A Sacramento judge has ordered the Arizona nonprofit behind an $11 million contribution to a California political committee to produce documents for an audit by the Fair Political Practices Commission by 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Phoenix-based Americans for Responsible Leadership had objected to the FPPC's request for documentation as a violation of the First Amendment, a transgression of the commission's own policies and rules and as a politically-motivated move by the state to squash a political opponent of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The group gave $11 million to the independent Small Business Action Committee, which is both fighting Brown's tax measure, Proposition 30, and supporting Proposition 32, the campaign finance measure that would ban payroll deductions as a source for political activities.

FPPC Chairwoman Ann Ravel is a Brown appointee.

Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang said that on balance, the public's right to know by Election Day if the nonprofit violated disclosure laws outweighed the group's concerns.

It's not clear whether the commission can conduct its audit and, if the results warrant, reveal by Tuesday who is behind the nonprofit's donation. The matter could still get hung up in the courts.

In a prepared statement, said Matt Ross, spokesman for Americans Responsible Leadership's legal team said, "We are disappointed in the today's court ruling. We have asserted all along that the FPPC does not have the authority to issue an audit in advance of the election. We continue to believe so and will appeal this case."

Click here for the story on our sister blog, Capitol Alert.

Added at 11:27 p.m.: Sacr County FPPC V ARL Final order- 1031.pdf to read the court ruling, which is also embedded below.

We're in the final stretch to Election Day on Nov. 6, with two measures of particular interest to state workers on the ballot: Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase, Proposition 30, and the campaign finance measure we've closely covered for the last two months, Proposition 32.

We've written about the political link between the two and how opponents and proponents of each measure have calculated how much of their combined $124 million or so to put into the dual-front battle.

Viewed as a political package, there are only four ways the vote can go. One is a clear win for organized labor. One is a clear win for business interests.

The other two possible outcomes, in our estimation, would be more of a win for business than for the unions.

When the votes are tallied, which way do you think it will go? Thoughtful comments welcomed for a Blog Back we're planning to write soon.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has issued a tentative ruling that would require an Arizona-based nonprofit disclose the source of $11 million it has injected into California politics, including efforts to support Proposition 32 and oppose Proposition 30.

Click here to read Kevin Yamamura's report.

Scroll down to Item 11 in the embedded document below to read the tentative ruling that will be up for debate at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Judges rarely change their tentative decisions.

The Roundup: CSU grades legislators; states cut health insurances costs; IL to vote on pensions

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Tue, Oct 30 2012 08:59:07

With just over a week before Election Day, the interests backing Proposition 32 and fighting Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative, Proposition 30, have raised $58 million, including a recent six-figure donation from a Texas oil man.

Meanwhile, the union-backed No on 32 side has raised $66 million.

The money highlights the role of special-interest independent expenditures in backing a measure that claims to be a check on special interests.

We're scheduled for an appearance on San Diego's KPBS at noon today for an interview with "Midday Edition" host Maureen Cavanaugh. We'll be talking about Proposition 32.

In you're in the San Diego area you can tune in at 89.5 FM or 97.7 FM in Calexico. Click the this link to join the live stream of the discussion near the top of the hour. You also can listen to the archived show here. We're supposed to be on for about five minutes.

From The Bee's David Siders:

Matt Cate, who oversaw a dramatic, court-ordered reduction of California's prison population as secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is resigning, the Brown administration confirmed this afternoon.

Cate will become executive director of the California State Association of Counties.

Click here to read more on our sister blog, Capitol Alert.

PHOTO CREDIT: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matt Cate in Sacramento office during a 2011 interview. The Sacramento Bee/Randall Benton

Last week we asked how much unions would feel the effect if Proposition 32 becomes law. Here's a breakdown of responses to our decidedly unscientific poll on the measure.

Of the 1,200 blog users who took the poll, 53 percent said the measure would deal "serious injury" or a "death blow" to organized labor's clout.

Proposition 32 is written to include "unions and corporations" in its bans on payroll-deducted money for political purposes and direct contributions to candidates or candidate-controlled committees.

A new survey indicates that a majority of voters are opposed to the measure, but we still have to ask the follow up to last week's poll:

This report from CBS2 in Los Angeles includes surveillance of Caltrans employees using department rental trucks for commuting and personal business during work hours, including one worker who made trips to buy liquor. Watch for a heated confrontation between Gov. Jerry Brown and CBS reporter David Goldstein.

Editor's note, 5:02 p.m.: Brown said that Goldstein confronted him after a funeral for former Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally. Read more about Brown's reaction to the CBS 2 story on Capitol Alert.

The Roundup: Charles Munger contributes $13 million; CalPERS v. San Bernardino; California to take back prison...

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Fri, Oct 26 2012 09:24:49

As reported this morning by The Bee's ace business reporter, Dale Kasler, CalPERS has filed its opening rebuttal to the City of San Bernardino's municipal bankruptcy. CalPERS is the city's largest creditor with about $5.2 million in unpaid pension contributions on its books so far.

The case is significant to all government employees because it pits federal bankruptcy law's power to break contractual obligations against laws that establish the sanctity of public pension obligations.

Read Dale's report and then check out the CalPERS filing:

The number of state workers who who retired from service in October rose 16 percent from the same period in 2011, although year-to-date retirements are still slightly below last year's totals.

As the interactive chart below shows, 659 state employees applied for their state pensions last month, up from 566 one year ago. The departures contributed to the 8,830 state workers who have taken their pensions in 2012, down 2.1 percent from the first 10 months of last year.

In other words, if pension applications average 900 for the final two months of this year, 2012 will tie 2011 for the second-most number of state worker retirements on record.

Looking at the CalPERS retirements more broadly, a combined 25,712 state government, local government and schools members have taken their first pension checks from January through October, a 1 percent decline from the same period last year.

We've posted an interactive chart on the next page that captures the total membership retirement numbers.

The pension fund figures track service retirement applications submitted from mid-month to mid-month. The January numbers, for example, include employees who put in their papers in mid-December. This month's data account for retirement applications submitted from mid-September to mid-October.

The figures do not include disability retirements.

Public support for Proposition 32, the controversial campaign finance measure, has faded to 39 percent among likely voters two weeks before Election Day, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll.

Fifty-three percent of likely voters oppose the proposal to ban unions and corporations from using payroll-deduced money for political purposes, according to the poll released tonight. Seven percent are undecided.

California's labor unions, which rely on payroll-deduced dues, have made defeating the measure their priority this election year.

Public opinion about the initiative breaks along party lines, with a majority of Republicans favoring it and a majority of Democrats opposed. Independent voters oppose the measure by a 49 percent to 42 percent margin, according to the poll.

With two weeks remaining before Election Day, the donations to the labor-backed campaign committee to defeat Proposition 32 have reached $61 million.

Unions have made killing the measure their top priority, worried that if it becomes law that its ban on money from payroll deductions for political activities would handcuff their influence by choking off their sole source of funding.

The top three contributors to the anti-32 campaign have given half the money raised so far: the California Teachers Association ($20.1 million), Service Employees International Union ($8.8 million) and American Federation of State,County and Municipal Employees ($3.8 million).

Proposition 32 also bans corporations from using payroll deductions to fund politics, but since they raise their money through other means -- company treasuries and executive contributions -- measure would have little impact on their political resources.

The committee backing the measure has received $4.2 million from individual donors. But the real action has shifted to the Small Business Action Committee PAC, which set up a committee that both supports Proposition 32 and opposes Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal, Proposition 30.

The business group has received $29.3 million, with $16 million coming from Republican activist Charles Munger Jr. and $11 million from an Arizona nonprofit, Americans for Responsible Leadership, that hasn't disclosed the source of its money.

These tables detail the money backing and opposing Proposition 32 as reported to the California Secretary of State. Tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet toggle to the different accounts:

The Roundup: Mystery AZ money; judge rejects police chief's double pension bid; OK considers performance-based raises

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Wed, Oct 24 2012 07:16:42

Editors note, 4:22 p.m.: This post has been updated with more data and call processing information from CalPERS.

CalPERS announced today that it has received recognitions of excellence for two of its programs, including the my|CalPERS computer system that has a history of glitches and costly overruns.

"Our teams truly embody the CalPERS core value of quality in striving to exceed our customers' needs and expectations through competence, innovation and teamwork," CalPERS' CEO Anne Stausboll said today in a press release. "These honors are well deserved."

A union coalition of state hospital employees has scheduled observances around the state on Tuesday to remember Donna Gross, a psychiatric technican killed while on duty.

Locations for the 6 p.m. memorials include Napa State Hospital, where Gross worked. The events mark the two-year anniversary of her death at the hands of patient Jess Willard Massey. Massey is serving a 25 years-to-life sentence for the crime.

The 54-year-old's murder gave momentum to calls for heightened security at state mental hospitals and fostered the Safety Now! coalition. The group includes five unions with members working in California's mental hospitals: the American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees Local 2620, Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, the Union of America Physicians & Dentists and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.

Here's more information about the statewide memorials.

PHOTO: Donna Gross / courtesy California Association of Psychiatric Technicians

We can never get everything we learn into a news story. "From the notebook" posts give you some of the extra details behind the news.

Our story in today's fiber/cyber Sacramento Bee about the shifting strategy of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association came from our observation that as of last week the union hadn't but any money into efforts to defeat Proposition 34, which would repeal California's death penalty, and Proposition 36, which softens the state's three-strikes law.

Subsequent conversations with several sources bolstered our sense that the union has shifted political gears away from influencing public opinion about big issues and expanding spending on prisons. Instead, it's focused on closer-to-ground concerns such as mitigating job losses and preserving members' benefits.

More broadly, when you think about CCPOA and other state public employee unions, how are they faring in these changing fiscal and political times?

The Roundup: CA legislative staffers' side jobs; CalPERS' computer system

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Sun, Oct 21 2012 10:16:48

With a $500,000 campaign contribution reported today, Jerrold Perenchio has moved into second place on the list of individual contributors to the Yes on Proposition 32 campaign.

The former Univision chief gave the money on Thursday, according to a campaign disclosure report filed today. Perenchio has now given $750,000 directly to the campaign.

Only Charles Munger Jr. has given more to the campaign, $873,000, which is promoting a measure that aims to alter California campaign finance law by, among other things, banning payroll-deducted money for political purposes.

Despite Perenchio's latest campaign contribution, the big pro-Proposition 32 money has shifted to the Small Business Action Committee PAC, which received an $11 million contribution from an Arizona group, Americans for Responsible Leadership, earlier this week. The money can go to independent campaigning for Proposition 32 or against Proposition 30.

As details emerge about an out-of-state group that dumped $11 million into California politics this week, a good-government organization this morning called for an investigation into who is behind the money.

California Common Cause has asked the state's political watchdog commission to examine Phoenix-based Americans for Responsible Leadership and its contribution to an independent committee backing a controversial campaign finance measure on the Nov. 6 ballot, Proposition 32, and opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal, Proposition 30.

"You know, $11 million doesn't just drop out of the sky," said Derek Cressman, Western regional director for Common Cause.

From our sister blog, Capitol Alert:

The nonpartisan California Voter Foundation has released "The Proposition Song" to introduce voters to the 11 ballot measures whose fate will be decided in the Nov. 6 election.

Click here for more from The Bee's Jim Sanders and to see the 3-minute video, shot at various locations around Sacramento.

The Roundup: California proposition tactics; CalPERS boosts long-term care rates; state pay costs rise

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Thu, Oct 18 2012 08:05:53

As reported on our sister blog, Capitol Alert, a committee supporting Proposition 32 and opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase on the Nov. 6 ballot has received $11 million from an out-of-state group.

Phoenix-based Americans for Responsible Leadership gave the money to Small Business Action Committee PAC, which is backing Proposition 32 and opposing Proposition 30. The group was formed as a non-profit in Arizona and has not reported its donors there or here.

It's also not clear how the money will be spent, because the business committee can spend the money to support Proposition 32 or oppose Proposition 30. Donations to the PAC now total $29.2 million, according to state records.

The Roundup: Yes versus No on Prop. 30; LA workers can't display political signs; OR 'Furlough Fridays'

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Tue, Oct 16 2012 07:12:47

We can never get everything we learn into a news story. "From the notebook" posts give you some of the extra details behind the news.

We spoke to about 15 sources for our recent story on how unions would react if voters approve Proposition 32 in last week's Bee. Here are some of the quotes from those interviews that didn't get into the story.

The Roundup: Cellphone smuggling; the Koch brothers; CalPERS versus Rupert Murdoch;

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Sun, Oct 14 2012 19:18:02

In response to blog user requests, The State Worker has posted dozens of state Parks and Recreation documents released by the Natural Resources Agency that lay out an investigation this year into a secret leave buyback program. We realized this month that an interview transcript of one other parks employee was not part of the batch we received.

When The Bee asked about the transcript, the agency promptly turned over the reacted document. In the interest of being thorough, we're posting the transcript here. We've already added it to our parks investigation document index.

Person interviewed: Tina Williams
Job: Parks and Recreation division chief, law enforcement and emergency services
Interviewed by: Corrine Murphy, Justice Department deputy attorney general, and Angela Nowicki, Superintendent II, State Parks Law Enforcement Emergency Services
Date of interview: Mar. 28, 2012
Notable quote: "Good luck with that." -- Williams recollection of her thought when her supervisor, Manuel Lopez, suggested that an employee complaint about the leave buyback program could force employees to return cashouts they had received.

Sacramento's 3rd District Court of Appeal today ruled for the state and against SEIU Local 1000 in a dispute over pay raises for Corrections Department medical staff.

An arbitrator and a superior court judge had ruled that the negotiated raises were valid. The appellate court said today that the raises weren't valid because the Legislature didn't sign off on them.

SEIU Local 1000 declined to comment on the ruling.

The case dates back to 2006 and agreements negotiated between then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Local 1000.

Forces arrayed for and against Proposition 32, which would ban payroll-deducted money for political activities, are entering the last three weeks before the Nov. 6 election. Polling indicates that California voters are leaning against the measure.

But what if it passes?

The Roundup: Molly Munger vs. Jerry Brown; CalPERS' new investment; why public unions rarely strike

At look at California and national news about state workers.

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Fri, Oct 12 2012 07:12:04

We can never get everything we learn into a news story. "From the notebook" posts give you some of the extra details behind the news.

Our report in today's Bee takes a look at the history of state laws that place limits on either the spending or the collection of payroll-deducted dues. We wanted to look back to see what California unions might do if Proposition 32 passes.

A significant part of the story looks at Washington state, where voters in 1992 passed the nation's first law to require that members of public-employee unions give annual written permission for their dues to be spent on political activities. A decade later, the state Legislature changed the law to require only a lifetime opt-in with annual employer notice of employees' right to opt out.

Here are some links for State Worker blog users who want to dive more deeply into the Washington law:

Information on Washington's 1992 Initiative 134.
Senate Bill 6713, the 2002 law that eased the member opt-in requirement.
A synopsis of the measure.

IMAGE: www.freeclipart.com

With just 400 to 450 words for our weekly State Worker column, much of what we learn each week never sees print. Column Extras give you some of the notes, the quotes and the observations that inform what's published.

Our column today draws some parallels between recent changes to public employee pensions and a proposal to increase premiums by up to 85 percent for members in CalPERS long-term care program. (Unlike pensions, the fund's long-term insurance plan operates solely on members' premiums and investments. No employer money is involved.)

The fund's Pension and Health Benefits Committee will consider the plan on Tuesday. If it clears that hearing, the full Board of Administration will take it up on Wednesday.

Here's the agenda item for next week, with a summary, background and analysis of how CalPERS, like many others in the long-term care insurance industry, got to this point and how it hopes to turn things around:

The Roundup: Unions adjust to 'paycheck' laws; Oregon state pay study; Sandusky's pension;

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Thu, Oct 11 2012 08:23:23

Twitter debate pits Republican strategist vs. journalist, campaigns weigh in

Political arguments break out on Twitter all the time. On Tuesday, Proposition 32 was a hot topic. Here are some bits of the debate.

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Wed, Oct 10 2012 12:00:59

The California Teachers' Association has given another $2 million to the No on Proposition 32 campaign over the last 10 days, bringing the union's total spending to fight the measure to more than $20 million.

That's 40 percent of the $50 million the No on 32 campaign has raised so far.

Tuesday's filings with the Secretary of State also show that several firefighter unions contributed about $140,000. The San Diego Firefighters Local 145 gave a little over half the total, $73,260.

The union-backed No on Proposition 32 campaign has filed a formal complaint with a state political watchdog commission over $8 million the measure's supporters spent on media ads last month.

The opposition group on Monday asked the Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate two Yes on Proposition 32 campaign committees, California Future Fund for Free Markets and the Small Business Action Committee PAC, No on 30/Yes on 32. The complaint alleges the independent pro-32 committees failed to disclose enough payment detail for TV and radio spots that started running in mid-September.

Blog backs review your thoughtful and provocative online comments, amplify points, answer questions, correct our mistakes and humbly accept your warranted criticism.

As the campaign contributions pour into the campaigns supporting and opposing Proposition 32 in the final weeks before the Nov. 6 election, debate over the measure has heated up on The State Worker:

Former Democratic state Sen. Gloria Romero and Kathay Feng, executive director of Common Cause, faced off last weekend over Proposition 32 on "NewsConference," Southern California's local version of "Meet the Press."

Romero represented supporters of the measure, which would among other things ban payroll-deducted money from use for political purposes. Feng, whose good-government group supports the idea of campaign reform, represents the opposition.

The debate gets heated a few times, challenging the moderation skills of host Conan Nolan. The first segment runs seven minutes. The follow-up runs about five minutes.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

CalPERS' to consider big hike for long-term care insurance

Background and social media reaction to news about the big premium hike -- up to 75 percent -- the California Public Employees' Retirement System's Board of Administration has on its agenda next week.

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Sun, Oct 07 2012 11:02:55

The Roundup: WI measure protects unions; Chicago teachers OK pact; NV backs away from restoring state pay

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Mon, Oct 08 2012 08:45:22

Charles Munger Jr. has now given a nearly $23 million to an independent committee fighting for a measure that would curtail union political fundraising abilities while opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal.

Both initiatives, Proposition 32 and Proposition 30, respectively, go to a statewide vote on Nov. 6.

Munger, a Stanford physicist and the namesake son of billionaire Warren Buffet's long-time business partner, gave another $2 million on Thursday to the Small Business Action Committee PAC, according to a state filing that was released today.

William Oberndorf, the now-retired co-founder of the Mill Valley, Calif., investment firm SPO Advisory Corp., kicked in $1 million to the dual-purpose committee.

Munger's latest contribution follows $10 million donation from Munger earlier this week and two contributions last month that totaled $10 million. He's also given a total $873,000 directly to the Yes on 32 campaign.

RELATED:
Charles Munger doubles down to defeat Prop. 30, support Prop. 32
Charles Munger gives $10 million for Prop. 32, against Prop. 30

With just 400 to 450 words for our weekly State Worker column, much of what we learn each week never sees print. Column Extras give you some of the notes, the quotes and the observations that inform what's published.

Our column in today's Bee mentions a few lessons that public employees can draw from the events leading to the recent NFL labor agreement with the union that represents its referees. When you strip away the sports entertainment aspect of the story, what's left is a private-sector union representing 121 part-time entertainment regulators who have been earning an average $149,000 per year with pension benefits.

The public would be appalled with those terms in a public-sector union contract, but as the video below shows, football fans absolutely gushed when the refs' lockout ended last week. We assume that most didn't know the new deal increases referees' average annual pay by 38 percent over seven years, offset by a phase-out of defined benefit pensions. And if fans did know, would they care?

Charles Munger Jr. has given another $9.9 million to a committee with a dual mission: defeat Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure, Proposition 30, and support a measure that is anathema to unions, Proposition 32.

A filing with the Secretary of State's office posted online this afternoon shows Munger gave the money to Small Business Action Committee PAC, No on 30/Yes on 32.

New filings with the Secretary of State show that Republican activist Charles Munger Jr. gave a little more than $10 million to a committee that is supporting Proposition 32, the campaign finance measure on the November ballot, and opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative, Proposition 30.

State records show that some of the money that went to the Small Business Action Committee was spent on a statewide advertising campaign that launched Tuesday. The committee opposing Brown's tax measure received $700,000.

Click here for more details on our sister blog, Capitol Alert.

PHOTO: Charles Munger Jr. / Sacramento Bee 2008 file

California remains among the nation's cellar dwellers in its ratio of state and local government employees to residents, according to a new analysis by the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Meanwhile, state workers here are, on average, the highest-paid.

The Golden State was fifth from the bottom in its number of full-time equivalent state and local government employees relative to population: 476 workers per 10,000 state residents. Nevada had the fewest (420 per 10,000) followed by Arizona (433), Mississippi (462) and Pennsylvania (465). Texas ranked No. 1 with 565 state and local government employees per 10,000 residents, 8 percent above the national average of 525.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on The Daily Show Monday to promote his autobiography, "Total Recall." The three-part unedited interview with host Jon Stewart touched on California's fiscal woes, with Stewart framing the subject as a political problem created by an initiative process that has allowed voters to refuse to raise taxes and simultaneously demand more government services.

Schwarzenegger pivoted from that point to public pensions, a topic that became a focus of his administration. The California Legislature created a system that now carries "$400 billion" in unfunded pension obligations, the Republican movie star said, money spent "looking backward" to pay benefits for work done that could be used for investing in the future on things such as education and infrastructure.

Stewart, a Democrat who generally sides with organized labor, offered little resistance to Schwarzenegger's pension claims, although the two later sparred over tax policy and the economy.

We've embedded the Daily Show segments below. Scroll to the 5-minute, 50-second mark of the first one to catch the pension discussion. The second clip includes Schwarzenegger explaining why he didn't feel beholden to the Republican Party. He crosses swords with Stewart over tax policy in the third segment, which opens with Stewart asking, "I'm wondering why you aren't a Democrat."

Another poll shows that Proposition 32 is losing support among voters.

The latest survey by the University of Southern California Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times shows 44 percent opposed the measure which would cut off payroll-deducted money from use in political campaigns. Researchers found 36 supported the measure. The remaining 20 percent of voters surveyed said they were undecided.

The USC/Times research almost exactly mirrors the results of a Field Poll survey that found the No on 32 side leading 44 percent to 38 percent with 18 percent undecided. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll yielded similar voter reaction.

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a measure that would have required the state to establish a plan to allow hospital police officers to carry guns.

The director of the Department of State Hospitals sets the gun policy for a combined 800 facility police statewide. Currently, those officers cannot carry firearms while on duty.

Brown said in his veto message that the policy is "best left to the discretion of the department director who already has authority to arm its officers."

Earlier drafts of Assembly Bill 2623 by Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, would have simply authorized the officers to carry guns.

The Roundup: Mich. judge overturns pension law; two takes on state workers' pay; Arnold Schwarzenegger's return;

Storified by Jon Ortiz · Mon, Oct 01 2012 08:18:46