "It's an expression of disapproval and discontent, but it's not incorporated into the political process at this point, at least not the political process where you vote Yes or No on an initiative."

The Democratic governor plans to ask voters in November to raise an estimated $7 billion annually by temporarily increasing the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

"Democracy requires a certain acceptance on the part of everybody in it that things are fair, and if the legitimacy declines enough, you get a lot of social turmoil, and you get political breakdown, and we're in some stage of that right now," Brown told reporters at the Capitol. "The occupy movement is a reaction, a scream as it were, against what's going on."

He was uncertain of its impact.

"They're more of an emotional pressure point that hopefully will make politics more responsive," Brown said. "But in and of itself, you know, camping out in front of city hall ... it means you've got to re-seed the lawn, and I don't think that's such a good idea."

Asked about embattled Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's handling of the movement in her city - where Brown was previously mayor - the governor demurred.

"I don't think Jean Quan needs any more critics," he said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gov. Jerry Brown holds a press conference Tuesday to discuss his first year in office at the Capitol. The Sacramento Bee/Autumn Cruz

Gov. Jerry Brown made just one judicial appointment in his first 11 months in office.

This afternoon, he announced 14.

The Democratic governor's appointees included six Democrats to Los Angeles Superior Court and three more to Riverside Superior Court, including Raquel Marquez, a 45-year-old senior deputy district attorney who will be that court's first Latina judge.

Brown also appointed Kathleen O'Leary, 60, to be presiding justice of the third division of the 4th District Court of Appeal, where she has been an associate justice since 2000. O'Leary will be the first female presiding justice of the division, which oversees matters in Orange County. The position requires confirmation by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments and pays $204,599 a year.

Tuolumne County District Attorney Donald Segerstrom Jr., a Democrat, was appointed to a judgeship in Tuolumne Superior Court. Brown also appointed Democrats to judgeships in Ventura and Santa Clara superior courts, and he named a lawyer registered as a decline-to-state voter to a superior court judgeship in Imperial County.

The superior court positions pay $178,789 a year.

The appointments follow Brown's sole other judicial pick this year, in which he appointed Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court.

Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he expects the first half of the new year to be dominated once again by California's budget problems, as he proposes more spending cuts and tries to clear the November 2012 ballot of tax measures that might compete with his.

"Pulling it all together," Brown told reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento, "will be probably just as hard as last year."

The Democratic governor said he is meeting with business and labor leaders about his tax proposal and is seeking "a clean election, a clean shot, one major measure" for the November ballot. His plan -- which would raise an estimated $7 billion a year by temporarily increasing the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners -- is the most likely to pass, he said.

"One of the things about elections, you want them simple," Brown said, adding that complexity only "gives fodder to the opposition."

Gov. Jerry Brown sees a modern day message for proponents of solar power in the story of Hanukkah.

Speaking at the Capitol Menorah Lighting this morning, the Democratic governor cast the eight-day Jewish holiday, which begins tomorrow, as a good time to reflect on "the whole idea that we're running out of oil so we need a miracle."

Today's miracle, he said, "is not to find more oil, but to utilize the sun."

"When we continue to use our intelligence we're going to take that sun through the miracle of modern science and technology and we're going to light up California, our cars, our homes our air conditioners," Brown said. "And we are going to reduce significantly and every year the amount of money we are sending over to the Middle East to some very dangerous characters who do not have our best interests in the heart."

Of course, with just weeks until his next budget unveiling and a fight to win voter approval for tax hikes headed to the November ballot, Brown is also hoping for some higher help in the near future.

"We need a lot of miracles here in Sacramento to get our problems solved," he said.

A week after Gov. Jerry Brown dismissed Daphne Greene, deputy director of the state's off-road vehicle recreation program, the chairman of the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission today criticized the decision and urged Brown to reconsider.

Eric Lueder told Brown in a letter that it was with "great shock and sadness" that he learned of Greene's dismissal, effective at the end of the month. Lueder said accusations that Greene catered to off-road enthusiasts at the expense of environmental concerns were unfounded.

"Ms. Greene exemplifies what is right in state government and should be held up as a model employee/manager for all others to aspire to," Lueder wrote.

Greene, a Democrat, was appointed by Brown's predecessor, former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was praised by off-road enthusiasts but sometimes criticized by environmentalists.

In a guest op-ed in The Bee in June, Karen Schambach, California director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, accused Greene of hoarding money within her division while other park programs suffered from state budget cuts.

In big dog news, Gov. Jerry Brown has added a biography of his Pembroke Welsh corgi, Sutter, to the California governor's state website.

The Democratic governor lists the first dog's hometown as Ketchum, Idaho. His religious views are Zen Jesuit -- "although I am not burdened with dogma (but I do like dog bones)" -- and his political affiliation is Whig.

"Practical and not carried away by the barking constituencies," the site says.

Sutter Brown's Facebook page linked to the biography this morning with the message, "A very important update added to Dad's website!"

Sutter's biography in the "About" section of Brown's website joins biographies of Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sutter Brown makes an appearance at the California Capitol on Feb. 14, 2011. Sacramento Bee photo / Hector Amezcua

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hours after Gov. Jerry Brown issued a spirited attack on politicians who doubt the significance of climate change, Brown's predecessor -- former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- praised Brown but urged a spirit of inclusiveness.

"To me, it made no difference if a Democrat had a great idea or a Republican had a great idea, or if someone from the outside had a great idea, or if someone from within the office had a great idea," Schwarzenegger said this afternoon at Brown's conference on climate change at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco.

"The more inclusive you are about this, and the less you villainize anybody, the better you're off," he added.

Earlier today, Brown said, "The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff."

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said the campaign to combat climate change could be won by talking about health benefits and the jobs that the green energy sector could create, not ice caps and rising sea levels.

"The ordinary person that lives in the middle of the country somewhere doesn't relate to rising sea levels, they don't relate to melting ice caps," Schwarzenegger said. "They want to have a job."

Brown, a Democrat, was a pioneer for environmental causes when he was governor before from 1975 to 1983, and Schwarzenegger's environmental advocacy often frustrated members of his own party.

Schwarzenegger said he was "proud" of Brown, and Brown's press secretary, Gil Duran, said on Twitter while Schwarzenegger was speaking, "If every Republican was as smart as @Schwarzenegger on the subject of climate change, the world would be a much better place."

Schwarzenegger's appearance came while the actor was on a break from filming a movie.

"It's great to be here, and it's also weird, in a way," Schwarzenegger said.

Less than 24 hours before, he said, he was "slamming a guy's head against the rail of a bridge."

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown railed this morning against politicians who doubt climate change, calling "political lemmings" the chief obstacle in combating global warming.

"The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff," Brown said at a high-profile conference on climate change at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

The Democratic governor said climate change has lengthened the state's fire season and quickened its snowmelt, affecting agriculture and taxing public infrastructure.

He acknowledged that Californians have been "squeezed" by the flagging economy, but he said investment is necessary to stem the effect of climate change. He is expected next year to propose a peripheral canal or another way to move water through or around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

"It will cost money," he said. "But if we don't do that and the levees collapse in one of these extreme events, we could run out of fresh water."

Brown championed environmental causes when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983, and he has sought in his return to Sacramento to continue with the work of his Republican predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Brown signed legislation in April requiring California utilities to obtain one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and he has said he will promote the creation of 20,000 new megawatts of renewable energy by that year.

Schwarzenegger, who signed Assembly 32, California's landmark greenhouse gas-reduction law, is scheduled to speak at Brown's conference this afternoon.

Brown's criticism was well-applauded at the invitation-only event.

"Ninety-seven percent of the scientists who research climate change are people who, from their own understanding of the science, are completely convinced that greenhouse gases are associated with climate change and global warming," he said. "But when you go into the political class, then it's a very different thing."

In a panel discussion with Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Brown was asked if people should be dissuaded from living in areas prone to environmental damage.

Brown said his house in the Oakland hills is near a fault line, in an area susceptible to mudslides and fires.

"But I figured at my age," he added, "I could take the risk."

PHOTO CREDIT: California Gov. Jerry Brown gives opening remarks at the Governor's Conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California's Future at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. The event includes Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party, is adding his own tax proposal, on oil production, to an already crowded field.

Burton filed paperwork with the state Tuesday that proposes a ballot measure for the oil severance tax. It comes as Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to place his own tax measure -- temporarily increasing the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners -- on the November 2012 ballot.

A few other groups have filed other proposals to raise revenue.

Burton, who is proposing the oil severance tax to fund higher education and the state's sagging general fund, said in an interview this evening that his proposal would not interfere with the Democratic governor's.

"It's two separate deals," he said. "Two ain't too many."

Updating a previous announcement to include a "new participant," Gov. Jerry Brown's office confirmed this morning that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be among the speakers at a climate change conference hosted by Brown in San Francisco on Thursday.

The conference, "The Governor's Conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California's Future," also includes Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

Both Brown, a Democrat, and Schwarzenegger, a Republican, are expected to speak.

PHOTO CREDIT: Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown walk together to a news conference to announce the filing of California's lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Nov. 8, 2007. The Sacramento Bee/Brian Baer

It was a series of "small steps" that Gov. Jerry Brown was proud of after a year and half in office when he was governor before.

"For example, last month I signed a bill that starting next year will limit the amount of water that a toilet can consume, from seven gallons per flush to three and a half gallons," Brown said in this KPIX-TV clip of Brown at a rally when he was running for president in 1976. "You see? That's progress."

The crowd cheered, and Brown went on, "Last week I signed a bill to give a 10 percent tax deduction to anyone that will install a solar heating unit."

As it is today, the economy was high on Brown's mind.

"We have yet to really make a commitment to full employment," Brown said. "That's the Democratic tradition, and that's the No. 1 priority if I am fortunate enough to get this job, to put this country to work, from one end of the coast to the other."

Later that year, at a huge rally in Cupertino, Brown defended running for president after only a year and a half in office.

"We work 12, 15 hours a day, six days a week," he said in this KPIX-TV clip. "And based on a 40-hour work week, I'll have in my full four years in time for the inauguration in '77, and I'll compare that with Jimmy Carter any day."

Said Brown, "And that's the choice right now. It's either Carter from Georgia, or Brown from California."

The video clips are part of the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, a project of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University.

Remember when Gov. Jerry Brown made news at press conferences, not on Twitter?

Here is Brown, in this clip from KPIX-TV in San Francisco, announcing his candidacy for governor in 1974.

"Today, I'm announcing my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor," he said. "It's a decision that I have arrived at after many months of reflection."

Later that year, Brown's father, former Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, gave KPIX-TV this assessment of his son's campaign:

"His speeches are better. His ability to handle a problem is better. His campaign is better," he said in this clip. "His speeches are better. His attitude towards human beings is better. I think that he's grown tremendously in a year. I think there was a little inferiority complex when he began. They all attacked him, I mean all four of those great Democratic candidates in the primaries. But after he overcame them he got that confidence, and now he's moving. And I really feel that he's the best thing I've seen in the political scene for the last four years."

The video clips are part of the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, a project of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University. Come back to Capitol Alert on Wednesday for more from the video archive, including clips from Brown's 1976 presidential campaign.

Gov. Jerry Brown has opened a campaign committee and started fundraising for his November 2012 initiative to raise taxes.

The Democratic governor filed paperwork last week listing the committee's name as "Californians to Protect Schools, Universities and Public Safety, a ballot measure committee supported by Governor Jerry Brown, teachers, business and public safety."

Steve Glazer, Brown's political adviser, has started fundraising for the effort, Glazer confirmed this afternoon.

Brown is seeking to raise $7 billion annually by increasing the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners for five years.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants state agencies to stop writing so many reports, calling the volume of documentation a "waste of time and money."

The Democratic governor ordered departments and agencies this afternoon to review the about 2,600 reports they are required to submit to the Legislature each year and to recommend eliminating ones that aren't useful.

"My administration remains committed to keeping the Legislature informed, but churning out 2,600 annual reports - some ordered more than two decades ago - is a waste of time and money," Brown said in a prepared statement. "All state agencies and departments have been asked to take a closer look at these reports and will work with the Department of Finance and the Legislature to get rid of those that are no longer needed."

Following the pepper-spraying of protesters by police at UC Davis and the jabbing of students with batons at UC Berkeley, Gov. Jerry Brown said he was "seriously concerned" and asked the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training last month to review procedures for crowd control.

His concern was relayed in a letter. Forty years ago, he might have sent a team of commandos.

"I propose a statewide strike force to be under the charge of the governor, to be called out at the first sign of any violence, to prevent it if possible, to stop it once it starts," Brown, then a candidate for secretary of state, said in an interview - viewable here - with KPIX-TV in San Francisco in 1970. "I think a lot of the problem on the campus confrontations - oftentimes police are called in who are not adequately trained to deal with, with really the unique problems that we see today on the campus. Some of it is almost like guerrilla warfare, and I think we need a specially trained, well-motivated, well-screened force of men who know how to deal with the problem and are ready to go anywhere at any time under the command of the governor to really bring calm to the campus."

The video of the interview is part of the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, a project of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University. Bee researcher Pete Basofin came across it the other day. The cache includes about 4,000 hours of film, mostly from before 1980.

Of course, circumstances were different when Brown was secretary of state, then governor, before. Politics were, too.

The Democratic governor, who is proposing next year to raise taxes, had a different opinion about tax increases in 1977, the year before passage of the property-tax limiting Proposition 13, according to this clip in the archive:

"There is a feeling that some citizens in California are not paying enough. My own view is that as you open the door to new taxation, that you encourage and expand an accelerating form of government that is already quite excessive," Brown said. "I am going to exert every effort I have to block the effort to increase taxes."

Come back to Capitol Alert on Tuesday for more from the video archive, including a clip of Brown's father, former Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, talking about his son's first gubernatorial campaign.

Following basketball star Magic Johnson up the red carpet outside Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium this evening, Gov. Jerry Brown was asked what the Hall of Fame event meant for California.

"It means we have a lot of famous people," he told a bank of photographers, "and we're going to make them even more famous."

Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown are preparing to present the hall of fame awards at a ceremony tonight at the auditorium. The Democratic governor cast the event as a celebration of California's innovative spirit.

"This is where a lot of people have come," Brown said. "They've been coming here for hundreds of years, and many of them create what wasn't."

Politicians and political advisers mixed with celebrities on the red carpet. Brown executive secretary Nancy McFadden had some fun with the scene, and with the governor's frugality:

Buzz Aldrin, the lunar astronaut, chatted briefly with the media:

Chuck Yeager, the legendary test pilot and former Hall of Fame inductee, was on hand, too. He said the distinction meant "nothing," suggesting the first man to break the sound barrier takes a lot in stride.

Johnson's entrance was cheered by onlookers shouting "Magic, Magic." He had this praise for California:

For Brown, it is a rare event at which photographers call him "Jerry" and ask him to pose.

"How about you and your wife together?" one of them called out to him.

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed a Los Angeles architect and former president of the American Institute of Architects to be state architect, the governor's office announced this afternoon.

Chester "Chet" Widom, 71, was a partner at the firm Widom Wein Cohen O'Leary Terasawa from 1964 to 2008 and advised the Los Angeles Community College District on construction projects from 2009 to 2011.

He is a former Los Angeles planning commissioner and was president of the American Institute of Architects in 1995. Widom will oversee the Division of the State Architect, part of the Department of General Services.

Like Brown, Widom is a Democrat.

"I look forward to working closely with my staff at the Division of the State Architect, the Department of General Services, the legislature and other local leaders to make our state even more innovative, sustainable and efficient, " Widom said in a prepared statement. "We face many challenges, but my immediate priority is to carefully scrutinize and streamline the State Architect's operations."

The position requires Senate confirmation and pays $142,964 a year.

A day after Gov. Jerry Brown deflected questions about his tax plan saying, "We're going to unveil a very complete press release tomorrow," his press secretary said on Twitter this afternoon that no such release is forthcoming.

"Not expecting to make news today, folks," Brown spokesman Gil Duran said on Twitter, linking to a video of The Mamas & The Papas' song "Monday, Monday."

Brown is expected to propose a November 2012 ballot initiative to raise taxes on the wealthiest Californians and on sales.

He declined to discuss it even after details of the plan were reported Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Jerry Brown said tonight that he will announce his tax proposal publicly on Friday, though he again declined to discuss what it includes.

"We're going to unveil a very complete press release tomorrow," the Democratic governor said after an event in San Francisco.

Brown is expected to propose a November 2012 ballot initiative to raise nearly $7 billion by raising taxes on the wealthiest Californians and on sales, but he stayed quiet about the proposal today, even as details of the plan leaked.

Brown was speaking at a California State Association of Counties banquet. The event was closed to the media.

As he left, he said, "I have to go home and work on the press release."

Gov. Jerry Brown declined this afternoon to say anything about his plan to propose tax increases next year, deflecting questions about it as he left a pension hearing at the Capitol this afternoon.

"Today is pension day," Brown said, adding later, "We have to do one problem each day."

The Democratic governor said he would "soon ... talk about that other thing." He's expected to propose raising nearly $7 billion annually by raising taxes on the wealthiest Californians and on sales.

His interaction with reporters was brief. When someone asked reporters at the elevator to clear the door, he chuckled.

"Clear the door," Brown said with a grin, "or I'm going to have to clear you."

Gov. Jerry Brown will ask voters to raise nearly $7 billion annually by hiking taxes on upper-income earners and sales in California over the next five years, according to sources who have been briefed.

The Democratic governor is expected to file his tax initiative for the November 2012 ballot as soon as Friday. He wants the tax plan to help bridge next year's budget deficit, which the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office pegs at $12.8 billion.

Under the measure, California would impose a half-cent sales tax increase starting in 2013 and an income tax hike on high-income earners starting retroactively with the 2012 tax year. Both would expire at the end of 2016.

The upper-income tax hike starts with a 1 percent increase at $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for joint filers. A separate increase would charge 1.5 percent more on income between $300,000 and $500,000, followed by a third step of 2 percent on income above $500,000 for individuals (with amounts doubled for joint filers). That would increase the tax on millionaires from 10.3 percent to 12.3 percent.

The income tax change generally affects the top 1 percent of taxpaying households, a favorite target of Occupy protesters in recent months. In 2009, the 1 percent threshold of tax filers started at $400,635, according to the Franchise Tax Board.

Sources said the state would dedicate the money to school districts, intended as a way to convince voters who have said in recent polls that they would approve higher taxes for education. But the governor's proposal would still help the state balance its budget, without guaranteeing that the net effect would be an additional $7 billion for classrooms. It would also include some language limiting how much money gets spent on salaries and administration.

The governor also will ask voters to lock in an existing sales tax shift that pays local governments to take over state responsibilities such as housing inmates.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced today that he has appointed a lawyer and a former deputy state treasurer, both Democrats, to the California State Teachers' Retirement System board.

The CalSTRS appointees, Brown's office said in a release, reflect the Democratic governor's commitment to "appointing individuals with greater independence and stronger financial backgrounds to public retirement boards."

Paul Rosenstiel, 61, of San Francisco, is chairman of the California Budget Project, which advocates for low- and middle-class residents. Rosenstiel, a principal at De La Rosa & Co. Investment Bankers, was deputy state treasurer from 2007 to 2009 and policy director for Steve Westly's gubernatorial campaign in 2006.

Michael Lawson, 58, of Los Angeles, was a partner at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP from 1995 to 2011 and was a staff attorney at the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. earlier in his career. The Harvard Law School graduate is on the Morehouse College board of trustees.

The CalSTRS positions require Senate confirmation and pay a $100 per diem.

In the wake of violence on UC campuses, Gov. Jerry Brown today asked a statewide law enforcement commission to review guidelines for crowd control and "without delay" make "whatever changes are necessary to ensure compliance with First and Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force."

Brown said the commission should consider changes to its 2003 Crowd Management and Civil Disobedience Guidelines.

"I am seriously concerned that the rules governing the use of force, in particular the use of pepper spray, are not well understood in the context of civil disobedience and various forms of public protest," Brown wrote to Paul Cappitelli, director of the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. "The recent 'occupation' protests in cities throughout California and on campuses of the University of California underscore the urgency of articulating guidelines that are crystal clear and comport with constitutional requirements."

Brown, who returned to California over the weekend after a vacation out of state, had been silent about the pepper spraying of protesters by police at UC Davis and a clash between protesters and police at UC Berkeley.

The commission sets operation and training standards for about 600 law enforcement agencies in California that participate voluntarily.

Even as student protests spread across the state this fall - with national attention focused today on the pepper spraying of nonviolent protesters at UC Davis - Gov. Jerry Brown has kept silent.

Unlike Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, who was "appalled at the apparent use of excessive force by the UC Davis police force at a peaceful student demonstration," or Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who called it "outrageous," Brown's office has issued no comment.

Nor would he address the Occupy movement when he was asked about it at a press conference last month.

"You know, I don't want to step on my story at this point," said Brown, who was announcing a pension proposal.

The Democratic governor is vacationing out of state. His office will not say where or for how long.

Brown spokeswoman Elizabeth Ashford said the governor's office had been briefed by UC about the Davis incident.

Regarding Brown's lack of response to Occupy protests, she said they are local matters handled by local agencies.

However, Ashford said, "As with anything that's happening in California, we are keeping an eye on it."

Gov. Jerry Brown has left the state for parts unknown.

Brown's office announced this afternoon that the Democratic governor had left the state, but it declined to say where Brown is going or for how long.

"We don't discuss the details of his private vacation," Brown spokeswoman Elizabeth Ashford said.

The trip is Brown's third out of state since he took office in January. His previous two trips were to Las Vegas for public events.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is acting governor while Brown is out of state.

Occupy Sacramento said this afternoon that it will protest in front of Gov. Jerry Brown's Sacramento loft on Saturday.

But the Democratic governor is unlikely to be there: He spends many weekends at his Oakland home.

Cres Vellucci, a spokesman for Occupy Sacramento, said Brown's presence doesn't matter. The protest, he said, is "symbolic of the movement."

Occupy Sacramento said in a release that protesters and labor advocates will rally at Cesar Chavez Park before leading a "noisy march right to the front door of Gov. Jerry Brown's Sacramento home."

Brown has kept quiet about the Occupy Wall Street movement and recent student protests in California.

Vellucci said protesters "don't have a lot of faith in politicians, generally." They are specifically critical of Brown because they think he has not aggressively enough pursued tax increases on the wealthiest Californians, even as the state reduces services.

You may have to pick up a Nevada television station to see it, but if you do, expect the presidential race "to get nasty" next year, with fear-mongering and personal attacks defining both the Democratic and Republican campaigns, political analyst David Gergen said.

"I think it's going to get nasty, because that's the way each side energizes its base," said Gergen, who was on the phone this morning ahead of a speaking engagement in Sacramento on Nov. 29.

President Barack Obama's supporters are less enthusiastic than they were in 2008, for instance. "How do you get them out to vote? Well, you scare the hell out of them about the other side," Gergen said.

"And if you're a Republican," he added, "and you've got a candidate like (Mitt) Romney, who is not exactly a runaway favorite among the tea partyers, how do you get the tea partyers out to vote? You scare the hell out of them."

It should make for entertaining TV in competitive states. But probably not in California, where Obama is so heavily favored that no Republican is expected to campaign seriously. "I think California is going to be spared most of the advertising," Gergen said.

So what's the Golden State to do?

"Be well governed," Gergen said.

Gergen -- a political adviser to four presidents, three of them Republican -- said people on the East Coast don't hear as much about California Gov. Jerry Brown as they did his celebrity predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the impression Brown is making is a good one, Gergen said.

"He seems to be, from afar, seems to be someone who is trying to do responsible things," Gergen said. "To the extent people are paying attention, I think they see a governor who is not a knee-jerk Democratic liberal."

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed retired California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno to the California Commission on Access to Justice, a panel that considers ways to improve access to the courts for poor people.

Moreno, 63, retired from the state Supreme Court earlier this year. The Los Angeles Democrat's appointment to the unpaid position was one of 11 appointments Brown's office announced this afternoon.

The other appointments included these:

• Caroline Godkin, 38, of Sacramento, appointed deputy director of legislation for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Godkin, a senior fiscal and policy analyst at the Legislative Analyst's Office since 2008, is to be paid $98,280 a year. She is not registered to vote, Brown's office said.

• Deborah Hoffman, 45, of Sacramento, appointed assistant secretary of communications at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Hoffman, communications director for Sen. Fran Pavley since 2009, is to be paid $93,408. She is registered decline-to-state.

• Sepideh Khosrowjah, 51, of El Cerrito, appointed policy adviser at the Public Utilities Commission. Khosrowjah, chief of staff and an energy adviser to Public Utilities Commissioner Mike Florio since January, is to be paid $113,736 a year. She is a registered Green Party voter.

• Beth Willon, 57, of Sacramento, appointed assistant director of external affairs at the Department of Mental Health. Willon was previously a communication specialist at Lucas Public Affairs and was communications director for Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, when he was lieutenant governor. Willon, a Democrat, is to be paid $103,560 a year.

For a governor who has hardly done any buck-raking in his first year in office, Gov. Jerry Brown's trip last month to Orange County may have resulted in one of his best single-day hauls in months.

Which doesn't mean it amounted to much.

Brown today reported raising $30,000 from three labor groups, a law firm and a lawyer in the area.

Jennifer Muir of the Orange County Employees Association, which contributed $10,000, said her group organized a reception for the Democratic governor on Oct. 11, the day he spoke at a Democratic Party of Orange County event.

"It was just small, private reception here to show our support for the governor," Muir said.

Also contributing to Brown were the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association and Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs.

Brown has raised little money since taking office. He collected about $45,000 in the first six months of the year. Including donations reported today, Brown has raised $64,000 more since then in donations large enough to already have been reported.

Gov. Jerry Brown has fired Derek Chernow, acting director of the California Department of Conservation, and Elena Miller, the chief overseer of oil drilling operations in California, amid conflict between the agency and oil producers on regulatory matters.

Clifford Rechtschaffen, a senior adviser to Brown on energy, environmental and agricultural issues, was named acting director, California Natural Resources Agency spokesman Richard Stapler said this morning.

Sen. Michael Rubio, D-East Bakersfield, issued a statement praising the decision. His office said the permit approval process for oil drilling in Kern County had become "overly bureaucratic" under Miller's leadership.

The ouster was first reported by The Bakersfield Californian. The newspaper wrote:

"A lawyer regarded as an outsider unfamiliar with the technical side of the oil industry by some, Miller introduced lengthier scrutiny to underground injection projects, according to Californian reports. DOGGR has also been hesitant to allow high-pressure steam injection projects in the aftermath of a Chevron employee's June death in a oil field sinkhole. DOGGR representatives also said Miller was concerned that injections can pollute water sources and cause oil and fluids to leak to the surface."

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. official as his senior adviser for cabinet and external affairs.

Dana Williamson, who was PG&E's director of public affairs, "will be responsible for working with members of the Governor's cabinet especially on projects requiring cross functional collaboration," Brown's executive secretaries, Nancy McFadden and Jim Humes, said in an email to staff on Tuesday.

Williamson, 39, will also oversee the governor's external affairs operation and the administration's Washington, D.C., office.

Like Brown, Williamson is a Democrat. She is to be paid $147,900 a year, the governor's office said.

McFadden and Humes said in the email that Williamson "brings 15 years of political, policy and communications experience in government, campaigns, non-profits and business."

McFadden also came to the administration from PG&E, where she was a senior vice president.

Gov. Jerry Brown has shut down the government transparency website created by his predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as a repository for financial disclosure statements and other records.

A note on the website, www.transparency.ca.gov, says information previously available on the site can be found on other state websites and furnishes the links. But open government advocates have objected to the move, saying it will make it more difficult for citizens to track spending.

Many of the documents -- including information about state contracts, audits and salaries -- can be found on other sites. But the transparency site, created in 2009 and shut down Tuesday, also included travel expense claims submitted by senior agency officials and employees of the governor's office.

Brown's office said this afternoon that travel records can be requested under California's open records act. Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor, cited the time and cost of copying and uploading those documents.

Ashford said the website was created in response to concerns about travel and spending during Schwarzenegger's administration. Staff and travel costs under Brown are far lower, she said.

Phillip Ung, a lobbyist for the government watchdog group Common Cause, said there is a "large public interest in having a centralized disclosure, which is exactly what the transparency website was."

When he saw a note on the website this afternoon announcing its discontinuation, Ung said, "This is the worst."

The note on the website says Brown "is committed to keeping state government open and transparent while eliminating inefficiencies and unnecessary costs."

Brown last month rescinded the executive order under which his Republican predecessor created the website. The action accompanied Brown's veto of labor-backed legislation that would have required the state to post contracts of $5,000 or more on the site.

Brown said in a message accompanying his veto of the bill, by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, that information about state contracts could already be found on a Department of General Services website.

"While governmental transparency is laudable, there's no need for a new law," Brown wrote.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is out with a new Web video tying Texas Gov. Rick Perry to California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

The 30-second spot, which features pictures of Perry and Brown, suggests Perry's policies on illegal immigration served as "An Inspiration To Liberal California."

"Where did liberals in California get all their bad ideas?" the ad's text asks, before slamming Perry for being "the first to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants."

California and Texas both adopted laws approving in-state tuition rates for some undocumented immigrant students in 2001. The California measure, Assembly Bill 540, was signed into law by then-Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Brown signed into law this year legislation allowing the undocumented immigrant students who qualify for in-state tuition to receive private and state-funded financial aid, including CalGrants.

While Perry's campaign would likely contest comparisons to California's top Democrat, they are stressing one California connection today: cash. His campaign, which has reported raising at least $1.2 million from Golden State donors since he entered the race, announced the members of his California finance leadership team today, including San Diego Chargers President and Chairman Dean Spanos as one of five statewide finance chairs.

Perry, meanwhile, is hitting the Silicon Valley cash machine, and the San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci reports today that he called his loopy New Hampshire address last week "a pretty typical speech for me."

Watch the full video, which is posted on a website paid for by Romney's campaign.

State Finance Director Ana Matosantos was arrested early this morning on suspicion of driving under the influence, after officials said they saw her car swerving near the Capitol and its registration expired.

Matosantos, a top adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI, said Lt. Rick Campbell of the California Highway Patrol's Capitol Protection Section.

"My decision to drive last night was reckless and irresponsible," Matosantos, 36, said in a prepared statement. "I accept full responsibility and there is no excuse for my actions."

Matosantos was driving west on P Street about 12:30 a.m. when officers saw her black, 2004 Acura drift out of its lane, Campbell said. Pulling behind her, they saw her registration had expired, he said.

Officers stopped the car at Sixth Street and P Street, Campbell said. Matosantos took a field sobriety test before being arrested, he said. Results of a breath test taken at the jail were not released.

Neither did the CHP identify a passenger who was not arrested.

Brown spokesman Gil Duran said Matosantos called Brown "to acknowledge that she made a serious lapse in judgment and she takes full responsibility for it."

Duran said, "She offered her resignation. It was not accepted. She reported to work this morning."

Matosantos, a Democrat, is the state's first finance director to be appointed by two governors of different parties, and she is thought to be the youngest. She was 34 when she took the post under Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Editor's note: This post updated at 1:45 p.m. to include details from Campbell.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ana Matosantos, 2010. The Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua

Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a 12-point public pension reform plan this morning that would ask voters to increase the age at which future state and local government employees could retire with full benefits and place them in riskier retirement plans than current workers.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Brown said he wants all of his proposals to go before voters on the November 2012 ballot.

"It saves a lot of money," Brown said. "This program is a very decisive step forward...We'll have to contend with unfunded liabilities as we move forward."

The plan would also impact current and future workers by mandating employers and employees equally share the cost of pension contributions. Currently, most employers pick up the majority or all of those costs.

Reaction to Brown's plan came swiftly.

Convincing the Democratic-controlled Legislature to place his package on the ballot is a substantial hurdle, Brown acknowledged.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Brown's plan is a "provocative" one on which he would keep an open mind.

"The abuses that a small number of people take advantage of absolutely must be resolved," Steinberg said in a statement. "But we can't forget that the vast majority of public sector employees are middle class workers and their average pensions are far from exorbitant....

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez said his members would "carefully consider" the proposal, but did he not embrace its contents. "I believe the governor is working hard to solve California's long term fiscal challenges, and the Assembly will work with him to bring stability to our pension system in a manner that does right by taxpayers and public servants alike," he said in a statement.

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro called the proposals a "small step in the right direction," in a press statement and criticized Brown for deferring most of the savings for many years, since the provisions with the biggest cost impacts won't be felt for years, since they apply only to future employees.

"California can't wait 500 years for a solution," Del Beccaro said.

California Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Allan Zaremberg had a different take.
"We commend the Governor for a bold and substantive proposal that addresses California's unsustainable state and local pensions and retiree health care costs," Zaremberg said. "The Legislature should embrace this common sense plan."

Less than 24 hours after Gov. Jerry Brown briefed labor leaders on the major pension changes he will propose this morning, labor interests that helped elect the Democratic governor suggested he is in for a fight.

"The governor has indicated that labor will not like many of his proposals," Dave Low, chairman of the union coalition Californians for Retirement Security, said in a prepared statement. "He is right."

Low said many of Brown's proposals would circumvent collective bargaining, a cause Brown championed when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983.

At a press conference this morning, Brown will propose a higher retirement age and less-generous pension benefits for newly-hired state employees. He will also propose prohibiting the purchase of additional retirement service credit, or "airtime."

"Unions across California have negotiated major retirement concessions, including increased payments by employees and two-tier benefits," Low said. "These concessions have already saved the state, cities, counties and other entities hundreds of millions of dollars. We are strongly opposed to imposing additional retirement rollbacks without bargaining."

Gov. Jerry Brown will propose a higher retirement age and a less generous pension system for newly-hired state workers, sources familiar with Brown's pension plan said this afternoon.

The Democratic governor, who is expected to release his pension plan Thursday, will also propose prohibiting the purchase of additional retirement service credit, or "airtime," for existing employees. And he will call for a ballot measure to reshape the governing board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, requiring changes to Proposition 162, the 1992 initiative that strengthened the retirement board.

The proposal includes some of the same ideas Brown discussed with Republicans in failed budget talks in March. At the time, however, Brown was thought to be considering for new employees a "hybrid option" involving 401(k)-style benefits, not making that hybrid mandatory for new employees.

The hybrid option Brown will propose for new non-public safety employees will be a three-pronged plan that combines a smaller, defined benefit with Social Security and a 401 (k)-style benefit.

The plan, as presented privately by the Brown administration to labor leaders this afternoon, also includes increasing the retirement age from age 55 to 67 for most new, non-public safety employees, the sources said.

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed an administrative aide to Marin County Supervisor Hal Brown, the governor's cousin, to replace him on the county board, the governor announced this afternoon.

Brown was governor before when he appointed Hal Brown to the board in 1983, filling a seat left open when Barbara Boxer was elected to Congress. The supervisor was diagnosed with cancer in December and announced his resignation, effective this coming Saturday, earlier this month.

Catherine Rice, 51, of San Anselmo, has been an administrative aide to Hal Brown since 2004. Like the governor, she is a Democrat.

The position does not require Senate confirmation. It pays $97,739 a year.

Gov. Jerry Brown will give lawmakers his plan for pension changes on Thursday, the governor said in a letter to legislators this afternoon, though it remains unclear what Brown will propose.

"Given the paramount importance of pensions to both taxpayers and public employees, it is absolutely critical that we carefully examine our current assumptions and practices," Brown said in a letter to Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, and Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena. "We have to do our best to make sure that we have a system that is fair and truly sustainable over the long time horizon that our pension and health systems require."

The Democratic governor has said for weeks that he would propose pension changes this fall. He recently said some of them will require a constitutional amendment and a vote of the people.

Brown's letter comes on the eve of an informational hearing Wednesday in Carson by the new Joint Conference Committee on Public Employee Pensions, which is chaired by Furutani and Negrete-McLeod.

Two days after Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation allowing children 12 and older to seek medical care for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent - including vaccinations against human papillomavirus, or HPV - a pharmaceutical company with a financial interest in HPV vaccines donated $8,000 to Brown's re-election campaign.

Brown's office said the contribution was not solicited, and AstraZeneca PLC said it was unrelated to Brown's action on the controversial bill.

"AstraZeneca's contributions to government officials in California are unrelated to the legislation," a spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "We provided contributions to people on both sides of the issue and did not lobby the measure."

SANTA CLARA -- It was only a ribbon-cutting, but in a flagging economy and with statewide unemployment above 12 percent, even a minor victory can get a politician to show up.

The opening of a new research and development center by Dell Inc., Gov. Jerry Brown said in Santa Clara this morning, "exemplifies the tremendous dynamism of the California economy."

The Democratic governor spoke for less than two minutes and didn't stay to mingle. His office issued a release: "Governor Brown Opens New Dell Facility, Welcomes Hundreds of New Jobs to California."

It was not lost on anyone in the audience that Dell is from Texas, where the governor, Rick Perry, boasts frequently about luring companies from California.

Brown didn't mention the Lone Star State.

But he did say, "We continue to be a place of pioneers, of people who have left one place because they want to make something better, and that's the genius of California."

BEVERLY HILLS - Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that the school testing program he proposed overhauling in last year's gubernatorial campaign is a "good system" he is not inclined to dramatically revise.

The Academic Performance Index system, the Democratic governor said, is "a good one, and now what we have to do is use it."

Brown's remarks, at Milken Institute's State of the State Conference at The Beverly Hilton, came after a rift between Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg on education policy surfaced Saturday, when Brown vetoed legislation in which the Sacramento Democrat sought to change how the state measures school performance, expanding measurements to include such factors as career readiness and graduation and promotion rates.

The legislation was a priority of Steinberg's and might have been an easy fit for Brown. Brown had said in his campaign education plan that the state's testing system was expensive and time-consuming and that "tests should not measure factoids as much as understanding."

In his education plan, Brown said, "state tests should be linked to college preparation and career readiness, but current tests were not designed to do this."

Though Brown said this afternoon that the system needs "some improvements," he defended it.

"I think the API is a good system," he said. "That's why I vetoed Steinberg's bill, because it would have marginalized the API."

In vetoing Steinberg's bill, Brown suggested establishing a system of local panels to observe teachers and examine student work, among other things, a position he reiterated today.

"I think we've reached a point where we have the testing assessment regimes pretty well in place," Brown said. "Now what we have to have is more on-site evaluation of teachers, following the model of accreditation."

BEVERLY HILLS - Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he will propose pension changes requiring a constitutional amendment and a public vote, though he declined to discuss them in any detail.

"You'll get all the details very soon," Brown told reporters after speaking at the Milken Institute's State of the State Conference at The Beverly Hilton.

The Democratic governor is expected next year to seek voter approval of tax increases. It was unclear if the measures would be paired.

Brown, who has said for weeks that he would propose a package of pension changes this fall, said today that "some of them will take constitutional changes."

He said, "There's no question that we're going to have to adjust our pensions so that the money coming in is going to be equal to what we can expect the money going out will be."

Brown, 73, was applauded when he said on stage, "I could actually probably say that I won't take my pension until I solve the pension problem."

Later, he said he was kidding.

"It might take me 10 or 20 years to get the job done," Brown told reporters. "I thought it would be a good challenge, but I don't want to make that challenge without a little more deliberative thought."

BEVERLY HILLS - Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, continuing to press his jobs plan at an economic conference this morning, said California has been held back by a lackadaisical attitude about job creation that began long before the flagging economy's most recent downturn.

"We cleaned everyone's clock, we left everyone in the dust between 1950 and 1980 in California," Newsom said at the Milken Institute's State of the State Conference at The Beverly Hilton. "The last 30 years, we put up our legs, we sat back. We're like the aging high school football player who talks about the good ol' days."

He said the state has also suffered from partisanship in Sacramento.

"It's tribal," he said. "Democrats, Republicans."

Newsom, a Democrat, this summer proposed a jobs plan that included re-opening California's foreign trade offices and creating a Cabinet-level economic development office and "strike teams" to address regulatory and permitting matters. Newsom said the trade offices, disbanded in 2003, could be financed privately.

"There are so many things we can do where money is not the issue," he said. "The money's out there. What we lack are new ideas."

Newsom's jobs plan this year was overshadowed by Gov. Jerry Brown's own jobs agenda, including a legislative package that was largely defeated by Republican lawmakers.

Newsom will be upstaged again today. Brown, a Democrat, is scheduled for a one-on-one discussion with Michael Milken here this afternoon.

BELMONT - Hours after dispatching with the last of hundreds of bills sent him by the Legislature this fall, Gov. Jerry Brown was still musing about the "very unusual process" that kept him up reviewing piles of proposed laws.

"I was up late last night signing and vetoing lots of bills," the Democratic governor said under drizzling skies in Belmont. "It's a very unusual process that concentrates a lot of the work of state government in the last couple of weeks."

When asked if there were any inconsistencies in his veto and signing messages, Brown said there were not.

"I look at each bill," he said. "Since the same mind is looking at each bill, there's at least a modest consistency."

Brown was in Belmont to celebrate solar energy company SunEdison's decision to move its corporate headquarters here from Maryland, but he faced continuing questions about Solyndra LLC's spectacular failure.

Brown said the nature of capitalism is for some businesses to fail and others to succeed.

"There's a certain Darwinian struggle," he said. "Some make it and some don't."

Gov. Jerry Brown may not be to the California Chamber of Commerce what Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was, but he did pretty well by the business group in his dispatching of proposed laws this fall.

Of five bills the chamber identified as "job killers" on his desk, Brown, a Democrat, vetoed four, the chamber said.

"We commend Governor Brown for vetoing nearly all CalChamber identified job killers," chamber President Allan Zaremberg said in a prepared statement. "Governor Brown's commitment to 'do no more harm' to California's economy will send a strong message that eliminating economic uncertainty is the first element of any program to make California more competitive."

Brown vetoed chamber-opposed bills involving bereavement leave, workers' compensation and judicial authority to reduce attorney fees in fair employment and housing cases, among others.

He signed one. Just after midnight, Brown announced signing Assembly Bill 22, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, restricting the use of credit reports by employers making hiring decisions.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who was so annoyed by the volume of bills the Legislature produced this fall that he suggested cuing the "veto blues," ended up vetoing about 17 percent of the end-of-session bills, no record, but far more than the Democratic governor has vetoed before.

From mid-September to late Sunday night, Brown signed 466 bills and vetoed 97, his office said.

Brown's veto rate for the year overall was slightly lower, at about 14 percent. In the first year of his third term, Brown signed 760 bills, vetoed 128 and allowed one bill to become law without his signature, his office said.

Brown vetoed fewer than 5 percent of regular session bills when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, vetoed more than a quarter of regular session bills.

Four months after vetoing labor-backed legislation that would have made it easier to unionize farmworkers - touching off a highly personal, late-night protest at the Capitol - Gov. Jerry Brown announced this evening that he has signed the compromise measure he helped negotiate.

Senate Bill 126, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, gives farmworkers greater protections in organizing disputes with growers, including allowing the state's Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify a union when it determines grower misconduct affected an election's outcome.

Brown signed the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983, but his June veto tested his relationship with his longtime allies in the United Farm Workers union. The union and legislative Democrats cheered the compromise law.

"This change to existing law is a significant advancement," Steinberg said in a prepared statement. "The idea here is simple - if the Agricultural Labor Relations Board finds employer misconduct affected the results of the election and further determines that it cannot conduct a fair second election, the board may certify the union without further delay. I applaud the Governor for his action."

Gov. Jerry Brown today vetoed legislation that would have permitted the cultivation of industrial hemp in California, though the Democratic governor didn't seem happy about it.

Senate Bill 676, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would have created an eight-year, pilot program for the cultivation of industrial hemp in Imperial, Kern, Kings and San Joaquin counties.

In a veto message, Brown said federal law considers industrial hemp to be a regulated, controlled substance, and that failure to obtain a federal permit would subject California farmers to federal prosecution.

"Although I am not signing this measure, I do support a change in federal law," Brown said in a veto message. "Products made from hemp - clothes, food, and bath products - are legally sold in California every day. It is absurd that hemp is being imported into the state, but our farmers cannot grow it."

Brown also vetoed Assembly Bill 568, by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, which would have prohibited prison guards from shackling pregnant inmates unless necessary.

"At first blush, I was inclined to sign this bill because it certainly seems inappropriate to shackle a pregnant inmate unless absolutely necessary," Brown said in a veto message. "However, the language of this measure goes too far, prohibiting not only shackling, but also the use of handcuffs or restraints of any kind except under ill-defined circumstances."

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation restricting local police from impounding cars at sobriety checkpoints solely because a driver is unlicensed, but he vetoed other checkpoint restrictions.

Supporters of the bill Brown signed, Assembly Bill 353, by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, argued small cities used sobriety checkpoints to make money by impounding cars from unlicensed, low-income drivers who could not afford to retrieve them.

Brown, a Democrat, announced this afternoon that he vetoed legislation that would have defined how sobriety checkpoints are conducted in line with a California Supreme Court decision. In a veto message, Brown said the measure would have imposed greater restrictions than currently required by the court, for example stating a preference that checkpoints operate after dusk.

"This measure would also require law enforcement to announce the specific location of a checkpoint, 48 hours in advance, allowing drunk drivers to avoid detection altogether," Brown wrote.

Brown said the bill, Assembly Bill 1389, by Assemblyman Mike Allen, D-Santa Rosa, is "far too restrictive on local law enforcement."

Children of the Golden State: Prepare to fake bake no more.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation prohibiting minors from using tanning beds, he announced this afternoon, making California the first state in the nation to adopt such a ban.

Senate Bill 746, by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, was supported by doctors, nurses and the American Cancer Society. The tanning industry argued current law - requiring parental consent for children between age 14 and 18 - was sufficient.

"I praise Gov. Brown for his courage in taking this much-needed step to protect some of California's most vulnerable residents - our kids - from what the 'House of Medicine' has conclusively shown is lethally dangerous: ultraviolet-emitting radiation from tanning beds," Lieu said in a prepared statement. "If everyone knew the true dangers of tanning beds, they'd be shocked.

Brown, a Democrat, vetoed legislation that would have required health facilities where mammography examinations are performed to provide notice to patients who have dense breast tissue.

He said in vetoing Senate Bill 791, by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that he talked to doctors and others about the proposed notification and "struggled over the words," unsure if such a notification would increase knowledge or cause unnecessary anxiety.

"If the state must mandate a notice about breast density - and I am not certain it should - such a notice must be more carefully crafted, with words that educate more than they prescribe," Brown said in his veto message.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation allowing children who are 12 and older to seek medical care to prevent sexually transmitted infections without parental consent, including vaccinations against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer.

Assembly Bill 499, by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, was sponsored by public health officials and opposed by parental rights advocates, vaccination opponents and religious and conservative groups.

Randy Thomasson, president of the conservative SaveCalifornia.com, said in a prepared statement that Brown "obviously doesn't care about informed consent for patients or parental consent for dads and moms."

Brown, a Democrat, also announced today signing Senate Bill 946, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, requiring health insurance policies to cover certain autism early intervention behavioral therapy.

But in a signing statement, Brown said the mandate will automatically expire if the federal government does not consider the services "essential" in its health care overhaul.

"While this bill provides relief for families of autistic children and some clarity for health plans, insurers and providers, there are remaining questions about effectiveness, duration, and the cost of the covered treatments that must be sorted out," Brown wrote in a signing statement. "Under national health care reform, the federal government will establish 'essential health benefits.' If the coverage established by this bill is not included as an essential benefit, the mandate of Senate Bill 946 will automatically expire."

Advocates said the bill would ensure treatment for autistic children, while insurers said the mandate would increase costs.

"This is a critical victory for thousands of California children and families," Steinberg said in a prepared statement. "For many of them, having this therapy covered by their insurance is the difference between despair and hope."

Editor's note: This post updated at 3:55 p.m. to include Thomasson's remarks.

Gov. Jerry Brown suggested in a veto message this afternoon that California might improve its schools by establishing a system of local panels to observe teachers, interview students and examine their work, among other things.

Brown, a critic of the state's existing testing program, vetoed Senate Bill 547 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, that sought to change how the state measures high school performance, including factors such as graduation and promotion rates and career readiness.

"There are other ways to improve our schools - to indeed focus on quality," Brown wrote. "What about a system that relies on locally convened panels to visit schools, observe teachers, interview students, and examine student work? Such a system wouldn't produce an API number, but it could improve the quality of our schools."

The Democratic governor called the legislation, a priority of Steinberg's, "yet another siren song of school reform."

The bill, he said, "certainly would add more things to measure, but it is doubtful that it would actually improve our schools. Adding more speedometers to a broken car won't turn it into a high-performance machine."

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation today that would have allowed the University of California and California State University systems to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions.

The interpretation of Proposition 209, which prohibits the use of race- or gender-based preferences in hiring, contracting and admissions, is a matter for the courts - not the Legislature - to decide, he said. The matter is the subject of pending litigation.

"I wholeheartedly agree with the goal of this legislation," the Democratic governor said in a veto message. "Proposition 209 should be interpreted to allow UC and CSU to consider race and other relevant factors in their admissions policies to the extent permitted under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. In fact, I have submitted briefs in my capacities as both governor and attorney general strongly urging the courts to adopt such an interpretation."

However, he wrote, "Our constitutional system of separation of powers requires that the courts - not the Legislature - determine the limits of Proposition 209."

Senate Bill 185, by Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Los Angeles, became controversial when a Republican group at the University of California, Berkeley, held an "Increase Diversity Bake Sale" in opposition to the bill, charging different prices based on race, gender and ethnicity.

Gov. Jerry Brown today signed legislation allowing undocumented immigrant college students to receive public financial aid, marking California's relatively liberal ground in a bitter row over immigration nationwide.

The California Dream Act allows access to public financial aid, including Cal Grants, for undocumented students who came to the country before turning 16 and attended California high schools. Those students already are eligible for in-state tuition, and Brown in July signed a companion measure affording them access to private financial aid.

"Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking. The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us," Brown said in a prepared statement.

Brown, a Democrat, supported the act during last year's gubernatorial campaign, and his signature was all but certain. He had negotiated amendments to the bill, Assembly Bill 131, to reduce costs, excluding graduates of technical and adult schools and delaying implementation until January 2013.

The bill, by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, was passed by lawmakers on partisan lines. Democrats said it would result in a more educated population. Republicans said awarding scholarships to undocumented students would encourage illegal immigration, and they objected to the cost.

The program's expansion is expected to cost the state $23 million to $40 million annually.

Brown's signature comes amidst tension nationwide about immigration, most recently over strict new laws in Georgia and Alabama. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced it would suspend deportation proceedings against undocumented immigrants who aren't a danger to public safety, including people who immigrated as young children and are in school.

Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly said the legislation would encourage illegal immigration and force students who are in the country legally to compete with undocumented immigrants for public resources.

"I think that it is perhaps the biggest mistake that Gov. Brown has ever made," he said, "other than unionizing public employees."

Donnelly, of Twin Peaks, is setting up a website, "STOP the Nightmare Act," and pledged to launch a referendum campaign.

In a prepared statement, Cedillo said the bill "will send a message across the country that California is prepared to lead the country with a positive and productive vision for how we approach challenging issues related to immigration."

Editor's note: Post updated at 1:25 p.m. to include remarks by Donnelly and Cedillo.

Just hours after Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation restricting initiatives and referendums next year to the November ballot, Republican attorney Chuck Bell submitted a request for title and summary for a referendum of the bill.

Bell said a coalition of groups preparing initiatives for June - including one initiative that would, in part, limit unions' ability to raise campaign funds from members - are considering a referendum. He said his filing is to "keep the door open for a possible referendum qualification effort."

Senate Bill 202 benefits Democrats and labor unions by restricting initiatives to November, when the party's voter turnout is expected to be higher than in June. The union dues measure was expected to qualify for the June ballot, when Republican turnout is expected to be proportionately higher than in November.

Against the urging of his union allies, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will allow non-medical school employees to administer anti-seizure medication to epileptic students.

Senate Bill 161, by Republican Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, threw a curveball into typical Capitol politics. It gained support from Democrats throughout the Legislative process even though it was opposed by the state's leading public employee unions, with whom Democrats are usually closely aligned.

"The Governor's signature on SB 161 marks the victorious end to a long and bitter fight to provide the safety net that children with epilepsy desperately need in our schools," Huff said in a statement. "This victory proves that a determined group of parents, doctors, schools and other citizens can overcome even the most powerful of special interests."

School district officials and parents of children with epilepsy supported the bill, saying students need to be able to get anti-seizure medication even if they attend a school without a nurse. Unions representing nurses, teachers and school support staff lobbied against the bill, arguing that schools need to be staffed with nurses to adequately care for children with conditions such as epilepsy.

Californians will be able to register to vote online for 2012 elections under legislation signed into law today by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Senate Bill 397, by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, allows to state to begin registering voters online ahead of the completion of a new statewide voter registration database.

In the meantime, election officials and the Department of Motor Vehicles will work together to match registration information submitted online with DMV records containing an electronic copy of a voter's signature.

Supporters had argued that the bill would make it easier for Californians to register to vote, increasing voter participation.

Hal Brown, a cousin Gov. Jerry Brown appointed to the Marin County Board of Supervisors nearly 30 years ago, when he was governor before, announced today he will resign this month.

The supervisor, 66, was diagnosed with cancer in December, his office said. He was appointed to the board in 1983 to fill a vacancy left when Barbara Boxer was elected to Congress.

Hal Brown said in a prepared statement that he hopes his cousin will appoint a successor quickly.

"I care deeply about this office, and will make recommendations to the governor based on what I think will best serve my district and the County of Marin," the supervisor said. "But in the end, it is his decision, not mine."

Hal Brown's father, former California appellate court Justice Harold C. Brown, was the brother of Jerry Brown's father, the former governor.

"I had hoped to return to office and complete my term, but my medical condition makes that impossible," Hal Brown said in the statement. "As much as I will miss this job, I look forward to my retirement, and the opportunity to spend more time with my family and friends."

In response to last year's pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this morning requiring stricter oversight of natural gas transmission lines in California.

Among other things, the legislation requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish emergency response standards for pipeline operators, authorizes the PUC to require automatic shut-off or remote controlled valves on certain lines and requires utilities to develop service and safety plans.

"We learned very important lessons from the tragic explosion in San Bruno. Pipeline operators and the Public Utilities Commission must take every possible step to keep it from happening again," Brown said in a prepared statement. "These bills protect California's communities by setting new standards for emergency preparedness, placing automatic shut-off valves in vulnerable areas and ensuring that gas companies pressure test transmission lines."

The five bills signed by the Democratic governor are Assembly Bill 56 and Senate Bills 44, 216, 705 and 879.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring health insurance plans in California to cover childbirth and other maternity services, eliminating an exception that allowed some smaller plans to exclude those services.

Federal law requires employers who offer health insurance and who have 15 or more employees to cover maternity services, and California since 1975 has required HMOs and large group health insurance plans to do so.

Two bills Brown announced signing this afternoon, Senate Bill 222 and Assembly Bill 210, require individual and small group plans to provide coverage for maternity services starting in July 2012.

"Healthy mothers mean healthy babies," Brown said in a prepared statement. "I want the next generation of Californians to get the best possible start in life."

The legislation was supported by Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California. It was opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce, which said the requirement would deter insurers from offering discounted plans.

Brown's Republican predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed similar legislation.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this morning eliminating the state's requirement that food stamp applicants be fingerprinted, a bid to increase participation in the federally-funded CalFresh program.

Supporters said fingerprinting deterred participation, with just half of eligible Californians receiving assistance. California is one of three states and one city that require applicants to be fingerprinted, according to a legislative analysis.

Assembly Bill 6, by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Los Angeles, was among a batch of food-related bills Brown signed today. He also signed Assembly Bill 152, also by Fuentes, that provides a tax credit to California growers for the cost of fresh fruits or vegetables they donate to food banks.

The Senate Appropriations Committee estimated the tax credit will initially cost the state General Fund $200,000 a year.

"These bills will help bring food to the nearly 7 million Californians who go hungry each and every day," Fuentes said in a prepared statement. "The hunger relief package will reduce the burden on the neediest Californians to ensure that they can get the food they need."

Editor's note: This post updated at 11:36 a.m. to include remarks by Fuentes.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this morning toughening restrictions on illicit cellphones in prisons, and he ordered prison officials to step up efforts to confiscate smuggled phones.

Senate Bill 26, by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, makes it a misdemeanor to deliver a cellphone to a prison inmate, among other things. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation last year, saying it was too soft on inmates who carry phones and on guards and others who smuggle them.

Brown also issued an executive order instructing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to increase physical searches of people who enter prisons and to develop a system to interrupt unauthorized cellphone calls.

Brown said in his order that prison staff discovered nearly 10,700 contraband cellular devices in 2010, and 7,300 in the first half of this year.

"Prisons exist to remove individuals from our communities who would otherwise do harm to their fellow citizens," Brown said in a prepared statement. "When criminals in prison get possession of a cell phone, it subverts the very purpose of incarceration. They use these phones to organize gang activity, intimidate witnesses and commit crimes. Today's action will help to break up an expanding criminal network and protect law-abiding Californians."

Nine months after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger controversially shortened the prison sentence of a political ally's son, Gov. Jerry Brown this afternoon announced that he has signed legislation requiring victim notification in such cases.

Assembly Bill 648, by Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, requires the governor to give written notice to local prosecutors in most cases at least 10 days before acting on an application to commute a prisoner's sentence. District attorneys must then try notifying victims in the case.

In a last-minute commutation, Schwarzenegger in January reduced the prison sentence of Esteban Núñez from 16 years to seven in a 2008 case in which Núñez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.

The bill was one of 16 the Democratic governor announced signing this afternoon.

He vetoed three others, including legislation seeking to modify the state's overhaul of redevelopment agencies, the subject of pending litigation.

"Until the court issues its ruling in this case," Brown wrote, "it would be premature to consider the modifications proposed in this bill."

Rex Babin is the political cartoonist for The Bee. Click here to see a collection of his work.

Two of Gov. Jerry Brown's official seals were in the care of a Republican legislative staffer after a car belonging to Brown's chief deputy press secretary, Elizabeth Ashford, was totaled in a crash on Saturday near the Capitol.

The Democratic governor's shiny seals - affixed to podiums at public events - were in a suitcase in the trunk of Ashford's silver Honda Accord when the driver of an oncoming vehicle ran a red light at 10th and N streets about 6 p.m., striking Ashford's car, said Ashford and Trisha Richins, acting director of member services for the Assembly Republican Caucus.

Before being loaded into an ambulance, Ashford said she told firefighters, "Listen, there's this suitcase in the back of the car."

Richins, who saw the crash and stopped to help, said firefighters were putting the suitcase into the ambulance with Ashford when she offered to take it for her, worried it might otherwise be lost.

A firefighter remarked on the bipartisan spirit of it all, Richins said.

So did Ashford.

"She was reaching across party lines," Ashford said, "as they're loading me onto the ambulance."

Richins said Sunday evening that the seals are unharmed and will be returned to the governor's office today. Ashford, who was treated and released Saturday, said, "I'm a little banged up, but I'm OK."

The Sacramento Police Department did not immediately return a telephone call for comment.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to propose a package of pension changes this fall, wouldn't answer when asked at a press conference today about some of his own appointees earning both public pensions and salaries, the subject of a Los Angeles Times story this morning.

Brown had summoned reporters to the Capitol to talk about prison realignment. He told KABC-TV's Nannette Miranda, "I'm not talking about pensions today."

In the hallway afterward, Miranda asked Brown again, "But how can you pay them six figures?"

The Democratic governor said, "You come back tomorrow and I'll explain it to you."

"Oh, shoot. I'm off tomorrow," Miranda said.

"Well, then, come back the day after," Brown said. "But I have a very good answer for you, but I'm not going to give it to you today."

Two days before the state starts shifting responsibility for certain low-level offenders to counties, Gov. Jerry Brown defended the plan this morning in an appearance with law enforcement officials at the Capitol.

The Democratic governor said prison realignment -- a significant part of his budget effort this year -- will allow the state to comply with a court order to reduce prison overcrowding and also help "fix a prison system that has been profoundly dysfunctional for decades."

Brown reiterated his promise to seek a constitutional amendment next year guaranteeing ongoing state funding for realignment. He is also expected to ask voters next year to raise taxes, but it is unclear if the measures would be tied.

"Exactly how we draw it up, that will be determined over the next several months," he said.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this morning to accelerate judicial review of environmental challenges to a proposed NFL football stadium in Los Angeles, while also extending the same break to other large projects involving clean energy or downtown stadiums that get an environmental certification.

Brown said at an event in downtown Los Angeles that it is a time for "big ideas and big projects" such as the NFL stadium, which he said is needed to "get people working" in California.

The Democratic governor said the laws, Senate Bill 292 and Assembly Bill 900, would eliminate red tape while still ensuring environmental protection.

California may be mired in recession, but it's still collecting state taxes that are markedly higher, in proportion to its population, than the nation as a whole, according to a new data release by the U.S. Census Bureau.

California has 12.1 percent of the nation's population but during the second quarter of 2011 accounted for 15.9 percent of state tax collections with $35.9 billion. That was $2.4 billion more than in the second quarter of 2010, but more than $3 billion lower than in 2008, before the housing market collapsed and the state spiraled into recession.

The numbers come from the Census Bureau's quarterly report on state and local finances. Overall, states collected $226 billion in taxes during the second quarter and local governments added another $108.5 billion. The revenues include both taxes for general purposes and those restricted to special purposes, such as those on fuel.

California's second quarter total was influenced by the expiration of a temporary personal income surtax at the end of 2010, but the overall quarter-to-quarter increase in revenues indicate that slightly improved economic conditions offset the loss. Even so, income taxes accounted for 46.7 percent of total California collections.

Two other temporary tax increases, on sales and automobiles, expired on June 30. Gov. Jerry Brown wanted to extend all of the temporary taxes, which were first enacted in 2009, to balance the state budget, but was unable to gain enough Republican votes to put the extensions on the ballot this year. He's now planning an initiative tax measure for the November, 2012, ballot, but has not settled on what the mix of levies would be.

Gov. Jerry Brown has again used the power of the governor's pen to take a shot at a Senate Republican over the state budget.

The latest missive came in a signing message attached to Senate Bill 707, legislation by Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, to enact a 1 percent fee on the sale of olive trees.

"The author vouches for this fee by stressing the need to ensure that olives are 'healthy and viable for California farmers.' I agree. Perhaps the author and his colleagues might apply the same solicitude - and revenue - to ensure the health and viability of our schools?" Brown wrote.

"Just a thought," he concluded.

Brown had sought the support of Cannella and a handful of other Senate Republicans to pass his budget proposal to extend and place temporary taxes on the ballot. Months of budget negotiations failed to produce the two GOP votes needed to approve the plan.

Brown conveyed a similar sentiment in a recent veto message rejecting a bill authored by GOP Sen. Tom Harman, another member of the so-called "GOP 5."

The olive tree fee was one of dozens of measures included in the latest batch of bill signings and vetoes released by the governor, who has until Oct. 9 to act on the hundreds of measures sent to his desk in the final stretch of the legislative session.

Brown announced vetoing four measures, including two Democrat-backed bills to create commissions to study issues he said already get ample attention from legislative committees and other state agencies.

"Rather than creating a new entity, let's use the resources we have," he wrote in the veto messages for Assembly Bill 650 and Assembly Bill 750.

See all the bills Brown acted on today at this link.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown signed compromise legislation this morning between Amazon.com and California's brick-and-mortar retailers, giving the online giant a one-year reprieve from collecting state sales taxes.

Brown signed Assembly Bill 155, by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, at an event at Gap Inc. headquarters in San Francisco. Brown's wife and unpaid adviser, Anne Gust Brown, worked at Gap as general counsel and then executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief compliance officer, leaving the company in 2005.

The bill would avoid a ballot fight over online sales tax by giving Amazon.com and other online retailers until July 31, 2012, to lobby Congress for national standards. If they fail to do so, they would be required to collect the taxes beginning a year from now.

Brown said the bill represents a fair compromise that will create jobs.

FOWLER -- Add to the many reasons Gov. Jerry Brown has to be unhappy with the Legislature -- the Republican minority's resistance to his tax proposals, for example, or the Democratic majority's tendency to burden him with bills -- one more he identified Thursday in an elementary school classroom here.

Meeting with second-grade students before a bill-signing event in Fresno County, Brown asked if any student knew on which day California became a state.

"It's called Admission Day, and it's Sept. 9," Brown said. "It used to be a holiday, and you didn't have to go to school. But those people in Sacramento changed it. People up there, they pass all these laws, and one of the laws was, 'Don't celebrate Admission Day.' "

Brown asked the students if they had ever been to the Capitol and, if they had, if they had seen any politicians.

"Do you know what a politician is?" he asked.

"I forget," a girl said.

Said Brown: "Well, they're eminently forgettable."

Brown left the students with some advice: "I think the best thing you can do is get the most you can out of school by listening and studying and sitting up straight."

There was a bustle as the students came to attention.

"Yeah, I think that would be very good," Brown said, "by learning what you're supposed to learn."

FOWLER -- Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation this morning authorizing the state to raise $200 million more from utility rate-payers to subsidize the installation of photovoltaic solar panels on homes and small businesses, and also extending the Public Utility Commission's authority to collect $83 million annually from ratepayers for similar projects.

The bills are supported by the green-energy industry but opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce, which said the increased cost would burden businesses.

Brown, a Democrat, signed the measures on an elementary school grounds in Fowler, south of Fresno, with a crowd of students watching from the bleachers and a high school jazz band playing.

Senate Bill 585, by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, authorizes the state to increase the total cost limit of the California Solar Initiative to $3.6 billion from $3.4 billion. The program, which took effect in 2007, called for the installation of 3,000 new megawatts of solar electricity by 2016

Assembly Bill 1150, by Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, extends until July 1, 2016 the Public Utility Commission's authority to collect $83 million annually for an incentive program for small renewable energy systems.

Brown also signed Senate Bill 16, by Democratic Sen. Michael Rubio of East Bakersfield, which requires the Department of Fish and Game to expedite permits for renewable energy projects.

Fowler Unified School District is planning to put solar panels on school sites, including the elementary school where Brown was speaking.

Californians are worried about the stagnant economy and are generally sour on the direction the state is headed, but Gov. Jerry Brown gets relatively high marks for his performance to date, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

PPIC found that 41 percent of Californians and 45 percent of likely voters approve of Brown's efforts to balance the state budget and otherwise govern -- not an overwhelming endorsement but, compared to most other politicians, relatively strong.

Just a few days earlier, the Field Poll came up with similar results, a 49 percent approval rating for Brown.

"Most Californians -- regardless of political party -- say things are going in the wrong direction in the state and the nation," Mark Baldassare, PPIC's president, says in a statement accompanying release of the poll results.

"Most don't see evidence that the president's attempts to stimulate the economy have had a positive impact -- although when asked to choose, they side with him over the Republicans in Congress," Baldassare added. "And for most Californians, the impact of the state's budget problems have hit home. In every region of the state, majorities say that state budget cuts have affected their local government services a lot."

Here are other findings in the PPIC poll:

Prison realignment, in which California will shift responsibility for certain low-level offenders from state prisons to counties, won't take effect until Oct. 1.

But sooner or later, an offender may re-offend, and it became apparent this morning -- if Willie Horton's example hadn't already made clear -- that Gov. Jerry Brown may take some heat.

"Ultimately the path will come back to you as the person who pushed for this and really championed realignment," a reporter said to him after a speech in Sacramento. "And if somebody dies or someone gets out that shouldn't have got out, what's your reassurance to the public that ..."

Brown cut her off.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Wait a minute. Ten thousand inmates are let out every month. Ten thousand. Do you know how many have murdered people? Several, OK? So how you will distinguish those who are let out on realignment from those who are coming out anyway is something I'll watch with interest."

Brown said realignment will lead to better outcomes than does California's current system.

"I think it will be better," he said. "Is it perfect? No, we don't get perfection in this life."

Even though he endorsed the idea, Gov. Jerry Brown today vetoed one of the more innocuous bills of the legislative session, a measure to require the Department of Parks and Recreation to post information on its website before closing a state park.

That didn't need a law, Brown wrote in his veto message. He then criticized Senate Bill 386's author, Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach.

"What the parks do need is sufficient funding to stay open -- something I feel compelled to note the author and his colleagues refused to let the people vote on," the Democratic governor wrote.

Brown also vetoed two other bills -- Senate Bill 847, which would have restricted the location of medicinal marijuana dispensaries, and Senate Bill 715, which had to do with annuity transactions. In his veto messages, he wrote that decisions about dispensaries "are best made in cities and counties" and called the other bill "virtually identical" to one he had already signed.

"Another won't be needed," he wrote.

Brown signed several budget-related bills and one bill allowing California bartenders to pour drinks that include "infused" alcohol.

The budget-related bills -- including Senate Bill X1 4 and Assembly Bills X1 16, X1 17, X1 30 and X1 32 -- will, among other things, appropriate special funds to the Healthy Families Program; clarify elements of the shift in public safety responsibilities from the state to the counties; and delay implementation of the $10 student fee increase per unit at community colleges from winter to summer 2012 if revenue falls short and so-called "trigger cuts" are required.

Senate Bill 32, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, permits bartenders to pour "infused" alcohol, alcohol steeped with fruit, vegetables or herbs.

Cocktail lovers had lobbied the governor to sign the measure, which changes a post-Prohibition law.

Click here to see the full list of bills Brown signed or vetoed today.

Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning he will put on the November 2012 ballot a constitutional guarantee of funding for law enforcement realignment, the shift of certain offenders from state prisons to local control.

"I'm not leaving Sacramento until we get a constitutional guarantee," Brown told hundreds of law enforcement and local government officials at Sacramento Convention Center.

Brown's speech came less than two weeks before the state's shift of some low-level offenders from state prisons to local control. Though the Democratic governor said he will veto any bill to reduce existing realignment funding, law enforcement and local government officials want a constitutional amendment guaranteeing it.

"Don't worry about the money," Brown said. "We'll get it to you one way or the other."