California lawmakers and religious leaders will fast over the next 24 hours in support of a bill that would phase in overtime pay for farm workers in four years.

Gathered on the north steps of the Capitol, pastors led prayers to start the fasting period, and legislators recounted their own experiences in the fields, describing their personal ties to the laborers whose backbreaking work brings the majority of the produce grown in California to stores and tables.

AB 1066 "is about the simple idea that there is a set of workers that is equal to each and every other worker in the state of California," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), who revived the legislation after a similar bill she authored was killed on the Assembly floor in June.

As lawmakers debate the future of California's climate programs, they'll be keeping an eye on new developments with the state's cap-and-trade program.

Regulators are holding their regularly scheduled auction Tuesday, an opportunity for companies to bid on the permits necessary to emit greenhouse gases in the state. During the last auction in May, demand for permits dropped, evidence of the legal and political uncertainty surrounding cap-and-trade.

Full details on revenue from the auction won't be available until Sept. 12, but a summary of the results will be released next week, before the end of the legislative session. 

Californians would be immune from liability if they break a car window or enter a vehicle to rescue an animal in danger of serious injury or death from heat under a measure approved Monday by the state Senate.

Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) said the measure is needed to protect bystanders who need to take dramatic action to rescue an animal when authorities are delayed.

“In an emergency, good Samaritans should be confident that they won’t be sued for taking heroic actions to rescue a pet,” said Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga), an author of the bill, after the unanimous vote to approve the bill. It will now go back to the Assembly for final action on amendments.

Phone numbers and email addresses for at least some of California's 39 House Democrats were among the details published online last week after the apparent hacking of of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over the weekend warned House Democrats and their staffs not to let their families answer the phone after email addresses and cellphone numbers belonging to nearly 200 members of the caucus were posted.

Several California members said they have been bombarded with spam and prank calls. Others didn't want to speak publicly about it, worried it might inspire more people to contact them.

San Francisco community activist Gloria La Riva was selected to be the presidential nominee for the Peace and Freedom Party at its convention in Sacramento over the weekend. She will appear on California ballots alongside running mate Dennis Banks. 

La Riva previously ran for governor of California with the party in 1998. Banks is a longtime organizer with the American Indian Movement.

"Having a socialist option on the ballot of the most populous state in the United States is tremendous. Across the state there are millions of workers and their families who face unemployment, poverty, racism, deportations and police brutality, inherent symptoms of the capitalist society we live in," La Riva said in a statement.  

California is jumping into another national debate over environmental regulations.

State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris joined her counterparts from eight other states on Monday to fight a lawsuit against federal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The rules are being attacked by several other states and the oil and gas industry. 

California lawmakers paved the way Monday to rein in the ability of police departments to seize property from suspected criminals.

The Assembly voted 66-8 in favor of SB 443, which would add limits to using so-called asset forfeiture to seize property from suspects who haven't been convicted of a crime.

If the bill passes, police would no longer be able to permanently seize property worth less than $40,000 without a criminal conviction. The legislation allows for a lower burden of proof for seizures above that threshold so law enforcement can continue to use the tactic to combat large-scale drug trafficking.

Addressing concern about age discrimination in Hollywood, the state Senate on Monday approved a bill that would allow actors to keep their ages from being disclosed on websites that provide employment services to the entertainment industry.

The bill sought by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was approved on a 25-12 vote even though several Republican members said it is meaningless because actors' ages are widely available on the Internet on sites including IMDB.com.

“We’re making laws that can’t be fully enforced,” state Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) said.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Monday joined 74-year-old military veteran Del Francis for the last few miles of his 1,550-mile bicycle ride from Texas to the U.S. Capitol.

The veteran rode as part of an effort to get the names of 74 sailors he served with on the Long Beach-based USS Frank E. Evans added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Sarah D. Wire will have more on the ride and the effort a little later today.