The committee, which is tasked with reviewing all bills with a fiscal implication for the state, considered 365 bills in all.

Appropriations Chair Mike Gatto, D-Silver Lake, said the committee cut 80 percent of the $3.5 billion in proposed spending on the suspense file.

"I think we always have to weigh the costs and benefits of bills before us," Gatto said. "We did a good job of doing that."

Among the bills that failed to pass the committee were:

• AB 1326 by Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, R-Camarillo, would have created a tax credit for drone manufacturing.

• AB 299 by Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, would have prohibited health plans or insurers from making mail-order pharmacies mandatory.

• AB 332 by Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton, would have required condoms in the adult film industry.

Among the bills that passed:

• AB 48 by Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, would require ammunition dealers to report a sale of more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition to the Department of Justice.

• AB 47 by Assemblyman Gatto, would increase penalties for prank 911 calls, a practice known as swatting.

• AB 999 by Assemblyman Bonta, requires prisons to provide inmates with access to condoms when they are available.

IMAGE CREDIT: 2011 File photo. Lezlie Sterling / The Sacramento Bee

It appears the announcement that Republican farmer Andy Vidak won outright former senator Michael Rubio's seat may have been premature: an updated vote count puts Vidak below the 50-percent-plus-one threshold he needed to surpass to avoid a runoff against his Democratic opponent, Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez.

An updated total posted on the Secretary of State's website at 3:21 this afternoon gave Vidak 49.8 percent of the vote and Perez 43.8 percent.

The Secretary of State's office faces a May 31st deadline to certify the results of the election; so far none of the four counties that comprise parts of the former 16th Senate District (it has since been redrawn out of existence) have sent in their certified results, according to Secretary of State spokeswoman Nicole Winger.

Here are the current county-by-county vote margins:

Perez: 13,336
Vidak: 10,997

Kings County

Perez: 3,286
Vidak: 11,104

Kern County

Perez: 8,563
Vidak: 5,215

Tulare County

Perez: 2,079
Vidak: 3,677

If Vidak prevails it would diminish the size of Senate Democrats' supermajority, the 2/3 margin that allows to pass new taxes without Republican support.

Ammiano, D-San Francisco, proposed several protections for homeless people, including the right to counsel when accused of crimes like loitering. His bill also called for cities and counties to build hygiene centers, which would have cost as much as $216 million to build and another $81 million a year to maintain.

The California Chamber of Commerce included AB 5 on its annual "job killers" list, saying it imposed "costly and unreasonable mandates on employers."

In a statement, Ammiano said he was disappointed that the "Homeless Person's Bill of Rights and Fairness Act" failed, but that he understands the state's budget picture.

Ammiano said he plans to start working right away to pursue another approach to ensure homeless people are not treated as criminals.

Ammiano was more successful with AB 473, which would create a division within Alcoholic Beverages Control to regulate the production, transportation and sales of medical cannabis. The measure won passage in the committee Friday.

IIMAGE CREDIT: Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, in a 2009 file photo. Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee

The cut, adopted by Brown and the Legislature two years ago to help balance the state budget, was nullified by federal Judge Christina A. Snyder, but a three-judge appellate panel reversed the rejection. That decision was upheld Friday by the full appeals court. The cut had been suspended by court order while the appeal was under way.

The case was in federal court because of a series of suits challenging the federal government's approval of the state action. Friday's ruling upheld the right of the federal government to approve the reduction. Attorneys for the providers and health care advocacy groups said they may seek a rehearing of the case and/or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The provider rate reduction was aimed at saving the state several hundred million dollars a year and is included in Brown's latest budget, which is now undergoing scrutiny in the Legislature. It's the centerpiece of a larger conflict over reductions of "safety net" health and welfare services that pits Brown against their advocates, with Democratic legislators caught in the middle.

Electronic cigarettes would be subject to the same prohibitions as regular cigarettes under a bill passed Friday by the Senate.

Perhaps you've had this experience: you're sitting in a bar and you see what appears to be someone smoking a cigarette, blatantly violating an indoor smoking ban; you get a little closer and realize that the person is in fact drawing on an e-cigarette, exhaling vapor that's distinct from the acrid smoke produced by conventional cigarettes.

That would no longer be possible under Senate Bill 648 by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, that would ban e-cigarettes inside public buildings, near a playground, inside restaurants and on an airplane. It would also restrict the places where e-cigarette companies could advertise.

Corbett said she had authored the legislation in pursuit of "consistent regulation" that holds the burgeoning e-cigarette industry to the same standards as tobacco-based products, and added that studies of e-cigarette smoke had found harmful particles of metal components.

"This bill does not ban the use of e-cigarettes," Corbett said, "it just treats them the same as other cigarettes."

The measure passed on a 21-10 vote. One of the dissenting lawmakers, Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, argued that e-cigarettes are an effective way to help people quit regular cigarettes, something he asked senators to consider given the fact that "we spend tens of millions, billions of dollars trying to get people off cigarettes."

"While it may not be perfect, it's a step in the right direction," Anderson said of substituting the futuristic-looking smokes for conventional cigarettes, adding that e-cigarettes have given "a new lease on life" to constituents who have struggled to kick the habit.

PHOTO CREDIT: A pack of "blu" brand electronic cigarettes. Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 by Gerry Broome/The Associated Press.

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Other than that, we have some Assembly budget subcommittees and a meeting of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. We'll try to let you know how long lawmakers spend in the building before skedaddling back to their districts.

VIDEO: We're moving closer to crunch time on the budget, but Dan Walters expects lawmakers to finish their work on time.

GAVIN'S GRADUATION GAB: We've had a stretch of graduation ceremonies that have included commencement speeches from Gov. Jerry Brown (Berkeley) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (UC Davis law school). Today it's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom's turn. He'll be addressing students at the College of Marin starting at 6 p.m.

FUEL STANDARDS: California's landmark carbon emissions law requires, among other things, that the state establish a low carbon fuel standard that reduces by 10 percent the amount of carbon emitted by fuels sold in the state. The Air Resources Board is holding a public workshop to discuss some new proposals during a 9:30 a.m. meeting at Cal EPA on I Street.

MONSANTO MARCH: As part of an international day of protest, advocates are rallying Saturday in Sacramento against agro-giant Monsanto, whose seed patent protections were recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The demonstration starts at 11 a.m. on the Capitol's north steps and will include a march down the Capitol Mall. As of this writing, the Facebook group for the event lists about 1,800 people as attending.

PHOTO CREDIT: Does the Assembly Daily File contain a list of legislative triumphs or dashed dreams? We'll find out today. Jeremy B. White / Sacramento Bee.

On Thursday, the Senate considered 257 bills on the suspense file, moving along 185 of them.

All of the Assembly lawmakers with more than five bills on the suspense file are Democrats. The bills range from taxing firearm ammunition sales to increasing the minimum wage.

Here is the list of Assembly members with the most bills on the suspense file:

Tom Ammiano, D- San Francisco, 12

Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, 11

Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, 11

Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, 11

Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, 10

Mike Gatto, D-Silver Lake, 10

Raul Bocanegra, D-Los Angeles, 9

Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, 9

Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, 9

Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, 8

Ken Cooley, D-Ranco Cordova, 8

Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, 7

Bob Bonta, D-Alameda, 7

Richard Gordon, D-Menlo Park, 7

Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, 7

Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, 7

Jose Medina, D-Riverside, 6

Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, 6

For updates from the Assembly floor or the Assembly Appropriations Committee, follow @MelodyGutierrez

IMAGE CREDIT: Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, in a 2009 file photo. Hector Amezcua / The Sacramento Bee

The committee, which reviews all bills with a cost implication for the state, considered 257 bills today as it went through the so-called "suspense file." Members allowed 185 of those to advance to the next stage -- a vote on the Senate floor.

All together, those bills, if enacted, would cost the state $347 million, said Mark Hedlund, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

The 72 bills that were held by the committee would have cost the state a cumulative $3.2 billion, Hedlund said, and would have created $5 billion in new taxes. Bills that are not moving forward include the following:

SB 782, by Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, which sought a $10-per-person tax on businesses that sell booze and offer nude entertainment, to pay for sexual assault prevention and treatment.

SB 241 by Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would have put a 9.9 percent tax on extracting oil and spent the money on higher education.

SB 622 by Bill Monning, D-Carmel, which would have taxed sodas and other sugary drinks to pay for health programs related to childhood obesity.

SB 700 by Lois Wolk, D-Davis, which sought a five-cent tax on paper or plastic shopping bags to raise money for parks and litter abatement.

PHOTO CREDIT: Othman Rabie sells a pack of cigarettes from his K Street store, Hana's Corner. Brian Baer / Sacramento Bee file, 2006

"If you take a look at Google and type in 'global warming news,' I venture to say on most days in the news, 20 to 30 percent, if not more, of the news, will be by climate deniers or skeptics, whatever you want to call them," Brown said at a conference with climate scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center. "Everything these guys are saying either is not true, not relevant or totally distorted -- or it's not important."

The Democratic governor, who has made climate change a focus of his administration, compared interest in the event to recent news that the Bay Area will host football's Super Bowl in 2016.

"I mean, compared to getting the 50th Super Bowl, this stuff is silly," Brown said. "It's just a bunch of scientists talking. What really counts is the stuff you're going to read on the front page tomorrow. You're not going to hear about this. It's not allowed, because this is not news. News is something else. This may be true, it may be fundamentally important, but it's not news and therefore it cannot be printed in the American press."

Brown championed environmental causes when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983. In his current term he has signed legislation requiring California to obtain one-third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. He has also spoken frequently about the risk of climate change, including the issue in addresses this year in China and Washington, D.C.

In his home state, Brown has tangled with environmentalists over his effort to overhaul California's signature environmental law and, most recently, his proposal last week to loan the general fund $500 million from California's cap-and-trade program, money designated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The administration has defended the proposed loan, saying state agencies need more time to develop greenhouse gas-reduction programs.

Brown and scientists at the climate change conference celebrated the release of a paper signed by a wide range of scientists addressing pollution, population growth, species extinction and the impact of humans on climate change.

"Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point," the scientists wrote. "Human impacts are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet. As scientists who study the interaction of people with the rest of the biosphere using a wide range of approaches, we agree that the evidence that humans are damaging their ecological life-support systems is overwhelming."

Many conservatives say the effect of climate change is overstated, and that regulations intended to address it are overly burdensome.

At the conference this morning, Brown said, "I always like to hear from people who are saying what I believe." He called his position on climate change a "lonely position ... in the face of total and complete denial."

PHOTO CREDIT: Photographers take pictures of Gov. Jerry Brown at an event in Mountain View on Thursday, May 23, 2013. David Siders / Sacramento Bee

The announcement by Covered California, the marketplace for such policies, brings into sharper focus the impact of the nation's health-care overhaul on families and their pocketbooks.

Thirteen health plans were picked to sell plans, with none of the state's 19 designated regions having fewer than three plans to serve consumers, Covered California announced.

Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Health Net and Kaiser Permanente were among the firms chosen. Their tentative selection is subject to rate review by state regulators.

California's 19 geographic regions will average five health plans from which to choose. Even in most rural areas, consumers will have two or three options - though in a small number of counties only one plan will be available, officials said.

"Because of that, we will be able to deliver exceptional value, low rates, access to health care in every region of the state, and a solid platform to achieve the dream of providinig quality health care for all Californians," Lee added.

Premiums will vary based on age, region, household size and type of coverage sought.

Requirements of Covered California's insurance policies differ from those sold in the state's individual market currently, without public subsidies, so price comparisons are not readily available.

Covered California contends that the most valid cost comparison is with health-care policies currently sold in the state's small employer market. The exchange's policies next year would range from 2 percent above to 29 percent below this year's averages for the existing small employer market in California's most populous markets.

In the capital region, encompassing Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties, consumers buying through the exchange will be able to choose policies from Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Western Health Advantage -- and two forms of Anthem coverage.

For a relatively basic policy, known as a "silver" plan, the total monthly premium in the Sacramento region for a 40-year-old single individual would range from $332 to $476, with federal subsidies on a sliding scale for a man or woman with income up to $45,960. Individuals eligible for the highest subsidy, $276 per month, would face out-of-pocket premium costs as low as $56 per month.

Under next year's controversial national health-care mandate, often called Obamacare, nearly all Americans will be required to have health insurance next year or pay a fine of $95 or 1 percent of their annual income, whichever is more.

Californians of low and moderate incomes who buy policies on the state's new exchange will receive federal subsidies on a sliding scale, extending to a family of four earning up to $94,200.

An estimated 2.6 million Californians will be eligible for subsidies if they buy through the exchange.

Four tiers of policies will be sold by Covered California: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The lowest premiums are for policies with the highest out-of-pocket costs for care - and vice versa.

Californians cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions, prices cannot vary by gender, and insurers are not allowed to set a maximum dollar amount they will pay during a policyholder's lifetime.

All policies sold by the exchange must cover preventive care, prescription drugs, contraception, medical screenings - such as mammograms - and other "essential benefits," including pediatric, mental health, maternity and rehabilitation services.

Covered California is scheduled to begin selling policies in October for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

PHOTO CREDIT: A doctor looks through a scope while operating on a patient in Rancho Cordova on Friday, May 10, 2013. By Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee.

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It would be easy to lose track of the steady metronome of new dates and benchmarks in the rollout of the federal health care law, but today is a big one: during a 9 a.m. meeting at the California Museum, officials from the state's new health insurance marketplace will unveil the plans that private insurance companies will offer to Californians once the insurance exchange, Covered California, goes live this fall.

Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee and Board Chair Diana Dooley will both be there. After the announcement they'll head to the California Secretary of State's office on I street for a Covered California board meeting, where they'll discuss topics that include the organization's budget.

VIDEO: Democrats will need to reconsider their ambitions for enacting a liberal agenda now that they've lost former senator Michael Rubio's seat, Dan Walters says.

BROWN COMBATS CLIMATE CHANGE: A few days after exhorting new graduates to take the lead on fighting climate change, Gov. Jerry Brown will be at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View this morning to join researchers and scientists in issuing a new call to action. The governor will speak around 10 a.m.

OH, THE SUSPENSE: The Senate Appropriations Committee is deciding the fate of a small galaxy of bills currently on the suspense file today -- more than 250 as of our last count. Most of this has already been decided by leadership, so don't look for too much drama. But it still is an important moment for seeing which bills might yet make it into law and which are to be consigned to the legislative landfill.

GARAMENDI ON DELTA: Brown's proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan continues to be a volatile topic, dividing the state into pro and con camps. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, will offer his take at a meeting in Courtland of the Delta Protection Commission tonight. The meeting starts at 6:15 p.m., at the Courtland Auditorium.

THE HISPANIC VOTE: The University of California Center Sacramento is hosting a talk today on trends in Latino voter turnout, which remains unpredictable even as the Latino electorate has grown in size and clout. Mindy Romero, the founding project director of the California Civic Engagement Project, will be speaking. From noon to 1:30 p.m. at 1130 K Street.

GAMBLING: A panel of experts discusses the implications of online gambling today. Dean Francis J. Mootz III of the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law will moderate a panel that includes lobbyist Cathy Christian, attorney Howard Dickstein, attorney David Fried and Cheryl Schmit of Stand Up California.

PHOTO CREDIT: A doctor looks through a scope while operating on a patient in Rancho Cordova on Friday, May 10, 2013. By Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee.

Weather, terrain, culture, beach sandal-to-hiking boot ratio -- there are plenty of things to distinguish the north state from Southern California. Add to that list where congressional delegations stand on Gov. Jerry Brown's divisive plan to construct a massive new water delivery system.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan builds on a familiar dynamic: water from the rainier north goes to quench the thirst of the more heavily populated south. So it should come as no surprise that members of Congress representing the two halves of California have distinctly different reactions.

A group of Southern California lawmakers has sent a letter to Brown and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell trumpeting their "continued strong support" for the Delta plan and asking that it "remains a top priority of the Department of the Interior and the State of California."

"Our ability to increase our water supply depends on the reliability of water imported into the region," reads the letter, which is signed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Representatives Grace Napolitano (Norwalk), Henry Waxman (Los Angeles), Jim Costa (Fresno), Lucille Roybal-Allard (Los Angeles), Linda Sanchez (Lakewood), Judy Chu (Monterey Park), Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks), Janice Hahn (San Pedro), Adam Schiff (Burbank), Tony Cardenas (Sylmar), Karen Bass (Los Angeles) and Julia Brownley (Santa Monica).

The letter adds that "California's economic and social future is tied to safe supply of reliable, high quality water" and cautions against "half measures."

Contrast that with the tone of a March missive from a Northern California delegation that called the Delta plan "flawed" and "reckless" and dismissed it as a "an expensive plumbing system that doesn't add a single drop to the state's water supply."

You can read the SoCal call to action here:

SoCal water letter

PHOTO CREDIT: Aerial photos of the region to be affected by the Delta water tunnels and intakes in the Courtland area on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. By Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee.

Californians with disabilities and groups supporting them gathered at the Capitol today for a daylong push to make their voices heard and to lobby for restoration of past budget cuts affecting them.

To kick off the event, speakers exhorted hundreds of participants gathered near the Capitol's west steps to chant, "We're here, we're loud, we're disabled and we're proud."

"They certainly hear us, but that doesn't always mean they make the decisions we want them to make," Teresa Favuzzi, director of the California Foundation For Independent Living Centers, said of lawmakers who are weighing a revised state budget proposal unveiled by Gov. Jerry Brown this month.

The 10th annual "Disability Capitol Action Day" hoped to attract 3,000 people. Lobbying inside the Capitol was planned after the speeches and sign-waving ended. Sponsors included more than a dozen labor union, disability rights and retail groups.

A flier at the event listed some key issues affecting Californians with disabilities, including:

PHOTO CREDIT -- A crowd, including Ms. Wheelchair California 2013 Cindy De Jesus, center, waves banners advocating for disabled people during the Disability Capitol Action Day at the Capitol.
Randall Benton/Sacramento Bee