We wanted to bring to your attention a couple of significant items on today's calendar:
• Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch is scheduled to hear arguments this morning whether to lift the automatic stay on his order to end furloughs for tens of thousands of state workers and issue back pay to them. The judge could rule from the bench or hold off on a decision for days or weeks. We'll report any news that comes from the 9 a.m. hearing.
• Today is the deadline for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to act on Senate Bill X8 29, the measure by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg that would exclude from furloughs any state employees in jobs funded 5 percent or less with general fund money.
If the governor doesn't act today, the measure becomes law. But Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear has said the governor will "very likely" veto the measure, which passed with a two-thirds vote in the Senate and an overwhelming 88 percent of Assembly members' approval.
So will Steinberg press for an override vote if Schwarzenegger vetoes his bill?
"Too early to say," said Steinberg spokeswoman Alicia Trost when we asked her that question.
The softest spot in an override effort would be with Senate Republicans, so we also called the upper chamber's GOP Caucus chief of staff, Greg Hurner, to ask what he thought about the likelihood of an override vote. We left a message, but as of 7 p.m. Tuesday night, we hadn't heard back.
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