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Essential Politics September archives: Brown signs new laws and issues vetoes, fall campaigns heat up

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This is the September archive of Essential Politics, our daily feed on California government and politics news.

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California offenders are no longer eligible for early release in the deaths of police officers

California offenders will no longer be eligible for early release if they have been convicted of murder in the death of a police officer.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that exempts offenders from consideration for compassionate or medical release.

Currently under the law, the secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole Hearings determine whether a prisoner meets those provisions.

Offenders are typically recommended for early release if they have six months or less to live and would not pose a threat to public safety under court conditions or if a prisoner is permanently medically incapacitated.

Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) has said she filed the legislation, SB 6, to target a group of offenders sentenced during a period in the 1970s, when California had neither a death penalty sentence nor a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. During that time, she said, people convicted in the deaths of police officers were sentenced to life with parole.

Opponents of the bill said the parole board was capable of screening the petitions to determine who is appropriate for release. They said medical parole was meant to decrease the financial strain of caring for medically incapacitated inmates.

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Bill increasing penalties for possessing date-rape drugs becomes law without governor’s signature

Gov. Jerry Brown allowed a bill to become law Friday without his signature.
(Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

In a rare move, Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday he was allowing a bill increasing penalties for possession of date-rape drugs to become law without his signature.

Brown normally signs bills he supports or vetoes them if he doesn’t, but bills can become law if the governor fails to act by Friday’s midnight deadline. The governor’s representatives declined to explain his decision, but Brown has in the past been reluctant to approve bills that added to prison overcrowding.

The measure by Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) targets drugs that cause victims to become completely incapacitated, leaving them with no memory of their assault.

The bill restores the authority of county prosecutors to pursue felony charges against individuals caught with the most common date rape drugs and who have also demonstrated the intent to commit a sexual assault. It addresses a change in the authority that was included in Proposition 47, previously approved by voters.

“The issue of sexual assault has received increased attention in both state and national media recently as California’s inadequate sexual assault laws have been brought to light,” Galgiani said in a statement.

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New law aims to help keep sexual assault survivors’ addresses private

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), center, authored the bill to help keep domestic violence survivors' addresses confidential.
(Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

Protections to keep domestic violence survivors’ addresses confidential will be standardized under a bill the governor signed Friday.

The new law will also apply to people who have been sexually assaulted or stalked and reproductive healthcare providers. It will prohibit people, businesses and associations from publishing the addresses of people protected under the law who have requested that their addresses be kept confidential.

The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), will also require the California Secretary of State’s office to provide those protected under the law with information about how to keep their addresses private.

The law will take effect Jan. 1.

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Workers in small businesses will not get mandatory parental leave, after veto by Gov. Jerry Brown

(Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown refused on Friday to extend parental leave requirements to Californians who work for some of the state’s smallest businesses, saying he worried about the plan’s impact.

In his final bill actions for the year, Brown vetoed Senate Bill 654 and its mandate of six weeks of unpaid leave for mothers or fathers at businesses that employ between 20 and 49 workers.

Current job protections for workers with new children are focused on businesses of at least 50 employees. The bill would have given these employees access to the state’s paid family leave program, with subsidies that are paid for through worker paycheck deductions.

Brown’s veto message said that he was concerned about the “impact” of the leave proposal on small businesses, and cited potential liability issues that could be resolved through a modified proposal in 2017.

The bill’s author, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), said in a statement that “everyone deserves the basic right to take time off to care for a newborn.”

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Ring the bells of freedom. Denim is now California’s official state fabric

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‘Yes to Prop 62’ releases new ads in campaign to abolish death penalty system broken ‘beyond repair’

Thirty-eight years ago, lawyer Ron Briggs and his father wrote the ballot initiative that brought the death penalty back to California. They worked tirelessly to get it passed, gathering petition signatures and mailing out literature.

But in a new online ad airing this weekend in support of Proposition 62, the November ballot measure that would abolish the practice, he tells viewers he made “a big mistake and you have been paying for it ever since.”

“I thought we’d save money,” he says in the ad. “Instead, we have wasted $5 billion on just 13 executions.”

The video is one of two commercials that will begin playing this weekend as paid content on Facebook to raise support for the proposition. Past efforts to end the death penalty in the state have tended to focus on moral arguments against state-sanctioned executions. This year, Prop 62 organizers said they also want to emphasize the cost to taxpayers’ pockets.

The second ad features a porcelain vase shattering on the floor as a voice says, “Sometimes something is so broken it just can’t be fixed.” It goes on to list what it calls the flaws in the state’s death penalty system: suspended executions, endless appeals and millions in legal fees.

Both Prop 62 videos tell viewers the measure will save the state $150 million a year.

But not all agree with its financial estimates. The proposition, which would replace capital punishment with life without parole, is one of two competing death penalty measures voters will weigh on the Nov. 8 ballot. Prop 66 aims to speed up the execution process by limiting the number of appeals that death row inmates can file and by expediting deadlines.

Prop. 66 supporters argue the Prop. 62 campaign has “wildly inflated” the costs of the death penalty system.

The “Yes on 62” campaign says it took its $5-billion estimate from a report by California’s Loyola Law School in 2011. But one of its authors told PolitiFact California that was the figure spent on the entire system since 1978 — not just the the cases of 13 death row inmates.

Briggs said he began to change his perceptions on the death penalty about a decade ago. “It is important for people to understand that 38 years ago we threw a pebble into the political pond, creating waves of unwanted effects,” he said.

This story has been updated with a comment from Briggs.

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Democrat who lost in the primary says he will vote for Republican Rep. Steve Knight in heated House race

Lou Vince, an L.A. police lieutenant who finished third in the 25th Congressional District’s primary contest this June, crossed party lines Thursday and said he will vote for Republican Congressman Steve Knight over Democratic lawyer Bryan Caforio in the heated congressional race that national Democrats are targeting as a potential seat pick-up.

In a letter sent to reporters Thursday, Vince said while he wants Democrats to win back Congress, Caforio is new to the district and “isn’t a member of this community and certainly doesn’t reflect the values of our district.”

Vince, who said he was asked to drop out of the race by Democratic Party leaders when Caforio entered, complimented Knight for his military service and career with the Los Angeles Police Department.

“Steve Knight isn’t perfect — I’ve opposed him on issues like climate change and healthcare,” he said in the letter. “But I know Steve, I’ve known him for many years. While we may disagree on policy issues, he is a man of integrity and genuinely believes he is doing the right thing.”

In the letter, Vince accused Caforio of misrepresenting his legal career on the campaign trail and promoting “false accusations about my professional conduct as a police officer.”

During the primary campaign, L.A. Weekly and other outlets reported on a lawsuit filled by Cecil Miller, who claimed Vince and another officer, Timothy Gallick, beat him in front of his family after Miller ran over Vince’s foot during a traffic stop in 2000.

The suit alleged one of the officers held Miller up while the other punched him in the face before Vince also punched a passerby in the face, according to the suit.

The case was eventually settled by the Los Angeles City Council for $150,000 and the matter was sent to the Los Angeles Police Commission, according to city records. The commission asked the LAPD to review the incident, but Police Commission Executive Director Richard M. Tefanka said they never received a report back from the department.

Caforio’s campaign denied spreading information about the suit or the settlement, which was covered by local press in 2002.

In response to Vince’s letter to reporters, Caforio’s campaign released a statement from Maria Gutzeit, a Newhall Water District board member, who also ran for the seat but dropped out and endorsed Caforio.

“After multiple failed campaigns, it’s disappointing that Lou Vince is standing with an extremist like Steve Knight, who is against a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk, and would be another vote for the Trump agenda,” she said.

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Will denim be California’s official state fabric? A decision looms

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Distributing secret recordings like those in Planned Parenthood case now a crime in California

Distributing secret recordings involving healthcare conversations will become a crime in California in 2017, under a new law inspired by the high-profile case involving videos of Planned Parenthood employees discussing abortion procedures.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on Assembly Bill 1671 came after last-minute changes to the bill seeking to ensure journalists wouldn’t be prosecuted for the use of video, audio or transcripts they are given but did not help to record.

Existing law focuses on the illegal nature of the recording itself, not what happens to any copies of the recording.

Planned Parenthood, a sponsor of AB 1671, argued that the new law is necessary in the wake of the controversial videos taped by David Daleiden and other anti-abortion activists that purport to show Planned Parenthood employees illegally trafficking in fetal tissue.

The organization, which has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing, has insisted that the videos were manipulated and sparked a number of threats made to their medical providers and clinics.

In an emailed statement, Daleiden said the conversations recorded were not confidential. “California’s existing recording law and the new distribution provision are simply inapplicable to our work,” he said.

News organizations including the California Newspapers Publishers Assn. had opposed earlier versions of AB 1671. Late amendments sought to assure that only those involved in actually making the recording are subject to criminal prosecution for distributing it — not those, including reporters, who may receive it from another source.

“Gov. Brown sent a clear message to anti-abortion extremists that you cannot break the law in California or you will be held accountable,” said Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, in a statement on the signing of AB 1671.

Update 3:45 p.m. This story has been updated with comment from David Daleiden.

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More large electronic billboards are possible for downtown Los Angeles after governor’s action

More electronic billboards could be allowed in downtown Los Angeles under a new law signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown that community activists charge will add to visual blight in the city core.

The controversial bill allows developers to erect several giant electronic billboards around the $1-billion Metropolis high-rise project in downtown Los Angeles as long as they also are allowed by the city.

The measure is opposed by Dennis Hathaway, president of the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight, who said it will create an atmosphere of flashing, changing electronic signs like Times Square in New York City and cause a dangerous distraction for motorists on nearby streets and the 110 Freeway. He also said it would create an eyesore.

“I’m really disappointed,” Hathaway said. “Having big, multistory advertisements for things like beer and Coca-Cola is not the highest and best use of the visual environment.”

He also said the law sets a bad precedent for allowing a developer to get legislators to grant exemptions from state sign laws limiting billboards near freeways.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) said his measure is aimed at helping the economic revitalization of a downtown neighborhood. The measure is needed to provide some financial incentive for developers to revitalize the city core now that redevelopment agencies have all been shut down, the lawmaker added.

Billboards can provide extra revenue to help make developments more profitable, he said. The bill provides exemption from the Outdoor Advertising Act for an area bounded by West 8th Street on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, and to a nearby area on the westerly side of State Route 110 bounded by West 8th Place, James M. Wood Boulevard and Golden Avenue.

“I’m hoping it will spark up the much-needed revenue to make development happen in downtown Los Angeles and create thousands of jobs and hopefully become more of a world city,” Santiago said Friday, adding it could help the area targeted to become “an anchor like we saw with L.A. Live.”

Santiago said the city of Los Angeles, which will have final say on any signage, has lost $5 billion in economic development over the last four years alone because of the lack of hotel rooms and an outdated Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Los Angeles Metropolis project, which includes 350 hotel rooms, is a 6.3-acre, $1-billion development adjacent to LA Live that is expected to bring $156.7 million in tax revenue into the city over the next 25 years, he said.

Brown also signed a bill exempting two existing advertising billboards along Interstate 405 in Inglewood from the Outdoor Advertising Act restrictions on changeable, electronic signs through Jan. 1, 2023.

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Stronger equal-pay protections for women and people of color coming soon in California

State Sen. Isadore Hall III (D-Compton) authored one of the pay-equity bills the governor signed Friday.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Equal-pay laws in California will get tougher under two bills Gov. Jerry Brown signed Friday.

The two new laws will strengthen wage-equity protections for women and people of color.

One will prohibit employers from paying women less than male colleagues based on prior salary. The other will bar employers from paying workers doing “substantially similar” jobs different wages based on their race or ethnicity.

The announcement comes less than a year after California lawmakers passed one of the toughest equal-pay bills in the country. That law applied the “substantially similar” provision to protect against gender-based wage discrimination.

The bills signed Friday take effect Jan. 1.

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California toughens laws against rape after Brown signs bills inspired by Brock Turner case

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that expands the legal definition of rape and imposes new mandatory minimum sentences on some sexual assault offenders -- measures inspired amid national outcry over the sexual assault case of former Sta

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that expands the legal definition of rape and imposes new mandatory minimum sentences on some sexual assault offenders -- measures inspired amid national outcry over the sexual assault case of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.

The decision comes as heated debate has raged this year over the mishandling of sexual assault investigations on U.S. college campuses by police agencies and courts. But increasing punishment for sex offenders posed a challenge for Brown, as the state has been undertaking a broader effort to move away from a focus on prison sentences.

In a message released with his signature, Brown said he was generally opposed to adding more mandatory minimum sentences.

“Nevertheless, I am signing AB 2888, because I believe it brings a measure of parity to sentencing for criminal acts that are substantially similar,” he said.

Assembly Bill 2888, authored by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa), will prohibit judges from giving convicted offenders probation when they sexually assault someone who is unconscious or intoxicated.

Assembly Bill 701 by Assemblywomen Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), will expand the legal definition of rape so it includes all forms of nonconsensual sexual assault.

Currently under the law, those convicted of rape using additional physical force must serve prison time. But offenders, like Turner, convicted of sexually assaulting someone who is unconscious or incapable of giving consent because of intoxication, can receive a lesser sentence based on a judge’s discretion.

Rape has previously been defined as “an act of sexual intercourse” under certain conditions of force, duress or lack of consent. Other types of sexual assault, like penetration by a foreign object, were categorized as separate offenses.

The laws go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

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Gov. Jerry Brown makes it crystal clear: He really doesn’t like ranked-choice voting

(Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

An effort to expand the use of ranked-choice voting in California, in which voters choose second- and third-choice candidates, was struck down by Gov. Jerry Brown this week with a pretty simple message.

He just doesn’t like it.

“Ranked choice voting is overly complicated and confusing,” wrote Brown in his veto message on Thursday.

The system is currently only in use in a handful of Bay Area elections, most notably used in cities such as San Francisco and Oakland.

Senate Bill 1288 would have allowed a number of California cities, counties and school districts to switch to the system that asks voters to rank their top candidate preferences.

The candidates receiving the most votes then move on to successive “rounds” where ballots that picked a now defeated candidate as the top choice are then redistributed based on the voters’ next preference.

Brown certainly knows about ranked-choice voting as a former Oakland mayor and, until recently, an Alameda County resident. His veto message seemed not only a succinct rejection of SB 1288, but ranked-choice voting in general.

“At a time when we want to encourage more voter participation, we need to keep voting simple,” he wrote in his veto message. “I believe it deprives voters of genuinely informed choice.”

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Few new rules on the use of drones as governor rejects ‘piecemeal’ approach to regulation

A drone hovers over seals and sea lions at Children's Pool Beach in La Jolla.
A drone hovers over seals and sea lions at Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

In a win for lobbying efforts in a budding industry, California has made it through another year with few limits on drones in its skies.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed legislation that protects emergency responders and volunteers from liability should they damage a drone in the course of their work. But he vetoed the last four pending drone bills, saying he found it “more prudent to explore a more comprehensive approach” to the regulation of unmanned aircraft systems.

As drones have multiplied in number and category, lawmakers in the 2016 legislative session had attempted to come up with a comprehensive approach. But drone manufacturers and associations boosted their politicking, successfully beating back several bills they said would create a patchwork of laws that vary by state and hinder innovation.

Of the bills Brown vetoed, one would have banned the use of drones in state parks without permission. Another would have made the use of drones unlawful during illegal activities such as violating a protective order, interfering with emergency response personnel or facilitating the delivery of contraband to jails.

In messages released with his veto signature, Brown said current laws were sufficient to prosecute those crimes, while authority fell to the appropriate parks and wildlife departments to develop their own regulatory approach on their properties.

Brown also rejected a bill mandating that drones be sold with a copy of FAA rules and that those with GPS technology must be turned off near airports, sensitive infrastructure or fires.

To that proposal, Brown said it created “significant regulatory confusion by creating a patchwork of federal, state and local restrictions on airspace.”

“Piecemeal is not the way to go,” he said.

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California is removing all limits on who can drop off your ballot on election day

(Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)

Californians will be able to legally hand off their sealed ballot to anyone to mail or deliver in person under a new law signed Thursday.

Assembly Bill 1921, written by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), removes language in state election law that limits the delivery of a voter’s ballot to close family or household members.

It also repeals, starting in local elections in 2017 and the next statewide election in 2018, the current ban on a volunteer campaign worker from gathering as many ballots as possible from voters for delivery to elections officials. The only restriction is that a campaign official cannot be paid to gather and deliver ballots.

While other states also have more liberal laws on who can deliver a voter’s ballot, those states usually place a limit on how many ballots can be delivered by a single person. The law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown places no such restrictions.

Supporters of the new law said that limits on who could deliver a voter’s ballot were an unnecessary obstacle in an era when millions more Californians are choosing to cast their ballots by mail.

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Single-user restrooms to become ‘gender neutral’ in California

Edgar Lopez, a maintenance worker with the city of West Hollywood, cleans the front door of a restroom at Plummer Park.
Edgar Lopez, a maintenance worker with the city of West Hollywood, cleans the front door of a restroom at Plummer Park.
((Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) )

Single-user bathrooms in public buildings in California will soon become “gender neutral” so anyone can use any restroom, a result of legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said his bill moves California in the opposite direction of some states that restricted the ability of transgender people to choose which bathrooms to use.

“California is charting a new course for equality,” Ting said in a statement. “Restricting access to single-user restrooms by gender defies common sense and disproportionately burdens the LGBT community, women, and parents or caretakers of dependents of the opposite gender.”

He noted that 19 states this year have considered restricting access to restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities based on the user’s biological sex.

The new law in California was championed by Equality California, a gay rights group that cited a 2013 study by the UCLA Williams Institute that found 70% of transgender and gender non-conforming people face serious threats, including verbal harassment, when using gender-specific restrooms.

“This law is a simple measure that will make everyone’s lives easier,” added Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center.

The law takes effect March 1, 2017, to allow businesses time to change restroom signs and otherwise comply.

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More Californians will vote by mail and fewer at polling places under a new law

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

California voters may be asked to cast more of their ballots by mail as soon as 2018 under a sweeping law signed Thursday, one that would eliminate thousands of neighborhood polling places.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on Senate Bill 450 sets in motion a major remodeling of the state’s election operations, inspired by a similar system in Colorado. Counties that opt to implement the new system will open community “vote centers” in the weeks before election day that offer last-minute registration and limited in-person voting.

Those counties will also have more places to drop off completed ballots.

“This landmark law will provide voters more options for when, where, and how they cast a ballot,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla in a written statement.

But the move away from polling places could some as a surprise to Californians who have spent decades voting in their neighborhoods. A report released two weeks ago by UC Davis’ California Civic Engagement Project found the “vote center” model raised fears with some African Americans about voter suppression and voting access.

Supporters of the new law say voter education efforts will be key to making it work.

The changes to election operations will come in two stages: 14 counties will be able to move toward less in-person voting in 2018, and the remaining counties will be allowed to opt in to the new system in 2020. Counties that implement the new system will have to mail ballots to all registered voters, though Los Angeles County will not have to do so until 2024.

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When are marijuana users dangerous drivers? Gov. Brown approves study to find out

Customers buy products at a medical marijuana dispensary in San Francisco in April.
( (Haven Daley / Associated Press))

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a series of bills preparing California for a new era of marijuana regulation, including one launching a study of the effects of cannabis on motor skills.

Brown also approved measures preserving small medical marijuana growing operations from bigger competitors and allowing cannabis dispensaries to pay taxes and fees in cash.

However, Brown vetoed bills that would have allowed 135 cannabis dispensaries to operate in Los Angeles without city licenses as well as provided a tax amnesty to medical cannabis dispensaries that owe back taxes,

The governor’s decisions follow his approval last year of a new system of regulating and licensing the growth, distribution and sale of medical marijuana beginning in 2018.

The governor’s action Thursday also comes as California voters are set in November to consider an initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) authored the measure calling for a University of California study of marijuana’s physical impacts.

“This bill addresses the issue of the lingering effects of medical marijuana on motorists, which is a very important piece for public safety,” Cooley said. “A lot of medical marijuana issues affect the person using it, but when they are on the roads everyone is affected.”

Police agencies have struggled with enforcing laws against driving while impaired after using marijuana because there is not the same amount of research as exists with the effects of alcohol.

“Law enforcement needs the best informed understanding of those effects in order to deal with suspected cases of drugged driving from marijuana,” Cooley said.

The measure also sets standards for processing marijuana that, if met, will allow medical cannabis manufacturers to operate without threat of state law enforcement action.

Brown also approved a bill that will allow medical pot businesses to pay the state with cash and not face steep penalties that currently exist.

The bill was proposed because marijuana possession and sale is still illegal under federal law, so banks will not accept business from medical marijuana dispensaries. That makes it impossible to write checks or do electronic transfers to pay taxes and fees to the state.

The governor also signed a measure aimed at protecting small medical marijuana farms by creating a special state license for “cottage” operations of less than 5,000 square feet.

However the governor vetoed a measure that would have exempted 135 marijuana stores in Los Angeles from a requirement that they get a city license. The stores were grandfathered in when voters approved a ballot measure in 2013.

He noted the measure conflicts with state law requiring dispensaries to get licenses from both the state and the city.

“This bill is inconsistent with dual licensing requirement established last year by the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act,” Brown wrote in his veto message.

He also nixed a bill that would have provided tax amnesty to hundreds of dispensaries throughout California that are believed to be delinquent on about $106 million in back taxes.

“While increasing tax compliance among medical marijuana businesses is important, it is premature to create a tax amnesty before the regulations that link enforcement to licenses are promulgated,” Brown wrote in the veto message.

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California now subject to tighter rules for taking property from those who haven’t been convicted of a crime

California will now have much stricter rules for when police can seize citizens’ cash, cars and other property under legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The measure, SB 443 from Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), now requires a criminal conviction before law enforcement can permanently take from a suspect assets valued under $40,000, ending what supporters have said is a practice that incentivized officers to target low-income residents to pad their police budgets.

A more wide-ranging bill from Mitchell failed last year amid significant concern from law enforcement organizations that a requirement to obtain a criminal conviction before the permanent seizure of any property would harm police’s ability to target high-level drug dealers. After Mitchell agreed to the $40,000-threshold for a criminal conviction, major law enforcement groups dropped their opposition to the measure and the bill easily cleared the Legislature with bipartisan support last month.

California is now one of 18 states that have tightened similar laws regarding what’s known as “civil asset forfeiture” in the last two years, according to the libertarian Institute for Justice, which tracks asset forfeiture across the country. Other states have banned the practice entirely, but California’s new policy for permanent seizures of property is among the strongest in the country, the organization said.

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More California communities could see public financing of campaigns under a law signed by Gov. Brown

More cities and counties will be able to offer public funds for political campaigns under a law signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown’s signature on Senate Bill 1107 makes public financing an option, though it does not require any local government to participate.

The bill was a major goal of watchdog groups critical of the influence of money in politics. They have suggested that the communities that allow limited public funds can then match those dollars with requirements for candidates to seek out small donations, ones that come from diverse parts of a community instead of a handful of big donors.

“California’s leaders are hearing from voters who are fed up with playing second fiddle to wealthy special interests,” Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, said in a written statement. “SB 1107 gives Californians new options to amplify the voices of everyday voters in election campaigns.”

While a few California cities already offer some form of public financing for campaigns, dozens more were banned from doing so under a 1988 ballot measure. The new law removes that ban.

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Californians will soon be allowed to take selfies with their completed ballots

Ballot selfies soon will be legal in California under a law the governor signed Thursday that permits voters to photograph their completed ballots.

Residents hoping to take a selfie with their vote in the upcoming presidential election are out of luck, however. The bill will go into effect Jan. 1, after the national election in November.

The first time Californians will be able to exercise their new right will be in local elections next year.

Supporters of the bill have said it protects Californians’ rights to engage in political speech.

For now, Californians are still prohibited from showing others their ballots after they have marked them, although the bill’s author, Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), told the Los Angeles Times in January that no Californian has ever been prosecuted for taking a ballot selfie.

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For Kamala Harris’ Senate campaign, the state Democratic Party’s endorsement has been a jackpot

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris applauds at the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose in February.
(Ben Margot / Associated Press)

In California, it pays to be the state Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate.

The California Democratic Party has spent more than $500,000 supporting Democratic state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris for U.S. Senate, and forked over another $100,000 for campaign materials promoting her bid.

Harris overwhelmingly won the state party’s endorsement in February, and now the party is all in to make sure she wins in November.

Her rival, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, is getting nothing from the state party even though, like Harris, she’s a Democrat.

The party help for Harris could tip the balance in a race where both candidates have had a hard time raising money for their campaigns.

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Nanette Barragán scores endorsement from Bernie Sanders-affiliated group in south L.A. County congressional race

Another day, another endorsement for former Hermosa Beach City Councilwoman Nanette Barragán in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) in the 44th Congressional District.

Barragán, who is running against state Sen. Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), scored the endorsement of Our Revolution, a political 501(c)(4) nonprofit that sprung up after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ failed presidential bid to support down-ballot, progressive candidates.

Hall beat Barragán in June’s crowded primary election, with 40% of the vote to Barragán’s 20%.

But Barragán’s strategy of hitting Hall for his ties with special interests in the oil, alcohol and tobacco industries has helped her win a number of endorsements from progressive and environmental groups.

“Nanette Diaz Barragán understands there’s nothing more important than the health of our families and community,” the group writes in its endorsement. “That’s why she stood up to the big oil companies and helped win the fight to keep them from oil-drilling in our neighborhoods and off our beaches.”

This week, Barragán has been endorsed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the Torrance newspaper the Daily Breeze, which covers the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County.

Both candidates were running low on cash as of their last filings with the Federal Election Commission: Hall had $132,836 in the bank, and Barragán had $127,775.

Our Revolution has already dabbled in a number of races around California including the crowded race to replace longtime Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.

The group has also endorsed Eloise Reyes, who is challenging Assemblywoman Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) — another intra-party race in which one of the candidates, Brown, has been criticized for accepting campaign contributions from oil companies.

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More transparency is coming to California’s scandal-ridden energy regulator, and Gov. Brown has pledged more action

The San Onofre nuclear power plant closed in 2013.
(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Changes to increase the transparency of communications between the state’s energy regulator and the industries it oversees are now law after Gov. Jerry Brown signed five measures designed to restructure the California Public Utilities Commission.

Most notably, Brown signed a bill from Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) that would open up some details of private meetings between industry and PUC executives — a response to numerous concerns about an overly cozy relationship after the 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion and the circumstances surrounding the 2013 closure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California.

“The reforms approved by the governor today will ensure commissioners disclose their private meetings with utility executives and will result in heavy penalties for those who violate the rules,” Leno said in a release.

The bills signed Thursday were part of an overhaul of the agency first announced in June by Brown and legislative leaders. But major components of that deal failed to pass the Legislature this year, and fingers have been pointed at Brown-appointed PUC President Michael Picker, who had last-minute hang-ups over parts of the legislation, Democratic leaders who failed to bring the bills up for a vote and Republican leaders who refused to waive legislative rules to allow a last-second decision on the package.

In his bill-signing message, Brown announced that he would ask the PUC to directly implement changes called for in many pieces of legislation that did not pass the Legislature. Those changes include appointing an ethics ombudsman, transferring some oversight over Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies out of the PUC’s control and studying whether telecommunications regulations should be transferred to a different agency.

“These important reforms cannot wait another year,” Brown said.

The governor also said that he would continue to work with the Legislature next year to pass into law all parts of the overhaul that failed.

“The governor continues to support the entire package of reforms announced in June, and it’s disappointing all the legislation did not get to his desk,” Brown spokesman Evan Westrup said.

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Four California Democrats headed to Israel for Shimon Peres’ funeral

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Reps. Susan Davis (D-San Diego), Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) are on their way to Israel to attend the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

The California members were asked to join President Obama and a delegation of U.S. officials at the Friday funeral in Jerusalem, according to the White House.

Peres, a Nobel Peace laureate and creator of Israel’s nuclear program, died Tuesday following a stroke. He was 93.

During House votes Wednesday, members huddled to tell personal stories about Peres as they waited to sign a book of condolences for his family.

Flags were flown at half-staff in Washington on Thursday to honor Peres.

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Gov. Brown takes another step in developing system to provide early warning of earthquakes

(Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press))

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a bill that continues the move toward the development of a statewide early warning system for earthquakes.

The measure creates a California Earthquake Early Warning Program and Advisory Board within the California governor’s Office of Emergency Services to work on the system.

The measure requires the Earthquake Early Warning Program business plan to be developed and submitted to the Legislature by Feb. 1, 2018.

“We’ve seen the devastation earthquakes have caused in California,” Brown said in a statement. “This keeps us on track to build a statewide warning system that can potentially save lives.”

Three years ago, Brown approved a bill that required the creation of a statewide earthquake warning system by a partnership between the state and the private sector.

And this year, Brown directed that $10 million in the budget go to Cal OES to further expand the state’s earthquake early warning system prototype, called ShakeAlert.

The latest bill was authored by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo).

“The early earthquake warning system will help save lives,” Hill said Thursday. “In emergencies, every second counts and the urgent alerts that will be sent by the warning system can help prevent devastating and life-threatening missteps.”

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Gun-control advocate and shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords endorses Kamala Harris for U.S. Senate

State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris receives an endorsement from Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark E. Kelly, in her run for U.S. Senate.

Gun-control advocate and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was shot during a 2011 outdoor appearance in her Arizona district, on Thursday endorsed state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in California’s U.S. Senate race.

Giffords announced her endorsement of Harris during a morning news conference in Beverly Hills. Her husband, retired Navy Capt. Mark E. Kelly, a former space shuttle astronaut, also endorsed Harris.

Six people were killed and 12 others wounded in the Tucson shooting rampage that left Giffords severely injured. Giffords retired from Congress following the shooting and with Kelly founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political action committee that advocates for increased gun control.

Giffords’ assailant, Jared Loughner, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He was sentenced to life in prison in November 2012.

The Harris campaign has criticized her rival in the Senate race, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange), for voting in favor of legislation in 2005 that shielded the gun industry from liability for the criminal or negligent acts of gun owners with certain exceptions.

The law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, was approved by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush. The bill superseded existing laws in California and other states that allowed victims of gun violence to sue gun makers and dealers.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also has endorsed Harris in the Senate race, and the group’s president, Dan Gross, referred to the 2005 vote by Sanchez when the endorsement was announced.

Harris also has faced criticism on the gun issue, however. The state auditor as recently as 2015 criticized the state Department of Justice, overseen by Harris, for delays in determining whether potentially dangerous people own guns in violation of state law. The backlog posed a “continued risk to public safety,” according to an auditor’s report.

The Justice Department cross-references databases to find people who legally purchased guns before they became ineligible under state law because of a severe mental illness or their criminal history. Californians on the banned list have their guns confiscated by law enforcement authorities.

“No endorsement can hide Kamala Harris’ failed record to keep guns away from criminals and people with mental illness putting public safety at risk,” Sanchez campaign spokesman Luis Vizciano said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

After Thursday’s press conference, Harris was asked about her position on Proposition 63, which would require background checks on people purchasing ammunition, outlaw ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and provide a process for taking guns away from Californians convicted of felonies.

Harris said because her office is responsible for writing the title and summary voters see on the ballot she was not taking a position on the proposition.

She said she is in favor of expanded gun safety laws like universal background checks, however.

“It is just reasonable to say that we want to know if someone has been convicted of a serious or violent felony before we let them purchase a lethal weapon,” she said.

Harris also declined to comment about Wells Fargo & Co., which was sanctioned by state Treasurer John Chiang Wednesday over the bank’s fake accounts scandal.

“I cannot talk about any of our investigations,” she said.

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Why California’s U.S. Senate candidates are on their own as the national Democratic Party sits the race out

Kamala Harris, California attorney general, makes her opening statement during the Senate debate in San Diego on May 10.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

On paper California’s U.S. Senate race looks like it would draw a lot of national attention and interest, but because it is between two Democrats, the national party isn’t playing a role.

Still, that doesn’t mean sitting senators aren’t weighing in on who they want to work with: Nineteen of 44 sitting Democrats and three retired senators have contributed to the campaign of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, only one has also donated to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange).

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The state will cover $250 million in costs if L.A.’s Olympics bid goes over budget

California will provide up to $250 million in guarantees should the city of Los Angeles go over budget in its bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games under legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed Thursday morning.

The decision comes as the Los Angeles City Council is weighing its latest bid to host the games amid questions about its cost and the city’s liability should financial estimates prove low. The legislation, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), will provide a financial backstop from the state in case of a budget shortfall. Bid leaders have estimated the Games could cost more than $6 billion, but believe sponsorships, broadcasting rights and other revenue streams will more than cover the price tag.

Paris and Budapest are competing with Los Angeles to host the Games, and the International Olympic Committee will choose a host city next September.

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Santa Barbara TV station threatens legal action after GOP congressional candidate uses news clip in attack ad

The owner of a Santa Barbara TV news station is threatening legal action against a Republican congressional candidate after his campaign released an attack ad featuring a 10-second clip from the station’s newscast.

KEYT-TV General Manager Mark Danielson wrote a letter to Republican Justin Fareed’s campaign Wednesday saying the station had “not authorized or consented to any such use of its copyright protected news content in this political advertisement.”

The ad features news anchor C.J. Ward reporting on a comment Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal made this month referring to the city of Lompoc as the “armpit” of the coastal county.

“In addition to being a violation of law, the use of KEYT’s news content and the voice and likeness of its anchor also undermines the trust KEYT has built with its viewers,” Danielson wrote in the letter. “Maintaining the objectivity of its news operations is of the utmost importance to KEYT.”

The letter demands that Fareed’s campaign “cease and desist from the unauthorized use” of the station’s content and the voice and likeness of Ward, or “KEYT may take appropriate legal action to protect its rights.”

Danielson said the station was not taking a position in the heated race between Fareed, a 28-year-old former U.S. House staffer, and Carbajal.

The race to replace outgoing Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) has become one of the most expensive in the U.S. thanks to a number of attack ads funded by super PACs affiliated with both parties.

On Thursday, Fareed campaign manager Christiana Purves responded to the letter saying, “Our campaign is well within its legal right to use footage of a news broadcast outlining Carbajal’s offensive comments.”

Purves shared a letter sent by attorney Charles H. Bell Jr., a Sacramento attorney who has represented California Republicans in high profile legal disputes, to the station Thursday. Bell writes: “The use of a brief segment of your news report, which does not use KEYT’s trademark or logo, constitutes a ‘fair use’ of copyrighted material for political purposes expressly permitted by copyright law and case law.”

This post was updated at 12:20 with a comment from Fareed campaign manager Christiana Purves.

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Sarah Silverman and other comedians launch a voter registration tour, thanks to Tom Steyer

Sarah Silverman at the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood in February 2016.
Sarah Silverman at the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood in February 2016.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

California billionaire and climate change activist Tom Steyer is taking his quest to register young voters to California college campuses, and he is bringing some famous friends along.

Steyer’s environmental advocacy group Next Gen Climate is partnering with digital entertainment studio Funny or Die on a free comedy tour dubbed “Jokes for Votes” that doubles as voter registration drive.

The tour will feature a rotating group of comedians including Sarah Silverman, Reggie Watts, Kumail Nanjiani, Demetri Martin, Baron Vaughn, James Adomian, Kate Berlant and Taylor Tomlinson.

The tour’s first stop is Thursday night at East Los Angeles City College. (Get your tickets here). The other announced dates on the tour are:

  • Oct. 6 at Sonoma State
  • Oct. 9 at San Diego State
  • Oct. 10 at UC Riverside
  • Oct. 14 at Cal State Northridge
  • Oct. 17 at Cal State L.A.
  • Oct. 21 at Humboldt State
  • Oct. 23 at UC Berkeley

“We believe comedy is the political art form of this generation,” said Brad Jenkins, managing director of Funny or Die’s office in Washington. “This historic comedy tour is what Funny Or Die does best -- we reach young people where they are, on their terms, and inspire them to action.”

Steyer, who is said to be considering a run for California governor, launched a $25-million effort to register young voters through his super PAC Next Gen Climate Action earlier this year.

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Californians may soon be asked: ‘A glass of Pinot Noir with that perm?’

California residents could soon be sipping mimosas (legally) while they get their hair styled, under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Californians who go in for a haircut or hairstyling may soon be offered a complimentary glass of beer or wine after Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a bill to allow the perk.

The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, allows beauty salons and barbershops to serve up to 12 ounces of beer or six ounces of wine at no charge without a special license or permit.

The measure is the idea of Assesmblyman Tom Daly (D-Anaheim), who said some of the state’s 41,830 beauty salons and barbershops already offer alcoholic beverages, but may not have a license from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and could get in trouble.

The bill was supported by Drybar Holdings, which has 18 beauty salons in California, but has been told by state officials that it needs an alcohol license to serve spirits.

The bill has faced some opposition from people who question whether the department can monitor thousands of new businesses serving alcohol to make sure those serving the wine and drinking it are at least 21 years old.

The complimentary spirits can only be offered until 10 p.m.

Daly believes the issue is “one of those areas of law which needs to be updated to reflect modern realities,” spokesman David Miller recently told the Los Angeles Times.

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Feinstein, Boxer and Becerra want Congress to recognize Vin Scully

Vin Scully is wrapping up his 67th and final season of broadcasting Dodgers games.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Rep. Xavier Becerra want Congress to recognize the voice of the Dodgers.

The trio introduced a resolution Wednesday to honor Vin Scully, who has called more than 9,000 Dodgers games since he joined the broadcast team for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. (He moved cross-country when the team relocated to Los Angeles.)

Scully will announce his final game on Saturday in San Francisco, and the accolades have poured in.

Becerra (D-Los Angeles), a Dodgers and Giants fan, called Scully a legend and an icon.

“It will be an emotional day hearing him call his last game for the Dodgers on Oct. 2. But like a favorite song, we’ll never forget the sound of the melodic voice of the great Vin Scully,” he said in a statement.

Boxer said he’s part of the nation’s memory.

“During so many iconic moments in baseball history — like when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game and when Hank Aaron broke the home run record — it was Vin Scully’s voice that we all heard,” she said in a statement.

Feinstein said it’s impossible to not admire Scully (even though she’s a Giants fan).

“Vin really is the heart and soul of the Dodgers — and of Los Angeles. The average professional baseball career lasts around five years, and managers are long in the tooth after a decade. Vin Scully, on the other hand, has devoted 67 years of his life to the Dodgers,” she said in a statement.

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A day after her rival is criticized for missing votes while campaigning, Kamala Harris campaigns on a workday

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Felons guilty of minor drug and property crimes will get more time to have convictions downgraded to misdemeanors

Californians with felony convictions for some minor drug and property crimes will now have more time to ask that their convictions be changed to misdemeanors.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that removed the three-year time limit on felons asking for their crimes to be reclassified under the rules approved by voters as Proposition 47.

The 2014 ballot measure made misdemeanors out of a series of nonviolent crimes. And it allowed ex-offenders to have their felony convictions reduced as long as they didn’t have a record of violent crimes. Some law enforcement officials believe that Proposition 47 has had mixed success in meeting its stated goals.

But what the new time frame should be for reconsidering prior felonies has been a separate issue.

The author of the new law, state Sen. Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), argued that the current three-year window was unfair and also likely to clog the court system with a rush of cases.

The new law extends the deadline five more years, and even longer if a former offender is able to show good cause.

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Stricter background checks and DUI rules coming for Uber and Lyft drivers through laws signed by Gov. Brown

A driver for Lyft and Uber waits at Los Angeles International Airport in 2015.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Uber, Lyft and other drivers for ride-hailing companies will face greater restrictions under new legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Drivers will be subject to stricter background checks and face tighter rules on driving under the influence through legislation authored by Assemblymen Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) and Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo).

Under one law, ride-hailing companies no longer can hire drivers who are registered sex offenders, have been convicted of violent felonies or, within the last seven years, have a driving-under-the-influence conviction. The companies will face fines of up to $5,000 for violating the rules. The second law prohibits drivers from having a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 or higher compared to the current level of 0.08 for non-commercial drivers.

Brown also signed legislation from Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) making it easier for potential drivers to work for the companies. The new law allows potential drivers to rent cars to work for Uber, Lyft and the other companies.

That effort, which has been part of expansion plans for Uber and Lyft, is currently allowed, but the industry’s regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission, was weighing whether to limit it. The new law ensures the rental practices will continue.

Brown also vetoed a bill from Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) to create a statewide taxi commission in an effort to level regulations between taxis and the looser rules surrounding ride-hailing companies.

In a veto message, Brown said the state shouldn’t shoulder the responsibility of regulating the taxi industry.

“I do not believe that such a massive change is justified,” Brown wrote.

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Gov. Brown approves citizens redistricting commission for L.A. County Board of Supervisors

Despite opposition from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday approved a bill that will create a citizens redistricting commission to redraw the panel’s district lines after the next U.S. Census.

State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said his measure would result in a 14-member, independent, bipartisan group drawing new district maps that are fair and more representative of the county’s diversity.

“With this new law, we will ensure that the people of Los Angeles County have a greater representative voice in their county’s political process,” Lara said in a statement.

Brown took the action despite a veto request sent to him this month by Hilda L. Solis, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board, on behalf of the panel.

“This measure is unnecessary because Los Angeles County already has a redistricting process in place that provides fair and effective representation on the Board of Supervisors to all County residents,” Solis wrote. “The argument that SB 958 is needed has no basis because Los Angeles County is in full compliance with all Federal and State redistricting Requirements.”

The county’s plan allowed the board to appoint a redistricting committee that could recommend district maps. The new law allows the commission, whose members will be drawn in a process excluding the board, to adopt a redistricting plan without board action.

The members of the commission would be randomly selected in 2020 by the county Auditor-Controller from a pool of applicants whose eligibility will be determined by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

The measure also was opposed by Alan Clayton, a redistricting consultant who has advised politicians in the past. He said by appointing members to the commission based on voter registration in the county, it would give Democrats up to 10 of the seats, allowing them to create a partisan redistricting plan,

“Once you have a significant lead in voter registration over others, you can control redistricting,” Clayton said.

Brown declined to comment on why he signed the bill.

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Statute of limitations for rape eliminated in California after Gov. Brown signs bill prompted by Cosby allegations

Nadia Sutton holds a sign while listening to artist and actor Lili Bernard speak about allegedly being raped by Bill Cosby.
Nadia Sutton holds a sign while listening to artist and actor Lili Bernard speak about allegedly being raped by Bill Cosby.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

California has ended its statute of limitations for rape cases after Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation filed in the wake of sexual assault allegations against comedian Bill Cosby.

Senate Bill 813, filed by State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) amends the penal code so that some sex crimes, including rape, forcible sodomy and molestation of a child, can be be prosecuted, regardless of how long ago the crime occurred.

Leyva lauded Brown’s decision, saying it told every rape and sexual assault victim in the state “that they matter.”

“It shows victims and survivors that California stands behind them, that we see rape as a serious crime, that victims can come forward and that justice now has no time limit,” she said.

The new law will affect only sex crimes that occur next year or later and offenses for which the statute of limitations has not expired by Jan. 1.

In California, the statute of limitations for rape is 10 years unless new DNA evidence emerges later. Sex crimes against minors must be prosecuted before the alleged victim turns 40.

It’s unclear how many additional prosecutions a longer deadline or the abolition of any time limit might bring. And several advocacy groups and associations argued the bill was among those that would disproportionately affect poor and minority defendants with little or no representation.

But supporters said the new law would help victims who are often reluctant to report the abuse to police until many years later. Rape and sexual assault are typically committed by someone victims know, making it difficult to speak out, lawyers and advocates said. Many victims also often experience shame, fear and extreme anxiety and don’t come forward until they have the confidence or a support system later in life.

The legislation was signed as Cosby, who has said his relationships with his accusers were consensual, is facing trial in Pennsylvania on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault.

But Betsy Butler, executive director of the California Women’s Law Center, said advocates have been pushing for such legislation long before women spoke out against Cosby.

“It is exciting for victims, and it puts perpetrators on notice,” she said.

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Sex offenders will have to disclose email addresses, user names under new law

(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Sex offenders will soon have to report their email addresses, user names and other Internet identifiers to police under a bill Governor Jerry Brown signed Wednesday.

The bill, authored by state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), will apply to people convicted on or after Jan. 1, 2017 of Internet-related sex crimes.

Law enforcement can use the information only to investigate a sex crime, kidnapping or human trafficking. Offenders will have 30 days to report new or modified addresses and usernames.

The bill amends parts of California law enacted in 2012 when voters passed Proposition 35, an anti sex-trafficking law.

Proposition 35 passed by statewide ballot with more than 80% of the vote. It increased punishments for human traffickers and expanded the definition of human trafficking to include the creation and distribution of child pornography.

In 2014, a federal court sided with a challenge to the law that argued parts of Proposition 35 violated sex offenders’ constitutional rights. The court gave California until the end of this year to fix flaws it found in the law.

“We have learned that the internet has become extremely popular for sex crimes,” Hueso said in a statement last month when the Legislature passed the bill. “We must take action to protect our children and take this growing problem very seriously.”

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More incentives for developers to build low-income housing through bill signed by Gov. Brown

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Governor vetoes bill to mandate parking after street sweeping, prevent tickets at broken meters

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have required communities to reopen parking immediately after street-sweeping.

The bill also would have prevented residents from getting ticketed if they parked next to a broken meter for up to two hours.

In his veto message Brown said the bill would have hindered municipalities from performing regular road maintenance and would have confused drivers about when they were allowed to park in certain areas.

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Felons in county jails to be allowed to vote in California elections

The entrance to the Pitchess Detention Center, a Los Angeles County jail complex in Castaic that includes the North County Correctional Facility.
The entrance to the Pitchess Detention Center, a Los Angeles County jail complex in Castaic that includes the North County Correctional Facility.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Despite widespread opposition from law enforcement, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a bill that will allow thousands of felons in county jails to vote in California elections as part of an effort to speed their transition back into society.

Through a representative, Brown declined to comment on the bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), who said it would reduce the likelihood of convicts committing new crimes.

“Civic participation can be a critical component of re-entry and has been linked to reduced recidivism,” Weber said when the bill was introduced.

On Wednesday, Weber said California is setting an example at a time when other state’s are trying to limit voting rights.

“I wrote AB 2466 because I want to send a message to the nation that California will not stand for discrimination in voting,” Weber said Wednesday after the bill was signed.

Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) criticized the approval of the legislation, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Bates said the new law will undermine the integrity of elections by allowing people in jail to decide close contest.

“It is very disappointing that felons still serving their sentences behind bars will now be able to vote since Governor Brown failed to veto this really bad bill,” Bates said in a statement.

However, the action was praised Wednesday by Daniel Zingale, senior vice president of The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation.

“California is stronger and healthier when more people participate in the electoral process,” he said. “Mass disenfranchisement for minor offenses is a tragic legacy of the Jim Crow era that disproportionately affects and diminishes the power of communities of color.”

The measure is opposed by the California State Sheriffs’ Assn. the California Police Chiefs Assn., which argued the state should not be restoring a right traditionally lost when people commit serious crimes until after they leave incarceration.

“We believe that there have to be consequences to your action, and the consequences of being a convicted felon are that you can’t vote and you can’t possess firearms,” said Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, president of the California State Sheriffs’ Assn.

Updated at 1:45 pm to include new comments from Assemblywoman Weber, Sen. Bates and advocate Daniel Zingale.

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Smoking is still OK at California state parks and beaches after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes a proposed ban

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have banned smoking in California’s 270 parks and beaches, saying it was too broad and punishing.

Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego) authored the bill with the aim of reducing the health impacts of secondhand smoke on parkgoers, cutting litter from cigarette butts and eliminating a cause of wildfires.

Those cited for violations, including disposing of the remains of cigarettes and cigars, would have faced fines of up to $250. Brown said the bill went too far.

“The complete prohibition in all parks and beaches is too broad,” he wrote in his veto message. “A more measured — and less punitive — approach might be warranted.”

The veto came a day after Brown also decided not to sign a bill that would have banned smoking on state college campuses.

However, earlier this year, Brown signed some sweeping anti-tobacco measures that included raising the smoking age from 18 to 21 and banning the use of electronic cigarettes in public places where smoking is prohibited.

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Democrat in heated House race picks up endorsement from California nurses union

Democratic lawyer Bryan Caforio nabbed endorsements from California’s powerful nurses union Wednesday and its national affiliate as he joined striking nurses on a picket line outside Antelope Valley Hospital.

Caforio is challenging freshman Rep. Steve Knight in California’s 25th Congressional District, a contested tossup race that will play a role in both parties’ hopes for control of the House.

Caforio has been consistently hitting Knight on his firm opposition to abortion.

“We find it outrageous Rep. Steve Knight would cut funding for Planned Parenthood, which allows registered nurses the opportunity to provide critical health care to millions of women and families,” John Michael De La Cerda, a registered nurse at Antelope Valley Hospital, said in a statement.

The issue could help Caforio in the increasingly swing district, which includes Antelope Valley west to Santa Clarita and Simi Valley.

The district was once solidly Republican, but Democrats now have a single percentage point lead over Republicans among registered voters. About a fifth of voters in the district have no party preference, according to the secretary of state.

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Ready to rumble? Proponents of Prop. 61 drug pricing measure challenge pharmaceutical companies to a debate

For weeks now, voters have been deluged on TV and cable networks with ads for and against Proposition 61, the November ballot measure aimed at lowering drug prices for state agencies.

On Wednesday, supporters of the measure added a full-page advertisement in the San Francisco Chronicle, challenging their opposition to a televised debate on the issue.

The ad features headshots of eight pharmaceutical company chief executives, calling them “overpaid, heartless big shots” and daring them to a televised debate on Oct. 29.

Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the Yes on 61 campaign, says his group has already purchased 30 minutes of airtime on various stations statewide, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is helping bankroll the measure, said last week he would debate the CEOs “anywhere, any time.”

“The public deserves to know who’s bankrolling the No on 61 side and what their motivations might be,” Salazar said. “We are asking them to put up the CEOs of these organizations to come out and debate the measure themselves.”

“We’ve been doing public debates with Weinstein and with others from the Yes on 61 campaign, up and down the state, for months,” said Kathy Fairbanks, spokeswoman for the No on 61 campaign.

No other California ballot measure in recent memory has been the subject of a statewide televised debate. Voters, however, support the idea: In a 2013 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, 75% of adults — and 76% of likely voters — said they supported the idea of having proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives debate on TV.

Salazar said that if there is no debate, the time could be converted to a series of TV spots instead.

In two separate polls recently, including the USC/Los Angeles Times Dornsife poll, voters say they would vote for Proposition 61 by a 3-to-1 margin.

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Wells Fargo loses some of its state business following controversy over sales practices

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Olympic medalist featured in new ads against gun-control initiative Proposition 63

Six-time Olympic shooting medalist Kim Rhode is featured in a second wave of video ads by the campaign against Proposition 63 that argue the gun-control initiative will hurt competitive and sports shooters and women.

The three, 35-second web ads are scheduled to be posted late Wednesday by the Coalition for Civil Liberties, a campaign committee formed by the California Rifle and Pistol Assn., which is the official state affiliate of the National Rifle Assn.

The ads attack an initiative by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require background checks and the keeping of sales records for people purchasing ammunition, outlaw ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and provide a process for taking guns away from Californians convicted of felonies.

Rhode, a Southern California native, says in one ad that she has to fire 800 rounds of ammunition each day to keep up her accuracy.

”If Gavin Newsom has his way, it’ll make it incredibly hard to keep up my skills,” said Rhode, whose bronze for skeet shooting last month in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was her sixth medal.

She does not elaborate on how the initiative would affect her shooting, but Jaren Grenell, a spokesman for the “No on 63” campaign said the measure will inconvenience competitive shooters by requiring them to jump through bureaucratic hoops to keep their ammo supply stocked.

Proposition 63 spokesman Dan Newman said the initiative does not limit the amount of ammunition anyone can buy and exempts people from background checks for ammo purchases made at shooting and target ranges, unless they take the bullets away from the range.

All three ads say Proposition 63 takes away rights of gun owners.

“It’s a fact: Harsh gun laws like Proposition 63 are not the answer,” Rhode says in her ad. “They only hurt law-abiding people and do nothing to stop terrorists. Proposition 63 takes away the rights of tens of thousands of gun owners across California.”

The other two ads feature sport shooter Chris Cheng and Tiffany Cheuvront, a coalition member identified in the ad as a “civil liberties advocate” who says the initiative is bad for women.

“California would never put limits on women making choices for our bodies so why would we allow limits on protecting our bodies?” Cheuvront asks in one ad.

Cheng says in his ad that not all gun owners are white and straight, that there are minority and gay gun owners also.

“Proposition 63 takes away my rights and turns sports shooting into a crime,” he says.

Grenell said many sports shooters use large-capacity magazines.

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Outside spending on November’s legislative races nears the $5 million mark

Following a trend that began in the months prior to June’s statewide primary, contributions to independent committees seeking races for the Legislature have now blossomed to more than $4.8 million.

Campaign finance records compiled by the nonpartisan Target Book, which tracks legislative races, shows as few as 10 individual races attracting the lion’s share of the money raised by independent expenditure committees.

The race leading the list of independent expenditures at more than $1 million is for an open Assembly seat in the communities east of San Francisco, where two Democrats — Mae Torlakson and Concord Councilman Tim Grayson — are locked in what’s become a proxy war over state education reform.

Torlakson is the wife of state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

The outside money in the race is almost equal to what Mae Torlakson and Grayson, combined, have raised in their own campaign accounts. A more complete look at spending on all legislative races will be reported by campaigns later this week.

Those committees have been allowed to raise and spend money in unlimited sums for more than 15 years, as long as they don’t coordinate their activities with the actual legislative candidates. California’s wide berth given to independent expenditures was a precursor to the explosion of similar spending in national campaigns.

In the primary season, the Target Book analysis reports more than $29 million was spent by independent committees on legislative races.

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Retiring Carmel Democrat Rep. Sam Farr hailed on House floor

Just months are left before Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) heads home from Washington for the last time, and the salutes to his 23-year-long House career have begun.

On Wednesday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) spent a few moments on the House floor speaking about Farr’s accomplishments.

Reps. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) and Janice Hahn (D-Los Angeles) are also leaving Congress in January, and Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is retiring from her post. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) is vacating her House seat to run for the U.S. Senate.

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Republican Justin Fareed hit with Trump-focused attack ad in Santa Barbara congressional race

Santa Barbara television viewers will see a new political attack ad courtesy of the Democratic super PAC House Majority PAC, part of a $328,000 TV blitz against Republican candidate Justin Fareed, a former Capitol Hill staffer running to replace outgoing Democratic Rep. Lois Capps.

The new ad released Wednesday is the third attack ad to hit Fareed over his support for Donald Trump and his statement during a May debate that he favored a House investigation into Planned Parenthood.

“While it’s shocking that Justin Fareed supports a candidate for president who has made so many offensive statements about women and who actually believes in punishing women who exercise their right to choose, it’s also entirely unsurprising,” said House Majority PAC Executive Director Alixandria Lapp in a statement.

The ad is similar to one released Tuesday by Fareed’s Democratic opponent, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal, that highlighted Fareed’s opposition to federal funding for abortion services.

Asked by the Santa Barbara Independent if he supported efforts to halt federal funding for Planned Parenthood, a campaign representative said Fareed “does not believe that abortions through Planned Parenthood should be funded at the federal level.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. While Justin Fareed discusses important issues to the Central Coast like our water crisis, Carbajal pulls out lies and dirty tricks from the worn-out playbook of career politicians,” Fareed campaign manager Christiana Purves said in a statement.

Fareed’s campaign took issue with the claims made in ads by both Carbajal and the super PAC that he supports letting “insurance companies charge women more” for healthcare.

The claim, made in all three ads, cites a February interview with a Central Coast TV station in which Fareed said he supported repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Fareed does support repealing President Obama’s signature piece of legislation and, his campaign points out, replacing it with “market driven solutions” that “protect patients with pre-existing conditions.”

The contest is among the most expensive House races in the country thanks to these ads. Democrats have a six-point voter registration advantage in the district.

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Local paper endorses Nanette Barragán over state Sen. Isadore Hall in South Bay congressional race

The Daily Breeze, the newspaper that covers the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County, endorsed former Hermosa Beach City Councilwoman Nanette Barragán over state Sen. Isadore Hall III (D-Compton) for Congress in a editorial Tuesday.

Both are Democrats vying to replace Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Los Angeles), who is running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The editorial said that although “neither candidate is without faults,” Barragán “strikes us as a principled candidate with a consistent agenda.”

The primary campaign took on a harsh tone with Barragán hitting Hall for his ties with special interests in the oil, alcohol and tobacco industries.

Hall, who served on the Compton school board and City Council before moving to the statehouse, is backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

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Employers in California can no longer ask about juvenile crimes

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No more mandatory minimum sentences for some prostitution crimes in California

(Sandy Banks / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation that repeals mandatory minimum sentences for certain prostitution crimes, continuing a bold push to help victims forced into the sex trade.

But Brown, who has been vocal against tough-on-crime policies, rejected other bills that increased consequences for sex buyers, saying current laws are sufficient.

Among the bills he signed was Senate Bill 1129 by Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which allows judges the discretion to impose appropriate sentences for engaging in or soliciting prostitution.

He also approved SB 420 by Senate Minority Leader Robert Huff (R-San Dimas), which recasts the crime of prostitution so the statute differentiates between people getting paid for sex, and the people who are paying for it.

By redefining the statute, supporters said, authorities will be able to eventually minimize repercussions for victims and increase them for sex buyers.

But for now, Brown rejected lawmakers’ efforts to increase consequences for buyers, vetoing a bill by Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) that would allow authorities to impound a vehicle used by buyers to solicit prostitution.

He also turned down a bill similar to Huff’s, which was authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) and tried to go further by imposing a minimum period in county jail for solicitation by buyers.

“I believe the existing law provides sufficient flexibility in punishing these crimes appropriately based on circumstance,” Brown said in a signing message.

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‘Doctor shopping’ targeted in new law signed by Gov. Brown to curb epidemic of opioid overdose deaths

Faced with a spike in opioid overdose deaths, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation requiring all prescribers to check a state database to see whether their patients have also received drugs from other physicians.

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said patients will be prevented from doctor shopping to get excessive numbers of painkiller pills if prescribers first must check the state’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, or CURES, database.

“Overdoses claim tens of thousands of lives each year and more than half of those are attributed to abuse of opioid and prescription drugs,” Lara said in a statement. “With the governor’s signature, we will help prevent doctor shopping and work to curtail untimely deaths caused by drug abuse.”

Opioid overdose deaths have increased by 200% since 2000, according to state officials.

The new law requires physicians to check the database when providing Schedule II, III, and IV drugs.

California was the first of 49 states that currently have prescription drug monitoring programs, but a small percentage of physicians use the database here, according to Bob Pack, a leading advocate for the new law.

“Too many doctors for too long refused to use this lifesaving tool,” said Pack, who lost two children in 2003 when they were hit and killed by a driver under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol.

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Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes bill banning racial profiling in stores, saying it’s already illegal under state law

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas wrote the bill to prohibit consumer racial profiling.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have specifically banned racial profiling of customers in businesses, saying California law already prohibits it.

In California, discrimination based on race or ethnicity is illegal.

The bill by Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) would have added language to existing laws specifically banning racial profiling of customers by California businesses.

The legislation was meant to prohibit businesses from targeting black customers as potential shoplifters because of their race.

“The Unruh Civil Rights Act — in a more expansive way — already prohibits the racial discrimination covered by this bill,” Brown wrote in a message accompanying his Tuesday veto. “Moreover, the state has vested in the Department of Fair Employment and Housing a full range of strong enforcement authority, including for those claims dealing with racial profiling.”

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Gov. Brown rejects plan to require family visits for jail inmates

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

An effort to ban video-only visitation between inmates and families in county jails was rejected Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown, who vowed instead to work on options that allow flexibility for local law enforcement needs.

Senate Bill 1157 would have required space be made available for family members to visit jailed relatives in person, an option that’s not available in as many as 11 California counties. Those counties have instead moved to video visitation.

Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), the bill’s author, said last month during floor debate that those families must pay to connect with inmates using a closed, fee-based video system.

In his veto message, Brown said that SB 1157 required a “strict” mandate that he could not support. But the governor agreed that inmates could benefit from in-person visits, and that state officials will embark on a new effort at solutions in those counties.

The governor wrote that banning in-person jail visits “could have an adverse impact on achieving rehabilitative goals and might affect in a negative way the families and loved ones of those incarcerated.”

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More ‘granny flats’ are coming after governor signs two bills to ease housing shortage

John Gregorchuk stands amid construction of a secondary dwelling unit that has been stalled in his backyard in Los Angeles.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

It will be easier for California homeowners to build additional small units on their properties whether in their garages or as freestanding second structures under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The two bills, from Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) and Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), are designed to ease the state’s affordability crisis by increasing the housing supply. The measures eliminate cities’ ability to require additional parking spaces for units near public transit and limit fees charged to connect to local water and sewer systems among other efforts to make it cheaper and easier to build the secondary units, also known as granny flats.

“Removing the most egregious obstacles to building these units will help to increase the supply of affordable housing in California and allow more people to remain in the communities they call home,” Wieckowski said in a release.

Granny flats have become a political issue in cities across the state for residents opposed concerned that they conflict with neighborhood character.

In Los Angeles, the units have been in legal limbo since earlier this year when a court ruling found the city was permitting granny flats under state rules despite never repealing its more restrictive city ordinance. Last month, the City Council voted to grandfather in secondary units that were already approved and in the pipeline before the court ruling, but also voted to write new rules to take into account the distinct needs of different neighborhoods.

If a fraction of homeowners in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area decide to build granny flats, it could make a dent in both regions’ housing shortages, experts have said.

This week, the Obama administration also favorably cited granny flats as a way to ease housing prices across the country.

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Californians with terminal diseases are now cleared to try experimental drugs

Experimental drugs that do not yet have full federal approval for clinical trials could be made available to terminally ill Californians under a law signed Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Assembly Bill 1668 clears the way for those drugs to be used for life-threatening diseases for patients who have been unable to gain access to a clinical trial and who have the approval a supervising doctor.

“Terminally ill patients in our state will finally have access to potentially life-saving treatments,” said Asemblyman Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) in a statement.

This was Calderon’s second attempt to persuade the governor to approve the so-called right-to-try legislation. Brown vetoed an almost identical effort in 2015, suggesting more time was needed to assess new efforts to speed up the federal drug approval process.

Although some patients are already able to get waivers from the federal Food and Drug Administration to try non-approved experimental drugs, the process has been called cumbersome and the waiver sometimes comes too late.

Calderon testified last week before a U.S. Senate committee in favor of experimental drug access. California becomes the 32nd state to enact right-to-try legislation.

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Gov. Brown signs bus safety bills after series of accidents

Flames erupt after a fatal 2014 crash near Orland involving a FedEx truck and a bus carrying Los Angeles-area high school students on a visit to a Northern California college.
( (Jeremy Lockett / Associated Press))

Two years after a charter bus crash killed 10 people, including five Los Angeles-area high school students, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation that will improve safety regulations for such large vehicles.

Brown signed a bill that requires charter buses designed to carry 39 or more passengers and made after July 1, 2020. to be equipped with emergency lighting that would be automatically activated in the event of a collision.

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For the record

2:50 p.m.: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of students killed in a 2014 bus crash in Orland as eight. Five students died, along with three chaperons and the two drivers.

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The measure also requires bus drivers to provide written or video instructions to all passengers on how to use the vehicle’s safety equipment and emergency exits prior to any trip.

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced the bill in response to a 2014 accident in which a tractor trailer drifted across the median of Interstate 5 near Orland and struck a charter bus carrying students on a trip to visit a Northern California college. Five students, three chaperons and the two drivers died.

By making common-sense updates to bus safety practices and laws, we will save lives,” Lara said Tuesday in a statement. “We cannot stop accidents from happening, but we can help reduce tragedy and with the governor’s signature, that’s what we’ll do.”

Brown signed a separate bus safety bill in response to an accident last November in which 19 people were injured when a City Sightseeing bus crashed into construction scaffolding in San Francisco’s Union Square.

That law by Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) requires the California Highway Patrol to develop protocols for working with cities and counties to increase the number of tour bus inspections within their jurisdictions.

Yet another tragedy is behind a third bill signed Tuesday by Brown. Last year, a 19-year-old special needs student died in Whittier after being left in a sweltering school bus parked with its windows closed at the end of the driver’s route.

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) drafted the measure that requires school buses, youth buses and child care motor vehicles to be equipped by the 2018-19 school year with alert systems that will require drivers to manually disarm or scan an alarm at the rear of the bus before exiting the bus.

The new law also requires school districts to improve the training of drivers to avoid students being left on buses alone and requires notification of the Department of Motor Vehicles about some incidents involving students being left behind.

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California bans government travel to states believed to discriminate against LGBT people

People participate in the annual WeHo Dyke March on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood in 2012.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

California no longer will be able to fund or require public employees to travel to states believed to discriminate against LGBT people under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed Tuesday.

The new law will apply to states that have passed laws after June 26, 2015, that allow “discrimination against same-sex couples or their families or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

The California attorney general will create and publish a list of those states.

State agencies, the Legislature and public California universities will be subject to the new law.

The law exempts trips required for certain purposes, including to enforce California law and to meet contractual obligations made before Jan. 1.

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California outlaws ransomware, but some say catching overseas criminals will be the challenge

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation making the use of ransomware a crime in California, following increasing cyberattacks on hospitals, schools and law enforcement agencies across the state and nationwide.

The bill, authored by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), updates the state’s penal code, making it a felony to knowingly employ malware or intrusive software that is injected into a computer or network and allows a hacker to hold data hostage until money is paid.

Proponents say the new law will help counter attacks difficult to prosecute under existing statutes that are not tailored to combat computer crime. But some question just who will get caught in the dragnet, as the incidents are tough to trace and culprits are often overseas.

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Democrat Bryan Caforio gets endorsement from outgoing U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez missed more roll call votes this month than any other House member running for a new office

U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer.
(Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, locked in an uphill battle in California’s U.S. Senate race, has missed almost two-thirds of House roll call votes in September, according to a report by CQ Roll Call.

Sanchez missed 41 of 63 roll calls, the most of any member of the House who is running for a different office. Many of the missed votes have been on generally noncontroversial suspension bills, CQ Roll Call reported.

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For the record

1:52 p.m.: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of roll call votes Rep. Loretta Sanchez missed in September as 22. She missed 41 of 63 votes.

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Sanchez launched her Senate campaign in May 2015 and faces off against fellow Democrat state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in the November election. Harris jumped into the race in January 2015, shortly after four-term Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her retirement.

Sanchez campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the congresswoman has spent most of September campaigning across California to tell voters about the “stark difference between her work and her opponent’s record” and to highlight her expertise on national security and homeland security issues.

“It’s no secret that Rep. Sanchez is running for the U.S. Senate and it’s ironic that the same media that report she’s not campaigning enough, now say she’s campaigning too much,” Vizcaino said. “Rep. Sanchez will be in D.C. later this week for the critical budget vote and voters can trust that she will be there for them as U.S. senator.”

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Concord Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier bought a condo on Capitol Hill

Then-state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) takes a photo during the 2014 Senate session.
(Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

Freshman Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) bought a studio condo on Capitol Hill this month for $252,000, Politico reported Tuesday.

DeSaulnier announced in May that he had completed chemotherapy for an incurable form of leukemia and would seek a second term.

DeSaulnier has been sharing an apartment with Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). The new condo is within walking distance of the Capitol.

Rent in Washington rivals Los Angeles and New York, and many members of the California delegation own homes in and around Washington.

Some examples: Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) bought a home in Chevy Chase, Md., in 2009, and Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) bought a condo in downtown Washington in 2015, according to their financial disclosures.

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‘Veto Gunmageddon’ group fails to qualify ballot measures to repeal new gun control laws

(Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

Three days before the deadline, the head of a referendum drive aimed at overturning six new gun control laws announced Tuesday it will fall far short of collecting enough signatures to qualify the measures for the ballot.

San Diego-area businessman Barry Bahrami, who organized the drive, said apathy among California gun owners and difficult requirements for qualifying referenda are partly to blame for the shortfall.

“It is with disappointment that I must now report to you it appears we will not obtain the minimum signatures required to get these referenda on the ballot,” Bahrami wrote on his Facebook page in a note addressed to “Patriots.”

He said those involved in the campaign now will turn their attention to working towards drafting a possible initiative for the 2018 ballot to protect gun owners rights

His group, “Veto Gunmageddon,” needs to turn in 365,000 signatures on each of the six referenda by Thursday, but his campaign has less than one third of the signatures needed, according to initial tallies posted by the group on Facebook.

The most signatures in hand, 115,141, are for the referendum to overturn SB 880, which bans the sale of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines.

“We did not get the signatures because of the way the bills were passed and signed,” Bahrami said in an email Tuesday. “Most gun owners still do not know a gunmageddon happened.”

Although gun shops and shooting ranges agreed to have petitions on hand to sign, Bahrami said there was not enough interest even by gun owners.

“Apathy among California gun owners was clearly a factor, too,” he said.

Despite the setback, Bahrami said he hopes the gun community has begun organizing better.

“The referenda drive brought many gun owners together,” he said. “It was just a start.”

Bahrami’s group reported on its website Tuesday that it had just 112,241 signatures on a referendum to overturn SB 1235, a new law that, beginning January 1, 2019, would require anyone buying ammunition in California to have their name checked against a database of those not eligible to possess firearms. All of the other referenda petitions had fewer signatures.

Bahrami, CEO of Commercial Network Services, got a late start on the referenda drive, so he only had two of the three months normally allotted for collecting signatures. If the referenda had qualified, they would have suspended the new laws until voters acted on each ballot measure.

“Only law abiding citizens will respect these laws, which of course will result in only criminals retaining these soon to be illegal firearms and their magazines,” Bahrami wrote on his Facebook page.

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Pair of attack ads in House race hits Democrat for tax liens, Republican for backing Donald Trump

The hits keep coming and the money keeps flowing in the expensive race to replace outgoing Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), and the attacks are getting personal.

Two weeks ago it was the Democratic Super PAC House Majority PAC that launched an $328,000 TV attack on Republican candidate Justin Fareed, a 28-year-old former Capitol Hill staffer, comparing him to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

It was the National Republican Congressional Committee’s turn Tuesday, and the group hit back with the first ad in a $668,750 broadcast buy that will run until election day.

The ad skewers Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal for voting for tax increases while in office and points out he had three federal tax liens placed against him.

The three liens came between 1994 and 1996 and totaled $10,916, according to public records. They were paid off in 2000.

“While he doesn’t hesitate to raise taxes on everyone else, Carbajal got caught not paying his fair share,” said NRCC spokesman Zach Hunter in a statement. “Salud Carbajal is a champion for himself, not Central Coast families.”

The matter came up in February during the primary, and Carbajal told the Santa Barbara Independent then, “Like many families, there was a time I fell behind on paying my bills. ... However, my taxes have been paid in full, and I continue be current on all of my financial obligations.”

Carbajal’s campaign was expecting the ad and had its own attack prepared for Fareed.

The spot continues the Democrat’s attempt to tie Fareed to Trump in a district where Democrats have a six-point voter registration advantage.

The ad highlight’s Fareed’s endorsement of Trump as well as his stance as an opponent of abortion and his position that Planned Parenthood should not use federal funds for abortion procedures.

“Justin Fareed claims to be the fresh candidate in this congressional race, but his dangerous ideas are the same old right-wing politics of the past,” the campaign said in a statement.

Times researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report

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This Democrat’s legal past both helps and haunts him in California’s most competitive congressional race

Democratic attorney Bryan Caforio, a candidate for the 25th Congressional District, gives his opening statement in a debate against incumbent Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), middle, and LAPD Lt. Lou Vince at Hart Hall in Newhall.
(Gina Ferrazzi / Los Angeles Times)

When first-time candidate Bryan Caforio explains how he got into politics, he points out that it was his experience as a lawyer that fueled his decision last winter to jump into a heated Los Angeles County congressional race.

Caforio, 33, whom Democrats have identified as their best chance to oust one of the state’s Republicans, says that as a trial lawyer, he “saw a system in which far too many people in our community were taken advantage of on an almost daily basis” because “corporate politicians” were “looking out for the biggest banks and the wealthiest corporations instead of the people back here at home.”

The comments came in a recently released campaign video called “My Story” that shows Caforio talking to a worker in a welding mask. The candidate then explains how his wife, Lisa, told him that “instead of doing this one case at a time, instead of doing it one client at a time,” he ought to run for Congress to “build a better system” and “an economy that works for everyone and not just the wealthy few.”

But an examination of Caforio’s six-year tenure at the Century City firm Susman Godfrey suggests his work more often involved being called upon by large corporations and multimillionaires from around the globe in times of legal need.

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Election day registration comes to California in 2017 as long-awaited voter database gets certified

Californians will be able to register to vote on election day starting next year after the state’s new voter database was officially certified for use on Monday.

The certification of the VoteCal statewide database by Secretary of State Alex Padilla came almost seven months after the technical work was completed, and more than 15 years after a federal law mandated its creation.

“Connecting all 58 counties through VoteCal will help elections officials throughout the state accurately and efficiently maintain voter rolls,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a written statement.

The traditional system relied on individual counties maintaining their own lists of registered voters. The new database promises to make additions, deletions or changes to a county’s list instantly retrievable in other parts of the state.

Same-day registration will not be available for the Nov. 8 election, but will be allowed in local elections next year and in statewide elections beginning in 2018.

VoteCal will also allow voters to check their ballot’s status to see if it was properly counted. And it will allow for implementation of a new law that allows Californians as young as 16 and 17 to “pre-register” to vote, with their voter applications turned active once they are 18.

The system is also the building block to a sweeping election law that would move more Californians to voting by mail, a proposal passed by the Legislature last month and now on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

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Californians will soon pay a new car battery fee to help cover cleanup from the Exide battery plant

Crews work to remove lead-contaminated soil in Boyle Heights.
(Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)

Californians will pay a new $1 fee on lead-acid car batteries under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, with a portion of the proceeds going to the massive toxic cleanup in communities near the former Exide battery plant in Los Angeles County.

Brown’s signature on Assembly Bill 2153 came after a bipartisan vote in the Legislature last month and private negotiations with the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens).

The new fee for consumers will begin in April, and will rise to $2 a battery after five years. Prior to that, the cost is being split between purchasers and battery manufacturers.

Regulators believe as many as 10,000 homes may have been contaminated in the vicinity of the former Vernon battery recycling plant, a cleanup that could ultimately cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Decades of improper lead-acid battery recycling have left these communities to face enormous environmental challenges,” said Brown in an unusual statement issued with his signing of the bill.

The new battery fee is expected to generate $24 million a year and will ultimately be available to cleanup projects across the state other than the Exide effort.

In his signing message, Brown emphasized that the solution inspired by the events outside Los Angeles is not one that necessarily applies to other needs.

“This approach is a departure from how the state enforces environmental law,” the governor wrote. “This model should be the exception, not the rule.”

The new law doesn’t limit the ability of state regulators to go after the battery industry for cleanup costs, but any company required to pay those costs will receive credit for what it pays into the fund for the first five years.

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Governor expands hands-free driving laws in California

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Monday to expand laws that ban people from calling and texting while driving unless they have hands-free devices.

Californians will soon face broader restrictions on using their smartphones while driving.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Monday to expand existing laws that ban people from calling and texting while driving on California roads unless they have hands-free devices.

The first restrictions on cellphone use while driving in California were passed in 2006, when mobile devices were much less sophisticated than modern smartphones.

The legislation signed Monday broadens the laws to encompass other distracting activities drivers can perform on their phones, said Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), the bill’s author.

It will explicitly prohibit people from using a mobile phone while driving unless the device is in a hands-free mode. In addition to texting and calling, the new law aims to prohibit other cellphone uses while driving, such as taking photos or streaming video.

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Kamala Harris, Anthony Rendon and Betty Yee will take to Twitter for a debate play-by-play tonight

During tonight’s presidential debate, the California Democratic Party is turning over the keys to its Twitter account to state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, state Controller Betty Yee and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon for a lively, play-by-play tweetfest. It’s a safe bet that they’ll be in Hillary Clinton’s corner.

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An alternative energy subsidy just ended its quirky legislative trip with an approval from Gov. Jerry Brown

The long, winding journey of a proposal to boost fuel cells — an alternative energy source that promises cleaner electricity — culminated Monday with Gov. Jerry Brown signing a bill to extend a vital subsidy to the industry.

The final approval of AB 1637 by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) marks the end of one of the messier exercises in Capitol sausage-making this year, with some observers pointedly noting that the main benefactor was Bloom Energy, a politically connected Silicon Valley firm.

Bloom and its allies argue the saga was a hard-fought slog against powerful adversaries including utilities and labor groups.

But rival companies and some lawmakers said Bloom owes its success to the eager backing of California’s top politicians and upending the public legislative process, affording it chances most other groups don’t get.

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Public college students can still light up on campus after Gov. Brown vetoes smoking ban bill

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday vetoed a bill that would have banned smoking and use of electronic cigarettes on state university and community college campuses, saying the measure was not necessary.

“The governing boards of our public colleges and universities already have the authority and are fully capable of setting smoking policies on their campuses,” Brown wrote in a veto message on AB 1594.

The bill by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) would have banned smoking and vaping on California State University and California Community Colleges system campuses beginning in 2018.

The University of California system has had a policy in place for years. About 18 of the 72 community college districts, with 37 campuses, already have smoke-free policies, as does Cal State Fullerton. The Cal State system is in the process of adopting a systemwide smoke-free policy and hopes to have it in place soon.

McCarty said his bill was introduced to “ease the problem of second-hand smoke for the non-smoking community at all public higher education institutions.”

Brown’s veto came just months after he signed bills raising the smoking age from 18 to 21, banning the use of electronic-cigarettes in public places where smoking is prohibited and eliminating exceptions allowing people to light up in certain areas at public school facilities.

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‘You live in some fantasy land’: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom receives flood of criticism on gun and marijuana initiatives

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at an event in Los Angeles in April.
( (Nick Ut / AP))

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday received a flood of critical remarks from gun owners and others when he opened up a live Q&A session on Facebook in which he invited questions on his gun control measure, Proposition 63, and his initiative to legalize recreational use of marijuana, Proposition 64.

The staff read questions submitted to Newsom, but ignored the most critical comments left on his Facebook page. Instead, Newsom was asked what he hopes the initiatives will achieve and how they would affect Californians.

Newsom said he is not promoting widespread marijuana use in backing Proposition 64, but added, “What I am against is prohibition, and prohibition is destroying more lives than it is saving.”

He also predicted other states will follow California’s lead on marijuana, and that it “will echo in other states that will move in this direction.”

On guns, Newsom said, “Treating ammunition like we do guns, I think, is good public policy.” He said the initiative will “send a message to the National Rifle Assn. that we’ve had enough”

Most of the 156 questions posted on his Facebook page blasted Newsom on the gun issue.

A Facebook user who identified himself as Bob Sutterfield said Proposition 63’s requirements for background checks on those buying ammunition “seek to restrict the availability and supply, and thereby increase the price to the consumer, of ammunition.”

Michael Patrick David Reeves said the initiative would criminalize law-abiding citizens and asked “when you will give up your armed security if guns are so evil.”

Added Chris Repcik, “Gavin please keep telling yourself this will stop bad people from getting guns and ammo. You live in some fantasy land.”

A user named Mike Rice asked where Newsom learned about the U.S. Constitution “and how to strip rights guaranteed by it from law abiding citizens.”

Another person identified as Eamonn Gormley called Proposition 63 a “common sense gun control measure.”

Newsom said he hopes that other states also legalize recreational use of marijuana and that the changes pressure the federal government to shift its stand on marijuana’s legality.

“Propositions 63 and 64 are important,” he said. “They are about lives at the end of the day.”

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Gov. Brown signs bills to curb gun thefts from police cars, speed up confiscation of firearms from felons

(Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

Capping a year of major gun control legislation in California, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a raft of bills including one addressing a series of killings involving firearms stolen from law enforcement vehicles.

Brown signed SB 869, which Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Leandro) introduced in response to an incident in which a gun stolen from the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger was used to kill a 32-year-old woman on San Francisco’s Pier 14.

Hill noted that two months later, a gun stolen from the car of a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was used to kill a 27-year-old muralist as he worked in Oakland.

The new law requires law enforcement officers and concealed weapon permit holders who leave firearms in their cars to lock them in a safe box or in the trunk.

Hill said his bill will “ensure that the requirements for safe gun storage in vehicles are the same for everyone — law enforcement officers and civilians.”

Brown also signed a bill aimed at speeding up action on gun purchasers who are ineligible to possess a firearm, giving the Department of Justice seven days to review each case when prohibited persons are discovered.

Another bill approved by Brown requires the state attorney general to develop a uniform license to carry a concealed firearm to replace the permits that differ from county to county.

Brown also signed a measure that allows law enforcement officers to buy and use guns on a list of firearms deemed unsafe for untrained civilians.

The flurry of action comes two months after Brown signed seven other gun control bills that include a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, a prohibition on the sale of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines and a requirement that people purchasing ammunition undergo background checks.

The flood of legislation approved during the summer was in response to the December mass shooting in San Bernardino that killed 14 people. Since then, lawmakers were shocked by a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub that killed 49 people.

On Monday, Brown vetoed two other gun bills, including one that would have allowed sheriffs and police chiefs to lift the $100 cap on fees for concealed weapons permits.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) authored the bill after noting that the cap has resulted in Sacramento County facing a budget shortfall of about $250,000.

Brown said it did not warrant a statewide change.

“This bill was spurred by a local dispute in one county,” he wrote in his veto message. “I am unaware of a larger problem that merits a statewide change at this time.”

Brown also vetoed a measure by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) that would have allowed joint registration of firearms shared by spouses and domestic partners and changed the rules for lending firearms to one another.

“This bill creates millions of dollars in new and ongoing costs for the Department of Justice,” Brown wrote in his veto message. “I do not believe that this additional burden and cost comes with a commensurate public safety benefit.”

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Families of school maintenance workers and bus drivers won’t be getting higher death benefits

(Karin Zeitvogel / AFP/Getty Images)

Citing the high cost of government employee pensions, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday vetoed an effort to boost the death benefit paid to families of public school cafeteria workers, maintenance staff and bus drivers.

Assembly Bill 1878 would have allowed for annual increases, based on inflation, in the death benefits promised to classified school employees. Currently, the families of those workers are eligible to receive $2,000.

That payout has remained unchanged for more than a decade and a half, and trails behind the death benefit paid to the families of teachers.

Brown’s veto message invokes the broader fiscal pressures of public employee pensions, where long-term obligations have outpaced projected cash resources.

“Given the state’s huge unfunded pension liabilities,” wrote Brown, “I don’t believe it is prudent to add the additional costs that this bill would require.”

Don’t miss our series on California’s pension crisis.

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California decriminalizes prostitution for minors after Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills to aid trafficking victims

A juvenile appears before Judge Catherine Pratt in Succeeding Through Achievement and Resilience (STAR) Court for human trafficking at the Compton Courthouse.
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed more than half a dozen bills that decriminalize prostitution and increase protections for young trafficking victims in court amid growing efforts in California to help children and young adults swept into the trade of forced sex and labor.

Among the bills passed were laws that would prohibit the disclosure of victims’ personal information, provide victims’ services to trafficking witnesses and allow minors under age 16 to testify through closed-circuit televisions in certain cases.

But also approved were hotly contested bills that would decriminalize prostitution and allow human trafficking victims to vacate prior convictions and seal their records.

Senate Bill 1322, authored by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), make the crimes of solicitation and loitering with intent to commit prostitution misdemeanors inapplicable to children younger than 18. It also allows law enforcement to take sexually exploited children into temporary custody -- only if leaving them unattended would pose an immediate threat to their health or safety.

Still pending is Senate Bill 1129, authored by Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for specified prostitution offenses.

Legislation to curb human trafficking was a prominent issue at the state Capitol this session, as prosecutors and advocates in recent years have pushed the issue to the political forefront. Most of the proposals have focused on the trade of forced sex and reflect a cultural shift in the approach to prostitution that aims to divert victims forced into the industry away from the criminal justice system.

Brown in 2014 signed legislation placing sex trafficking victims without legal guardians under the authority of the dependency system, which centers on caring for abused and neglected children. And SB 1322 and SB 1129 drew the support of a large coalition of advocates who said the legislation was the next step in proving a better path to social services for children and teens forced into prostitution.

But opponents argued the state lacks the network of social services to protect them. Vulnerable minors, they said, often don’t see themselves as victims, run away from unsecured shelters and remain tied to their traffickers through complicated psychological and emotional bonds.

Read MoreThis card has been updated to correct that a decision on SB 1129 was pending as of Monday. It was signed into law Tuesday.

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Heads up, Californians: Oct. 24 is your deadline to register to vote

Before California’s primary, more than 17.9 million Californians were registered to vote. It was the largest number of voters ever headed into a primary, but despite high hopes, just more than 8.5 million voted. Not exactly record-breaking.

If you want to make your voice heard in this election, you’ve got until Oct. 24 to register to vote in the Golden State. Here’s how:

California typically goes blue for presidential elections. But 2016 is anything but predictable. A Los Angeles Times/USC Dornsife poll has shown that in California, support for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump is nearly neck-in-neck.

California’s election is historic in itself. There will be 17 ballot measures – the most in over 15 years. And for the first time since the state began electing senators, two Democrats will compete for an outgoing senator’s seat.

Need a recap? Read all about it on our politics page.

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State watchdog agency to investigate funding of campaign against marijuana legalization measure

Customers buy products at a medical marijuana dispensary in San Francisco in April.
( (Haven Daley / Associated Press))

The state campaign watchdog agency will investigate allegations that a Washington, D.C., group failed to properly disclose how it is funding a campaign against Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana in California, according to a letter released Monday.

The Fair Political Practices Commission sent the letter to attorneys for the pro-ballot measure campaign who had filed a complaint that the group SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) Action Inc. was late in disclosing contributions it received and failed to account for spending at least $149,850.

“Failure to act could result in voters being denied critical information in advance of the election,” the Proposition 64 campaign said in its complaint.

Galena West, chief of the FPPC’s enforcement division, wrote that it “will investigate the allegation(s) under the jurisdiction of the commission” and noted that her office has not made any determination on the validity of the allegations.

The national coalition fighting the marijuana initiative includes former Rep. Patrick Kennedy and has said it is raising more than $2 million to fight initiatives in five states this year, including the November ballot measure in California. A spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

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California Politics Podcast: Polls on propositions, new accusations in Silicon Valley congressional race

The last few days have seen the release of an enormous amount of polling data on some of the most high-profile state propositions this election season. And in many cases, the early reviews from voters are good.

On this week’s podcast episode, we take a closer look at the polling data and the race still to come on proposals to legalize marijuana, raise taxes and more.

We also discuss how a prominent interest group has pulled its endorsement of Democratic legislators. And finally, we look at new accusations in a Democrat versus Democrat congressional race in Silicon Valley.

I’m joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News. You can subscribe to the free podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud and a number of other other podcast apps.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez goes on attack in U.S. Senate race

Rep. Loretta Sanchez makes her opening statement during the Senate debate in San Diego on May 10.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

With election day fast approaching, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) has launched a series of aggressive attacks against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, her rival in California’s U.S. Senate race.

It’s unclear if that tactic has helped Sanchez close the gap on fellow Democrat Harris, who continues to lead in the polls.

The attacks have been centered on the job Harris has done as attorney general, and one citing campaign contributions Harris received from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

While the criticism may peel away some from support for Harris, it could also trigger a backlash against Sanchez, said UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser.

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Donald Trump takes center stage in a Santa Clarita Assembly race attack ad

The race for an open Assembly seat representing Simi Valley and Santa Clarita is getting punchier as Democrat Christy Smith is lobbing new attacks at Republican Dante Acosta’s business.

Those attacks are now part of Smith’s first ad of the general election, which seeks to link Acosta, a Santa Clarita councilman and financial services professional, to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The ad cites three customer complaints made against Acosta and filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Two investigations were denied, but a third complaint alleging negligence ended with a settlement of $35,000, according to records.

Acosta downplayed the issue in an interview with the Santa Clarita Signal newspaper last week.

The ad also tries to paint as Acosta as an extremist, citing an August debate during which he said he had once spoken at a meeting of the anti-government group the Oath Keepers.

“Dante Acosta and Donald Trump are like two peas in a pod,” said Smith’s political consultant, Dave Jacobson. He said the ad would run districtwide on television as well as online.

Smith and Acosta are running to replace Assemblyman Scott Wilk, who is running for state Senate.

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California outlaws possession of synthetic drug ‘spice’ amid overdoses on L.A.’s Skid Row

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed legislation that outlaws the possession of the synthetic drug “spice” after law enforcement officials and paramedics tended to dozens of overdoses on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Senate Bill 139, introduced by Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) and sponsored by the California Police Chiefs Assn., adds a number of specified drugs and chemicals to the existing list of prohibited synthetic cannabinoids.

It is already a crime to sell those drugs. But the urgency measure, which was requested by the California Narcotics Officers Assn., would make a first offense of possession of specified synthetic cannabinoids or stimulants an infraction. A second or third offense could be a misdemeanor.

This law “is very important because young people believe that if a drug is not illegal, it is okay and that it is safe,” Galgiani said. “But underground chemists manufacture these drugs in warehouses and then market them to kids as being legal when in fact they are more dangerous.”

For law enforcement, the rise of synthetic drugs has been difficult to regulate, as sellers change their chemical combinations often.

U.S. drug companies first developed synthetic cannabinoids in the 1980s as they sought to find drugs to treat serious diseases, such as cancer and lupus. Although their researchers failed, illegal drug manufacturers then took the formula and marketed it across Europe as herbal incense before spice arrived in new forms in the U.S. in 2009.

Galgiani’s bill drew the strong support of law enforcement associations in Los Angeles, where officials have been scrambling to warn people about the drug, which can produce effects similar to those of marijuana but is a different plant material sprayed with a psychoactive chemical.

The California Police Chiefs Association said the legislation, which provides treatment and education options for anyone caught in possession of a synthetic drug or stimulant, would encourage defendants to take advantage of those programs.

“Getting people into treatment is literally lifesaving,” the association has said in a statement. “Without treatment intervention, persons using these drugs face a continued downward cycle.”

The measure was opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Alliance.

Jolene Forman, a staff attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance, said similar laws across the country have failed to decrease the low rates of synthetic cannabinoid use, while they exacerbated “the health risks by pushing the risky behavior underground.”

“The drug war has been proven to be ineffective at resolving our nation’s drug problems,” Forman said. “Instead, it has wasted billions of public dollars and erected lifetime barriers to successful employment and education. Rather than learning from these failures, SB 139 maintains the status quo.”

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Expansion of state’s help in paying the emergency costs of San Bernardino terror attack rejected by Gov. Jerry Brown

San Bernardino police officers secure the scene at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2, 2015
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

An effort to further defray local emergency costs connected to the San Bernardino mass shooting in 2015 was blocked by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday, with the governor citing the “precedent” the special help would create.

Senate Bill 1385 would have allowed local law enforcement agencies to have more of their costs reimbursed from the deadly Dec. 2, 2015, shooting. Fourteen people were killed in the attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, with 22 others seriously injured.

Law enforcement officers said the killers, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, had been inspired by Islamic terrorists but had no direct ties to them.

The cost of responding to the attack topped $18 million for local agencies. SB 1385 sought to boost the level of reimbursement the state would have provided from 75% of eligible costs to 100% of those costs.

Brown, however, rejected the plan for the chance it would serve as a template for future incidents.

“I recognize the unique circumstances involved in this horrific terrorist attack,” wrote the governor in his veto message. “However, this bill sets the expectation that the state will assume all financial responsibility for future emergency costs.”

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No vouchers for families on welfare to buy diapers after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes plan

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed an effort Sunday to subsidize diapers needed by families receiving government assistance, calling the plan and several other efforts “an end run” around the annual budget process.

The veto on Assembly Bill 492 came almost two weeks after the governor vetoed a different bill aimed at reducing the cost of diapers, both efforts by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to help low-income families.

“The budget process allows all spending proposals to be weighed equally through public hearings, negotiations and, finally, approval of a balanced budget,” Brown wrote. “This process is even more important when the state’s budget is precariously balanced.”

Gonzalez tweeted her reaction on Sunday, saying she’ll continue efforts next year.

Brown vetoed five bills on Sunday that he said would add costs to the state budget, including an effort to restore cost-of-living increases to a supplemental program for the elderly, blind and disabled.

In all, the governor’s veto message estimated a cost of $240 million if the bills had been enacted.

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Coastal Commission to gain environmental justice member to represent low-income communities

A view of Laguna Beach
( (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times))

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed legislation aimed at providing a greater voice on the California Coastal Commission to racially diverse, low-income communities.

Brown signed a bill by Assemblywoman Autumn R. Burke (D-Inglewood) that requires one of the members appointed to the Coastal Commission by the governor to work directly with low-income communities in the state that are most burdened by high levels of pollution and other concerns.

AB 2616 also allows the panel to consider environmental justice issues when making important decisions.

“Every Californian deserves access to our coast,” Burke said recently, adding her bill can “truly make a difference in communities that have been heavily polluted and repeatedly marginalized.”

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Californians can now act to save dogs from hot cars

(Kevin Chang / Daily Pilot)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law a measure allowing Californians to break into vehicles to rescue animals if they appear to be in danger from excessive heat.

The bill by Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) and others was introduced after a series of incidents in which dogs died after being left in closed cars on hot days.

“We’re very excited about the lives this new law will save,” Steinorth said in a statement Saturday on Facebook. “Thank you to everyone who helped us raise awareness of this serious issue and showed their support.”

Under AB 797, a citizen must first call law enforcement to report a situation in which he or she believes an animal to be in peril.

But if the animal is in imminent danger, the car is locked, and law enforcement is not arriving quickly enough to save the animal’s life, the bill provides immunity from civil and criminal liability to a person causing vehicle damage for the purpose of rescuing the animal. The measure was supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

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Allegations that oil money was funneled to Gov. Jerry Brown’s campaign will be investigated by state watchdog

(Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

The state’s campaign finance watchdog agency will investigate allegations that the California Democratic Party improperly funneled contributions from the oil and energy industry to the 2014 reelection campaign of Gov. Jerry Brown, officials said Friday.

The group Consumer Watchdog filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission alleging that hundreds of thousands of dollars were given by energy companies to the state party, which shortly afterward made large donations to Brown’s campaign.

“It was a laundry machine for dirty energy contributions to the Brown administration, a slush fund of sorts, hiding big oil, utility and other dirty energy dollars in close proximity to officials’ actions,” said Jamie Court, president of the group Brown’s Dirty Hands, which made the allegations in a report.

In one example given in the complaint, the state party gave Brown’s campaign $300,000 a week after Chevron contributed $350,000 to the party.

In a letter Friday, Galena West, chief of enforcement for the Fair Political Practices Commission, said she would not be investigating other people named in the complaint.

“This letter is to notify you that the enforcement division of the Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate the California Democratic Party for alleged violation of the Political Reform Act’s campaign reporting provisions resulting from information contained in your sworn complaint,” West wrote.

West also wrote that her office has not made any determination about the validity of the allegations.

Democratic Party spokesman Michael Soller said the group has received the letter and has “been cooperating fully with their inquiry.” The governor’s office declined to comment immediately.

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California congressman heads back to Colombia for peace accord signing

Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) will travel to Colombia on Sunday night with U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry to be present at the signing of a peace agreement between the country’s government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as FARC.

“This is an incredible, historic moment for peace,” Farr said in a statement. “The transition after decades of violence won’t be easy, but Colombians are ready for a new era of peace and prosperity.”

Farr was a Peace Corps volunteer in Medellin, Colombia, from 1964 to 1966. He credits the experience with getting him involved in public service and for his work on Colombia.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill to encourage reversible lane use

Reversible lanes were first used in California on the Golden Gate Bridge.
(Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

California drivers could start seeing more reversible lanes now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill officially encouraging their use.

Reversible lanes can be switched to allow traffic in either direction and are used to accommodate more traffic in one direction during peak hours.

Such lanes have been used in San Diego on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and Interstate 15 and in the Bay Area on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Caldecott Tunnel.

The lanes can be an efficient way to decrease traffic congestion, according to the bill’s author, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale).

Starting next year, the new law will require California transportation agencies to consider incorporating reversible lanes before starting some major road and highway projects.

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Gov. Brown kicks smokers out of bleachers at youth sports events

Continuing the state’s campaign against tobacco use, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday banned smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes within 250 feet of any Little League baseball game or other youth sports event.

Brown signed the bill by Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician, who said tobacco products have no place near children.

“Youth sports is about developing good and healthy habits and smoking is the exact opposite of that,” Pan said.

The bill is one of several anti-smoking bills either approved already or still under consideration by the governor.

Pan introduced the measure, SB 977, at the request of the eighth grade class at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary School in Elk Grove.

Pan said that children exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of asthma, lung infection and ear disease, among other health conditions.

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He’s into meditation: The things we learn about California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a new magazine interview

An interview in the October edition of San Francisco magazine offers a few interesting new insights into California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom — both political and personal.

  • He has praise for Gov. Jerry Brown’s political acumen. “I’m mesmerized by him,” said Newsom. But the lieutenant governor, while also praising his fellow Democrat for proving “that you can be progressive without being profligate,” he also wishes there was “a little bit more idealism.”
  • His in-laws are staunch Republicans and Newsom hints at the conversations they have had about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. “I’m enjoying every aspect of it,” Newsom said. “I’m like, this is your guy, this is your party. He is your Frankenstein.”
  • He was turned on to meditation by Marc Benioff, the CEO of the software company Salesforce. “I thought maybe it was essential,” he said. “And for the last two, two and a half years, I’ve been very devoted to it. And it’s been profound for me.”
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California women can soon pick up a year’s worth of birth control at once

Women living in the Golden State soon will be able to pick up an entire year’s worth of birth control pills at one time under a bill the governor signed Friday.

The new law will allow pharmacists to dispense a 12-month supply of hormonal birth control pills. It also will require healthcare plans to cover the year-at-a-time prescription. The law goes into effect Jan. 1.

State law previously barred pharmacists from dispensing more than three months’ supply at once.

Supporters of the new law say letting women pick up more pills will help prevent unintended pregnancy, especially for women in rural areas who do not have a pharmacy nearby.

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Why can’t politicians solve the state’s housing affordability crisis?

This year, a major proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown to deal with California’s spiraling housing affordability problem went down in flames.

We hosted a lively Twitter chat Friday morning to explain why Brown’s measure failed and why it’s so hard to find a political solution to the state’s housing problems. You can check out my Twitter feed @dillonliam or the #housingchat hashtag for the full discussion. Here are some of the best parts:

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Police chiefs group decides to oppose California’s gun control ballot proposition

(Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

The California Police Chiefs Assn. has decided to oppose Proposition 63, arguing the gun control measure that will be on California’s ballot “fails to meet the appropriate balance between public safety and individual gun rights.”

Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney, who is president of the association, wrote that his group supported legislation enacted this year that requires background checks for those buying ammunition. But Corney said Proposition 63 reverses some exemptions that allow law enforcement to continue purchasing ammunition freely for on-duty purposes. He also objected on the grounds that the initiative, which was spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, creates “a duplicative database” that will be an expensive and less effective way to monitor ammunition purchases.

“Essentially, Proposition 63 complicates current law with one that is costlier and seriously flawed,” Corney wrote.

The chiefs group also supported legislation enacted this year that penalizes false reporting of a gun theft, but said the initiative makes failure to report a theft a crime.

“Penalizing the failure to report lost and stolen firearms actually can deter individuals to report for fear of penalty, which has already been proven to be the case in many areas where local governments have enacted similar ordinances,” the chief wrote.

Dan Newman, a spokesman for the campaign in favor of the initiative, pointed to polls showing the measure has significant support.

“Most Californians - including many in law enforcement - support Prop 63 in order to keep guns and ammo from dangerous people,” Newman said.

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found the initiative has strong support among Californians.

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Could tougher punishment for sex crimes hurt minority communities in California?

Norma Hernandez wipes her eyes as she talks during a news conference about being raped. Hernandez joined others in supporting SB 813, by Sen. Connie Leyva, center.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

High-profile cases have spurred several bills now before Gov. Jerry Brown that would increase repercussions for defendants in sex crimes. Supporters of the bills have said California needs to remain tough on sex offenders and railed against a justice system they said blames victims for sexual assault, fails to keep women safe and is biased toward the LGBT community.

But a growing number of lawyers and advocates worry the tough-on-crime strategies will unfairly affect communities of color in California.

Opponents of the legislation say they are not against holding sex offenders accountable. They are against proposals that continue to stack the deck against poor and minority defendants in a criminal justice system where laws are often unequally applied.

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Progressive group will back Nanette Barragán in the all-Democrat race to represent L.A.’s port communities in Congress

Nanette Barragán leaves a flier on a house in South Gate in late May.
Nanette Barragán leaves a flier on a house in South Gate in late May.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is endorsing Democrat Nanette Barragán to represent L.A.’s port communities, comparing her to a leader of her party’s progressive wing, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Nanette Barragán will be a Warren-wing warrior in Congress,” the committee’s co-founder, Stephanie Taylor, said in a statement.

The race to represent California’s 44th Congressional District pits attorney Barragán against fellow Democrat and state Sen. Isadore Hall for one of the few open congressional seats in the state. It’s been a nasty fight from the beginning.

The committee works to elect progressive candidates and the endorsement comes with fundraising assistance, and with volunteer and staff support.

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Khanna campaign manager to step down following Honda’s lawsuit

Ro Khanna’s campaign manager, Brian Parvizshahi, will step down effective immediately following a lawsuit claiming Parvizshahi illegally accessed confidential donor data belonging to Rep. Mike Honda’s campaign.

The lawsuit alleges Parvizshahi gained access to the files as an intern for Honda’s former fundraising consultant, and claims he continued to access donor lists and other campaign data after he joined the Khanna campaign.

In a statement four hours after the Honda campaign news conference, Khanna campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said Parvizshahi had requested to step down as campaign manager. Sevugan also took a dig at Khanna’s rival.

“By filing this lawsuit with six weeks to go and down in the polls, he believes Mike Honda is trying to distract voters from the ongoing ethics investigation into how he sold special governmental access to his VIP donors after accepting $3 million in PAC contributions,” the statement read. “And Brian will not let Mike Honda use him to distract voters from the need for real change.”

No interim campaign manager has been chosen, Sevugan said.

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More park space could be coming to the lower L.A. River thanks to bill signed by Gov. Brown

Robert Blankenship tries to unhook a sock he caught in the Los Angeles River.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Addressing a shortage of parks in the area, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed legislation creating a Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Parks District to launch the construction, improvement and maintenance of new amenities.

A report by Los Angeles County recently identified the area around the lower river as one of the most park-poor areas in the county. The cities of Maywood and Bell have 0.3 and 0.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents respectively, while the county-wide average is 3.3 acres per 1,000 residents.

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said a lack of funding had hindered efforts to provide more parks, and the new district would be able to apply for millions of dollars that had recently been approved in bond measures and legislation.

“The goal of this bill is to increase access to outdoor space and parks in a region where those amenities are sorely lacking,” Lara said in a statement. “This bill will help to promote the development of open space and parks for the benefit of Southeast communities and ensure that the Lower L.A. River is no longer overlooked.”

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Watch: Mike Honda’s campaign holds news conference on lawsuit against rival Ro Khanna

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Congressional Black Caucus makes demands after shootings: ‘We will not continue to ask our constituents to be patient’

From left, Reps. Karen Bass, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters of California walk toward the Justice Department.
From left, Reps. Karen Bass, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters of California walk toward the Justice Department.
(Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press)

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus stood before the doors of the Department of Justice on Thursday and demanded a greater reaction from Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch to repeated instances of police shooting black men.

Their trip down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol was a response to the deadly shootings of black men by police in Tulsa, Okla., and Charlotte, N.C.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) told reporters at the news conference that members decided at their caucus’ lunch meeting Wednesday they couldn’t go about their normal business anymore.

“We must do something to end this assault on our communities,” Waters said. “We will not continue to ask our constituents to be patient without any hope for change.”

Waters and caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) met with Lynch and dropped off a letter outlining what the caucus is hoping to see from the country’s first black female attorney general.

“The Department of Justice must aggressively pursue investigations, indictments and, yes, prosecution, against any and all law enforcement officers who ... kill unarmed, innocent African American citizens,” Butterfield said.

Caucus members want nationwide standards on the use of force, better training for officers and broad use of police body cameras.

Many members are also pursuing specific legislation, and a bipartisan group created by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) after the shooting of two other black men by police this summer in Louisiana and Minnesota has been meeting for weeks.

The caucus is asking Lynch’s department “to be a Justice Department that’s going to ensure quality and justice under the law for everyone,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said. “This is long overdue; they have to step up now.”

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), who has been an advocate for police reform for decades and has worked with Black Lives Matter activists in her district, said it was important for the Congressional Black Caucus to physically go to the Justice Department.

“It is an issue that is very, very important to me. So, for me to stand with my colleagues in the black caucus, was an important thing to do,” Bass said. “It’s really important to make a statement that communities across the nation can see that the Congressional Black Caucus is very serious.”

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Mike Honda sues opponent Ro Khanna, alleging his campaign manager illegally accessed donor data

Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) in a file photo from May 2013.
(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) has filed a lawsuit against his opponent, Democrat Ro Khanna, alleging that Khanna’s campaign manager illegally obtained sensitive fundraising data and used it to contact Honda’s supporters.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, says Brian Parvizshahi had access to donor lists and other proprietary information in 2012, when he served as an intern for a fundraising consultant working for Honda at the time.

After he left the internship, the complaint alleges, Parvizshahi continued to access files related to Honda’s fundraising, including after he joined the Khanna campaign in January 2014.

Files were accessed repeatedly between February 2013 and June 2015 by a Dropbox account and computer bearing Parvizshahi’s name, the lawsuit claims.

Honda’s campaign said it was notified in May by Arum Group, its former fundraising consultant, that Parvizshahi had been inadvertently left on the company’s Dropbox access list after leaving his internship. His access was revoked that day, the campaign said.

The complaint claims one of the documents Parvizshahi had access to was a list of Honda donors who had contributed more than $1,000, labeled “1,000 Cranes,” which was later leaked to local website San Jose Inside and became the source of an ethics complaint.

Some of the donors on that list, Honda’s campaign says, received unsolicited emails from Khanna asking to speak with them to discuss his campaign.

Honda has remained under the cloud of an ongoing investigation after the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” he used taxpayer resources to benefit his campaign.

Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Khanna campaign, says neither Khanna nor the campaign has been served with the lawsuit.

“The fact that Mike Honda went to the press before serving us tells you what this is really about: politics,” Sevugan said in a statement. “It’s clear Mike Honda will do and say anything to hold on to his seat including suing anyone who is on track to defeat him.”

Khanna, 39, narrowly bested the veteran congressman, 75, in the June primary, receiving 2,200 more votes in the hotly contested race.

At a press conference Thursday, Honda campaign manager Michael Beckendorf likened the alleged breach to a “modern day Watergate” that amounted to a “violation of privacy and harassment” of Honda supporters who apparently landed on Khanna’s email lists.

Honda’s campaign claims having evidence Khanna knew about the breach, including an email exchange with one such Honda supporter in which Khanna personally responded, asking Parvizshahi to remove her from the mailing list.

“What you have here is a cyberattack,” said Gautum Dutta, an attorney for Honda’s campaign. “You have the theft of confidential, proprietary information that’s then used against the supporters of a rival campaign. That’s un-American and it’s illegal.”

Honda spoke with The Times in Washington, D.C. Thursday, saying he’d received many calls from supporters asking why they were getting emails from Khanna’s campaign.

Honda did not say if the campaign will seek criminal charges against Parvizshahi. “Under the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, there’s a great possibility that something went awry, and I think that that’s something we need to move forward with,” Honda said.

The Honda campaign says it is seeking “all available compensatory and injunctive relief” and has asked Khanna’s campaign to destroy or return all information it may have obtained.

Read the full complaint here.

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California, other states not doing enough to take guns from felons, new study finds

(Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

A national gun control group that helped write California’s Proposition 63 released a study Thursday indicating that thousands of felons disqualified from owning guns are keeping their firearms in this state and most others because of the lack of an effective enforcement mechanism.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence helped draft Proposition 63 on the Nov. 8 ballot in California, a measure that would create a new system for making sure firearms are relinquished once the owner is disqualified because he or she is convicted of a felony, is found to suffer from severe mental illness or is the target of a restraining order for domestic violence.

“A startling gap in state law continues to undermine California’s work to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those most likely to perpetrate violence,” said the report, which found 45 states lack an effective process to make sure guns are surrendered.

When someone buys a gun and then is later disqualified, state law requires that person to relinquish possession of any firearms, but the law includes few mechanisms to ensure that such dangerous individuals actually give up their guns.

“In California, law enforcement reported that in 2014 alone, more than 3,200 people kept their guns after a new criminal conviction, many of whom went on to commit crimes with those guns,” the report says. “Relinquishment laws would stop this.”

The current backlog of people listed on the Armed Prohibited Persons System as having a gun is at 10,891, according to the state attorney general’s office.

The study found that California taxpayers spend $285 million annually on arresting and jailing felons on weapons charges involving possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Under Proposition 63, courts would be required to inform felons upon conviction that they must turn their firearms over to local law enforcement, sell their firearms to a licensed dealer or give their firearms to a dealer for storage.

The courts would assign probation officers to check and report on what prohibited individuals did with their firearms. If a firearm has been kept, the court would order its removal.

“The relinquishment provision is arguably the most critical element of Prop. 63,” said Dan Newman, a spokesman for the campaign to pass the measure.

A spokeswoman for the National Rifle Assn. was not immediately available for comment.

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State audit: California’s energy regulator open to improper influence from utilities, contractors

Crews work in December 2015 on stopping the gas leak at the Aliso Canyon facility near Porter Ranch.
(Dean Musgrove / Associated Press)

California’s energy regulator doesn’t guard against the appearance of improper influence from utilities when making decisions, fails to fully disclose important communications and skirts state rules when handing out contracts, according to a new state audit released Thursday.

The audit of the California Public Utilities Commission reveals at greater depth the agency’s problems in recent years as its faced significant criticism over its handling of the 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, negotiations surrounding the 2013 shutdown of San Onofre nuclear power plant and last year’s Aliso Canyon gas leak.

Auditors found two dozen cases in which CPUC didn’t follow state rules before awarding contracts without competitive bids, $2.4 million in unexplained contract spending and no evidence that the agency monitored performance in nearly a third of the 60 contracts it reviewed.

“The shortcomings we noted in CPUC contracting practices resulted from a lax control environment that the CPUC has allowed to persist,” the audit said. “This lax environment is characterized by outdated guidance to staff, the absence of supervisory review, and a lack of training for key staff members.”

For years, state lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to overhaul the agency. But last month, the main bill in a reform package died after the bipartisan coalition and agency support for the deal wavered. Some changes that were passed, including greater disclosure of agency communications, aim to address problems found by the auditor.

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California congressmen last several rounds in spelling bee against reporters but ultimately come up short

California Reps. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and Scott Peters (D-San Diego) lasted through more than a half-dozen rounds in the National Press Club’s spelling bee Wednesday night, but were eliminated before the final rounds.

The bee pits reporters against members of Congress and raises money for the National Press Club Journalism Institute, which provides training and scholarship to reporters and students. Jacques Bailly, the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s official pronouncer, officiated.

Here are some highlights of the California members’ turns at the mike. The participants had to spell two words incorrectly to be disqualified.

Peters got eliminated in the round on the names of national parks.

Takano lasted a few more rounds but was eliminated on the word “frankincense” with just a few challengers left.

Ultimately, a reporter won the bee for the first time. Gallup’s Art Swift took the win with the word “apothecary” after more than a dozen rounds.

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Two Senate polls were released Wednesday — with very different results

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez is either gaining ground on Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in California’s U.S. Senate race or she’s dropping like a stone, according to two polls released on Wednesday.

A poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Harris’ lead over Sanchez has narrowed. Among those likely voters surveyed, 32% favored Harris compared with 25% who supported Sanchez — a 7-percentage-point difference.

That’s down from the 18-point lead Harris had over Sanchez in the group’s poll in July.

But a new Field poll released earlier Wednesday found that 42% of likely voters in California favored Harris, compared with 20% who backed Sanchez — a 22-point difference.

That’s up from the 15-point lead Harris had over Sanchez in a Field poll in July.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed that Sanchez was strongly favored by Latino voters, with 58% supporting her compared with 16% backing Harris.

The Field poll showed the two candidates running almost neck-and-neck among Latinos, with 35% favoring Harris and 34% favoring Sanchez.

Both polls showed that Republicans aren’t happy with having to choose between two Democrats in the Senate race.

The institute’s poll found that 65% of Republicans were either undecided or said they won’t vote for either candidate. The Field poll found 67% of Republicans in that same boat.

The two Democrats will face off in the November election, setting the stage for the highest-profile contest between two members of the same party since California adopted a top-two primary election system.

In the June 7 primary, Harris received 40% of the vote and Sanchez got 19% among the 34 candidates on the Senate ballot. Duf Sundheim, a former chairman of the California Republican Party, landed in third place with 8%.

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All the California and L.A. ballot propositions, described in haiku

The next president is far from the only thing California voters will be deciding when they cast their ballots. California has 17 propositions up for a vote on issues ranging from the death penalty to legalizing marijuana to requiring actors in pornographic films to use condoms. Voters in L.A. will also make decisions about things like housing and transit.

One man has written all of them up in easy-to-digest haiku form. Damian Carroll is the national director of the charity Vision to Learn and a self-identified Democratic activist who lives in Van Nuys. He released his poetry as a PDF document on Google Drive, starting with:

“This November 8th
Seventeen propositions
Are on the ballot”

Enjoy the rest:

For the record: The initial version of this post incorrectly identified Carroll as a self-identified Democratic fundraiser. He is an activist.

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Governor signs bills to boost graduation rates at California universities

Commencement ceremonies at Cal State Northridge.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills Wednesday intended to help students graduate from California public colleges and universities in four years.

One bill would create programs at Cal State campuses to give students extra support from academic advisers and priority registration in classes. Students in the programs would need to take a minimum number of credits and maintain a qualifying GPA.

“Many students at the CSU want to finish in four years, but they need help in charting the path,” state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), the bill’s author, said in a statement. “This bill directs resources to students who likely need the most help and will boost their chances of getting a bachelor’s degree in four years.”

Low-income and first-generation students, as well as community college graduates and students from communities with low college attendance rates, would be given priority to participate in the programs. They would also have to be eligible for in-state tuition.

In his bill-signing announcement, Brown also commended a new initiative approved by CSU trustees Wednesday to double the system’s four-year graduation rate to 40%.

The other bill would provide $15 million in grant funding for community colleges to improve college graduation rates by partnering with high schools or public universities.

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Supporters of a Latino American Smithsonian museum are pushing House and Senate leaders to hold a vote this year

Days before the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, supporters of a museum dedicated to Latino American history and culture are nudging House and Senate leaders to move their cause forward.

The Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino issued a report to the president and Congress five years ago. It urged the creation of a museum dedicated to Latino American history and culture. In a letter released to The Times, the commissioners are now criticizing Congress for not acting.

“The fifth anniversary of the Commission’s Report is a stark reminder of the work undone, and a commitment that today remains unfulfilled. We will continue to work with our advocacy group, the Friends of the American Latino Museum to ensure another five years does not go by without moving this vision closer to a reality,” the commissioners wrote in their letter to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Last week, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) introduced a bill to create a National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall. Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sponsored the Senate version.

They’ve filed the bill three times before, but Becerra said he hopes that the opening of the new African American museum and the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month will spur Congress to act.

The commissioners’ letter urges congressional leaders to act on the bill before the end of the year.

“Firstly, we write to express our deep disappointment that Congress has thus far failed to implement any of our recommendations and secondly, to urge you to pass the Smithsonian American Latino Museum Act ... as the first step to making our museum a reality,” the letter states.

The letter is the first salvo in what is planned to be a monthlong advocacy effort by the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, a group of Latino Americans who support the museum and will help raise funds to create it if Becerra’s bill is approved.

The push to build the museum has been ongoing in the decades since a 1994 report titled “Willful Neglect” from the Smithsonian’s Task Force on Latino Issues said that “the Smithsonian Institution almost entirely excludes and ignores the Latino population of the United States.”

Critics question whether the Smithsonian should create museums that recognize specific aspects of American culture rather than improving existing museums, especially as space on the National Mall becomes scarce.

Supporters are proposing to put the museum inside the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, which reopened as a special events space this year after extensive renovation, and is the last major space available on the Mall.

Becerra’s bill would start the planning process for the museum, but museum supporters’ ultimate wish is a long way from becoming reality no matter what: The African American museum was approved in 2003 and opens on Saturday.

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Gov. Brown overhauls L.A. County water board in response to allegations of mismanagement, financial misconduct

Central Basin Water District avoided competitive bidding for contracts, had six general managers in five years and spent thousands of dollars on potentially illegal gifts of public funds to support community events, a state audit found. Above, the district office.
Central Basin Water District avoided competitive bidding for contracts, had six general managers in five years and spent thousands of dollars on potentially illegal gifts of public funds to support community events, a state audit found. Above, the district office.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed two bills aimed at overhauling operations of the Central Basin Municipal Water District in Commerce after years of political scandal and allegations of ethical lapses at the agency.

One of the measures, by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), will expand the district’s governing board from one of five elected members to four members elected by residents and three with technical expertise who would be appointed by water purveyors in the district beginning in 2022. It also imposes new ethics rules on the district.

The second measure, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), restricts the use of sole-source contracts and requires a two-thirds vote of the board to approve changes to its ethics rules and to the compensation and benefits of board members.

“Today is a win for Central Basin ratepayers who deserve accountability and transparency from their leaders,” Lara said in a statement, adding his bill will improve contracting by “ensuring that the process remains untainted and competitive for all interested, qualified parties to apply.”

Lawmakers were concerned by news reports and lawsuits that alleged misuse of district funds and inappropriate contracting and employment practices. A state audit last year found widespread mismanagement of the agency, indicating that the board had failed to provide the leadership necessary for the district to fulfill its responsibilities to provide water to 2 million people in 24 cities and six unincorporated areas throughout southeast Los Angeles County.

The audit noted that a former general manager, Arthur J. Aguilar, was fined $30,000 by the state for attempting to steer work to a contractor that had given him almost $3,500 in gifts, an amount in excess of legal limits.

Garcia predicted the bills “will better protect consumers and begin to restore the public’s trust.”

The legislation was welcomed by Central Basin General Manager Kevin Hunt, who said the agency has carried out all but one of the audit’s recommendations in the last year.

“The legislation coupled with our efforts will make impactful changes to the benefit of the residents and stakeholders in our service area,” Hunt said.

UPDATED at 3:55 pm: to include response from district general manager.

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Students who cyberbully using sexting and video can be expelled under bills signed by governor

A student uses a cellphone in class to answer questions.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Students at California public schools could face expulsion for bullying others by sharing nude photos or harassing videos under bills Gov. Jerry Brown signed Wednesday.

Both new laws expand the definition of cyberbullying, an expellable offense in California public schools.

One new law defines “cyber sexual bullying” as sharing nude photos or videos of others “with the purpose or effect of humiliating or harassing” a student. Another updates the definition of cyberbullying to explicitly include videos.

Under the new laws, the state’s Department of Education will have to publish information on sexual cyberbullying online. Schools will be encouraged to teach students about the dangers of sexting, the practice of sending nude or sexually explicit photos electronically.

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Nail salon work rules, college voter registration boosted by Gov. Brown bill signings

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New poll finds Kamala Harris’ lead growing in California’s U.S. Senate race

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange)
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has widened her lead in the U.S. Senate race, with voters supporting her by more than a 2-to-1 margin over rival Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) in a new Field poll.

The survey found that 42% of likely voters in California favored Harris, compared to 20% who backed Sanchez. A quarter of voters remain undecided and 12% said they would not vote for either candidate.

Harris’ lead has grown by 7 percentage points since the last Field poll in July. Voter support for Harris increased by 3 percentage points and support for Sanchez dropped by 4 percentage points over the summer.

But the two polls used different methodologies. The poll in July was conducted by telephone interviews of randomly selected Californians. The September poll was conducted online and based on a survey of Californians in an existing panel of 1.5 million U.S. residents maintained by the research firm YouGov.

The September poll found Harris was the dominant favorite among registered Democrats, with 62% supporting the state attorney general, compared to 24% supporting the Orange County congresswoman. Harris also led in all major regions of the state, and across the spectrum of age groups and income levels, the survey found.

The two Democrats were in a virtual tie among Latino voters, which had been Sanchez’s strongest base of support. Sanchez had an edge among Republicans and self-described conservatives — 20% of likely Republican voters said they supported Sanchez and 13% backed Harris. Among the remainder, 30% said they would not vote for either candidate and 37% said they were undecided.

In a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released earlier this month, 30% of voters supported Harris and 16% favored Sanchez. More than half of those surveyed said they were undecided or would not vote for their candidate in the November election.

The Democrat-versus-Democrat Senate race sets the stage for the highest-profile contest between two members of the same party since California adopted a top-two primary election system in 2012.

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Six Democrats lose LGBT support after a vote in final hours of Legislature

A prominent group advocating for LGBT rights has withdrawn its endorsement of six state Assembly members because they abstained or voted against a bill aimed at protecting gay and transgender students from discrimination at private colleges.

Equality California supported SB 1146, which requires religious universities to disclose whether they have applied for an exemption to federal discrimination laws that conflict with religious tenets. The schools would also have to report to the state when they expel a student on grounds that they are in a same-sex relationship or because they are transgender.

The schools initially fought an early version of the bill that would have subjected them to civil litigation if they discriminated based on gender preference.

“We regret having to withdraw our endorsements of legislators who have otherwise been allies of the LGBT community,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “Our longstanding endorsement policy requires withdrawal because we tell our members that our endorsements include only incumbent legislators who have demonstrated a voting record of 100-percent support for our priority legislation.”

The group said it was taking back its endorsements from Assembly members Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) and Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) for voting against SB 1146. The group is also withdrawing backing from Assembly members Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino), Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando) and Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks) for abstaining.

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California Democrats ramp up their effort to link GOP candidates with Donald Trump

Taking aim at what they call Republicans “running on the Trump ticket,” California Democrats launched a new online and social media effort Tuesday to link GOP congressional candidates in close races with their party’s presidential nominee.

The state Democratic Party’s campaign targets seven Republicans running for Congress, four of whom are incumbents. Many are running in districts where an association with Donald Trump could be a political liability.

“Voters here are going to see Republicans’ support for Trump for what it is: a sick joke,” said Michael Soller, communications director for the California Democratic Party, in a written statement.

The list of GOP targets includes Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), David Valadao (R-Hanford), Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) and Steve Knight (R-Lancaster).

Challengers include Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, running against Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove); business owner Denise Gitsham, who’s challenging Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego); and businessman Justin Fareed, running in an open seat on the Central Coast.

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Rep. Darrell Issa and Douglas Applegate trade barbs in attack ads

It’s game on in the hotly contested congressional race between Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and his surprisingly competitive challenger, Democrat Douglas Applegate.

The Applegate campaign released a new ad Tuesday, assailing Issa for endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and accusing Issa of profiting off his eight terms in Congress.

Issa, with an estimated minimum net worth of $254.7 million, is the wealthiest member of Congress. He made most of his fortune in the 1990s while leading Directed Electronics Inc., a manufacturer of vehicle anti-theft devices.

“Just like Trump, Issa gamed the system to line his own pockets steering millions in taxpayer money to help properties he owned,” the narrator says.

According to Applegate’s campaign manager, the TV ad will air on broadcast and cable TV stations that serve California’s 49th Congressional District, which includes northern San Diego County and southern Orange County.

Voters in the district also received campaign mail from Issa that ripped into Applegate.

The mailer describes how Applegate was accused of harassing and threatening his ex-wife during their divorce proceedings and child custody battle more than 10 years ago. The mailer calls Applegate the “perfect candidate” of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Issa faces a strong challenge from Applegate, a retired Marine colonel from San Clemente.

The Vista Republican outspent Applegate by more than $600,000 in the June primary, but the Democrat still nabbed 45.5% of the vote, while Issa finished with 50.8%.

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CalPERS may need to lower investment hopes soon, thus increasing the cost to taxpayers

CalPERS Board of Directors
(Robert Durrell/For The Times)

The retiring forecaster for California’s largest public employee pension fund offered some final advice on Tuesday: State and local governments should be required to pay more into the system as soon as next year.

Alan Milligan, who is stepping down as chief actuary of the California Public Employees Retirement System, told the agency’s directors that investment returns continue to come in lower than expected and the pension fund should recalibrate its long-term investment prediction — the “discount rate” — no later than February.

“If you were to adopt a lowering of the discount rate now, that would buffer the impact” on state and local government budgets, Milligan said at the meeting in Sacramento.

CalPERS currently assumes an average annual return of 7.5% on its investment portfolio. That number influences how much governments, as the employer, must contribute. A lower long-term assumption can add billions of dollars in government expenses, but missing the mark over the long haul can add to CalPERS’ unfunded liability.

Milligan told the CalPERS directors that they should consider lowering the long-term discount rate to 7.25%, though his report on Tuesday projected the coming decade will only see an average return of 6.12%.

“The capital markets are simply not expecting to return as much in the next 10 years or so as they have historically,” Milligan said.

Gov. Jerry Brown lobbied the pension system last year to move quickly to shrink its investment assumptions, an effort to get a more full accounting of the ultimate price tag for taxpayers.

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California’s housing crisis isn’t going away anytime soon. Questions? Join us for a Twitter chat

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

California’s housing crisis isn’t going anywhere.

The state’s average price for a home is $466,900 — more than double the national average. But Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to make it easier to build more homes died last month in the state Legislature after failing to receive any lawmaker support.

The plan would have wiped away some restrictions on building if developers set aside some units for low-income residents, which would have ultimately increased new construction in the hopes of driving down costs.

Have questions about what happened and how you might be affected in the future? Reporter Liam Dillon will answer them on Twitter at 11 a.m. PT Friday.

Follow @LATPoliticsCA and @dillonliam, and use #housingchat to join in.

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No debating the silence in California’s U.S. Senate race

The empty stage before the U.S. Senate debate at KPBS in San Diego in May. This debate, which actually did happen, was during the primary campaign.
The empty stage before the U.S. Senate debate at KPBS in San Diego in May. This debate, which actually did happen, was during the primary campaign.
(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

That silence you hear in California’s U.S. Senate race is the sound of another candidate debate that didn’t happen.

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez had been invited to a debate today in Sacramento as well as in Los Angeles last Friday. The two Democratic Senate candidates failed to reach agreements on both, however, so they were scrapped.

As of now, the only debate both Sanchez and Harris have agreed to will be on Oct. 5 in Los Angeles, sponsored by the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles and KABC-TV.

Negotiations over the debates have been a bit testy.

In early August, the Harris campaign announced she would participate in two candidate forums — the one on L.A. on Oct. 5 and one sponsored by the Sacramento Bee that was proposed for today. Sanchez rejected the Sacramento debate and her political consultant, Bill Carrick, criticized the Harris campaign at the time for “arrogantly announcing” her terms.

Harris political consultant Sean Clegg responded in-kind when the Sanchez campaign earlier this month proposed four debates. The door had closed on any other debates, he said.

Harris leads in the polls and in fundraising, giving her no incentive to take part in a slew of debates that might help Sanchez raise her political profile and standing in the polls.

During the primary, five candidates met on a stage for two debates.

Harris finished first on June 7 with 39.9% of the vote, and Sanchez came in second with 18.9%, setting up the first-ever statewide matchup between two members of the same party.

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Kamala Harris wants college to be free — for families earning less than $140,000 a year

U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday said students from families earning less than $140,000 a year should be able to attend community colleges and public universities for free.

The free-tuition proposal highlighted the higher education platform Harris announced during a roundtable discussion with students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College on Tuesday.

“We have got to create a college system and a community college system that is affordable to the average student,” said Harris, California’s attorney general.

Harris touted other college-affordability proposals she supports, including one to increase the amount of Pell grants available and another that would allow students to refinance student debt at lower interest rates. Her rival in the Senate race, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, supports those two measures as well.

Harris also called for the continued crackdown on “predatory” for-profit colleges, and to allow immigrants who entered the country illegally to be eligible for federal grants and in-state tuition rates.

During the meeting, Harris did not provide details about how the federal government would fund the free-tuition program.

“It’s not about cost; it’s about investment. It’s about investing in our young people,” Harris said Tuesday.

According to the Harris campaign, the money to pay for the free-tuition program could be raised by closing tax loopholes used by corporations, ending subsidies to oil companies and reducing the nation’s production of nuclear weapons.

For a proposal by the Obama administration to make community colleges tuition-free, with the federal government paying for 75% and states picking up the remaining tab, cost estimates have run in the tens of billions of dollars.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, spurred by her former rival in the race, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has a similar proposal that would guarantee students from families with an annual income of $125,000 a year or less could attend a public college or university without paying tuition.

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Vowing to protect the lungs of Californians, Gov. Brown signs law cracking down on soot and methane

Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 1383, a law to impose new reductions on soot and other pollution, in an event in Long Beach.
(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Likening the challenge of climate change to that of the biblical flood that prompted Noah to build an ark, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Monday an aggressive new plan to tackle pollutants like methane and soot.

“When Noah wanted to build his ark, most of the people laughed at him,” said Brown during an event in Long Beach. “We’ve got to build our ark too, by stopping climate change, by stopping dangerous pollutants.”

Senate Bill 1383, introduced in the weeks after lawmakers traveled to Paris last year for the United Nations conference on climate change, sets new state goals for cutting so-called “short lived” climate pollution from methane, soot and hydrofluorocarbons.

Monday’s event was the third signing ceremony for bills related to climate change, with Brown having already approved a broad expansion of climate goals and new efforts aimed at helping low-income communities.

Emissions of soot pollutants, also known as black carbon, would be reduced by 50% from 2013 levels by 2030 under the new law. Methane emissions from dairy farms would be subject to a 40% reduction in the same time period, though that program wouldn’t fully take effect until 2024.

The law provides money for some of the effort from the state’s sale of greenhouse gas pollution credits, the cap-and-trade program.

“The negotiations were not easy by any means,” said state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), the new law’s author who called the impact of soot pollutants “devastating” on children in some urban communities.

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Sean Parker keeps giving to Prop. 64

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California lawmakers hope to expand fair-pay protections for women and people of color

State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) on the Senate floor after her wage equality bill was approved last year.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California lawmakers are already looking to expand equal-pay protections less than a year after they passed one of the strongest wage-equality laws in the country.

Supporters say the law is already prompting more open dialog about pay in the workplace and is spurring employers to change their practices to ensure they comply.

Two bills to expand on the new law currently sit on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. One would extend the law’s protections to people of color and another would broaden rules against gender-based pay discrimination.

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How did a subsidy boosting a politically connected energy company get to the governor’s desk? It’s complicated.

Some victories in the final days of the legislative session need momentum. Others need muscle. Bloom Energy had both.

Lawmakers agreed last month to extend a vital subsidy for the Silicon Valley company, one that makes its pricey power generators more attractive to buyers such as hospitals, data centers and mega-retailers. For Bloom and its industry cohorts, the win marked the end of a hard-fought slog against powerful adversaries including utilities and labor groups.

But rival companies and some lawmakers had a different perspective: Bloom — which has on its board of directors John Doerr, a prominent venture capitalist and Democratic Party mega-donor — owes its success to the eager backing of California’s top politicians and upending the public legislative process, affording it chances most other groups don’t get.

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California’s congressional Republicans are staying (mostly) out of the U.S. Senate race

U.S. Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) and Darrell Issa (R-Vista) participate in a bipartisan congressional fact-finding tour of several military bases and defense-industry businesses this month.
(Mark Boster/ Los Angeles Times)

In the U.S. Senate race between Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, about two-thirds of Democrats in the delegation have picked a side, but the first statewide race between two members of the same party has left most of their Republican colleagues on the sidelines ahead of November.

“I have no preference,” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) said. “They’re both bad.”

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) is the only Republican who has endorsed, saying earlier this month that he’ll back Sanchez.

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California Politics Podcast: Brown’s legacy may be intertwined with bills signed and vetoed

Two of Gov. Jerry Brown’s most closely watched actions on legislation -- signing an expansion of overtime for farmworkers and vetoing a tax break on the purchase of diapers and tampons -- could loom large in discussions to come about his political legacy.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we look at both recent decisions in light of the governor’s history with the farm labor movement and his reluctance to think big about an overhaul of the state’s tax system.

We also discuss some heated moments in the race for the U.S. Senate, and the last chapter in the saga of state Capitol corruption involving two brothers from a politically prominent Southern California family.

I’m joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York of the Grizzy Bear Project. You can sign up to receive free weekly episodes on iTunes, Soundcloud and other podcast services.

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Allegations fly as ad wars begin in Sacramento congressional campaign

Rep. Ami Bera’s campaign issued a new ad Friday morning that uses local news coverage of allegations of sexual assault against his opponent, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones.

The Sacramento Bee reported in July that in a court deposition 13 years ago, a female deputy at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department accused Jones of making unwanted sexual advances, groping and kissing her when he was her supervisor, an allegation he denied under oath.

In a statement, Jones called on Bera to pull the ad down.

“Congressman Bera’s increasingly desperate campaign has sunk to a new low by airing an ad containing allegations that are not only 13 years old, but are patently false. I have denied these allegations repeatedly, including during testimony under oath. I have never been the subject of any internal complaint of misconduct of any kind during my 27-year career with the Sheriff’s Department, and have consistently opened up my personnel records for review,” he said.

The deposition was part of a case involving four female deputies who say they were retaliated against by superiors at the Sheriff’s Department for complaining about unfair and discriminatory treatment. Jones led the department during the time referenced in many of the women’s claims.

The ad is running online and on television, according to Bera’s campaign.

The machinations of the race have been closely watched all cycle, especially after news broke last fall that Bera’s father, Babulal Bera, organized a money-laundering scheme that funneled at least $260,000 to his son’s campaigns in 2010 and 2012. He was sentenced last month to federal prison.

Earlier this week, Harmeet Dhillon, the vice chairman of the California Republican Party, asked federal investigators to reveal the names of donors used by Bera’s father to hide large contributions to his son’s campaigns.

Bera has said he had no knowledge of his father’s actions. In May, acting U.S. Atty. Philip Talbert said his office’s investigation didn’t find that Bera or his staff were aware of any wrongdoing by his father.

On Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced that the investigation has concluded and that no other charges will be filed.

Jones released his first ad earlier this month, which focused on illegal immigration.

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U.S. attorney’s office says no more charges coming in Babulal Bera money laundering case

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The U.S. attorney’s office announced Friday that it won’t pursue any additional charges in the campaign money laundering scandal that landed the father of U.S. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) in prison. The release also marks the end of the FBI and U.S. attorney’s investigation.

Republicans have made the case a central point in their campaign against Bera for California’s 7th Congressional District seat, asserting that the Sacramento congressman would have had to have some knowledge that his father, Babulal Bera, funneled at least $260,000 in illegal contributions into his campaign by reimbursing contributors.

The elder Bera was sentenced last month to one year and one day in prison. He had pleaded guilty in May.

“The investigation resulted in the conviction of Babulal Bera of La Palma, Calif., on charges of making excessive campaign contributions and making campaign contributions in the name of another,” says the statement released Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office for California’s eastern district. “No other charges will be sought in this matter. The United States will not comment further on this matter.”

Bera has said that he and his campaign were not aware of any wrongdoing, a statement backed up by the U.S. attorney’s office assertion last May that it had found no evidence that Bera or his staff were involved.

“I have never believed it to be appropriate for me to comment on how authorities handle their job, and I trust the decisions they made in the pursuit of this case. My father made a grave mistake, but moving forward I’m just focused on helping my parents get through the next year,” Bera said in a statement.

Bera’s opponent, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, isn’t letting go of the issue.

“Bera was not exonerated or cleared, the statement simply says there will be no more charges filed,” campaign spokesman Dave Gilliard said in a statement. “That Bera’s elderly immigrant father master-minded a very sophisticated, quarter-of-a-million-dollar political money laundering scheme is beyond rational belief.”

On Friday, California Republican Party Vice Chairman Harmeet Dhillon, who has asked federal investigators for the names of donors used to hide the large contributions and other evidence gathered in the case, questioned on Twitter if the U.S. attorney was told to not go after Bera.

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Two-thirds of Californians favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to revamp prison parole rules

Gov. Jerry Brown’s effort to offer early release to more prison inmates appears to have strong support among California voters, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

Sixty-six percent of the registered voters surveyed said they favor the goals of Brown’s Proposition 57, while only 26% said they oppose the plan.

The online poll, conducted earlier this month for The Times and USC by SurveyMonkey, is the first public poll to gauge support for the governor’s broad-reaching amendment to the state Constitution.

Proposition 57, which had to clear legal hurdles just to make the ballot, would offer new parole opportunities for prison inmates who have completed their initial sentence for a crime deemed to be nonviolent.

The chance for parole would be based on earning good behavior and education credits. Proposition 57 also would change juvenile justice rules by allowing judges to keep teenage defendants over the age of 14 out of adult courts.

Proposition 57 opponents, led by the California District Attorneys Assn., argue that the inmates that would be eligible for release would not all be “nonviolent.”

But opponents have not raised any significant money for the fall campaign, while Brown has collected more than $7.5 million to support the effort and worked to keep organized opposition to a minimum.

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In signing EpiPen bill, Gov. Jerry Brown blasts pharmaceutical company Mylan

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Friday to allow California businesses and public agencies to have on hand medicine designed to combat severe, emergency allergic reactions. But in signing the bill, he offered a stinging critique of a drug company’s recent dramatic price hikes for the medicine.

“State government cannot stop unconscionable price increases, but it can shed light on such rapacious corporate behavior,” Brown wrote in a signing message for the bill, AB 1386.

Brown wrote in the message that Mylan, the company that sells the EpiPen, sponsored AB 1386 and similar legislation across the country to expand its use at the same time it was increasing prices 500% to more than $600 for a pack of two and boosting the annual pay of its chief executive to $19 million.

Brown also sent a letter to U.S. congressional leaders urging them to address the issue.

“What is needed is swift and strong congressional action, because states have no jurisdiction to curb these wanton price increases,” Brown wrote in the letter.

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Ballot measure to extend income tax hike has strong support, poll finds

(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

A strong majority of California voters are in favor of a November ballot measure to extend income tax hikes on the state’s highest earners, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey.

The measure, Proposition 55, received 57% support among the 1,921 voters surveyed in the poll, with 35% opposed and 8% with no answer.

Under the measure, single filers earning more than $263,000 a year and joint filers reporting more than $526,000 would continue to pay higher income tax rates through 2030. It would extend rate increases first approved by voters four years ago.

The nonpartisan independent Legislative Analyst’s Office has estimated that Proposition 55 would boost state revenues by 4 billion to $9 billion each year, depending on the economy and stock market.

Proposition 55 has support across broad demographic groups, including those making more than $100,000 a year, according to the poll. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats favor it while more than 60% of Republicans are opposed.

Because the measure extends already existing tax rates, it’s easier to sell to voters, said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.

“Nobody likes paying taxes, but continuing to pay a tax that you’re already paying is not nearly as painful,” Schnur said. “And continuing a tax that somebody else is already paying is even easier.”

Supporters of the initiative, which include the California Teachers Assn., California Hospital Assn., Service Employees International Union and the California Medical Assn., have raised more than $45 million. By contrast, opponents have not reported raising funds.

The quiet campaign for Propiosition 55 is a stark contrast to the one in 2012, when the income tax hikes were first introduced and business groups spent heavily against it.

Typically, tax measures tend to lose support when going up against well-funded opposition, Schnur said, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Proposition. 55, which should bode well for its passage.

“In the absence of any significant opposition it’s difficult to see anything significant changing,” he said.

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California voters oppose ending state’s death penalty

Death row at San Quentin State Prison.
Death row at San Quentin State Prison.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

More than half of voters oppose a November ballot measure that would abolish the California death penalty, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey.

Proposition 62, which would replace capital punishment with life without parole, had 40% support among the 1,909 registered voters polled in September across the state. Nine percent had no answer.

It is one of two measures on the future of the death penalty that voters will weigh on Nov. 8. Both capital punishment initiatives would require current death row inmates to work and pay restitution to victims but take opposing approaches to what the measures both call a broken system.

Proposition 66 would keep the death penalty, limiting the number of petitions prisoners can file to challenge their convictions and sentences, and providing new deadlines intended to expedite appeals.

The poll only surveyed on Prop. 62, which has garnered some high-profile supporters, including California billionaire Tom Steyer and Former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

A campaign to defeat Prop. 62 and support Prop. 66 has wide support from law enforcement officials across California.

Jacob Hay, a spokesman for the campaign in favor of the measure, disputed the results, saying internal polling using the full ballot language — including its fiscal impact — showed Prop. 62 in the lead.

“Voters move quickly towards Prop. 62 when they learn about the $150 million in annual savings Prop. 62 brings and how it guarantees California never executes an innocent person,” Hay said. “Prop. 62 is the only real solution to a failed system that has cost $384 million per execution, delivers no crime prevention benefits, and is an empty promise to victims’ families.”

Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, a Prop. 66 supporter, disagreed. “This poll is consistent with what we see in other polls that show Californians support the death penalty but they want it fixed, and this is what Prop. 66 does,” she said.

An earlier version of this post incorrectly said more than 51% of voters oppose the proposition. It is 51% of voters.

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Measure to increase the state’s cigarette tax has a big lead, poll finds

More than six in 10 California voters support a proposal to increase cigarette taxes by $2 a pack, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey.

The tax increase measure, which will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 56, has 63% support among the 1,921 voters in the poll, with 32% opposed and 6% with no answer.

The tax hike has its strongest support with young voters alongside three-quarters of college-educated women, according to the poll. Almost half of Republicans also are in favor.

The poll, said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, shows broad backing for raising cigarette taxes in the abstract. But in the past, tobacco companies have defeated other ballot measures that aimed to hike cigarette taxes in California. So far in this campaign, opponents, chiefly tobacco companies Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, have contributed $56 million to defeat Proposition 56.

The anti-Proposition 56 campaign so far has focused on making the question before voters about something other than cigarette taxes.

“The opposition’s goal is to make the initiative about healthcare and education,” Schnur said. “This is how they’ve been successful in the past.”

Because of the opponents’ war chest, he expects the campaign to tighten.

“When you spend a lot of money to deliver a message, either for or against a message, more people hear that message,” Schnur said.

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New attack ad launches in Santa Barbara congressional race as outside spending grows by $1 million

The race to replace retiring Santa Barbara Congresswoman Lois Capps is already one of the most expensive in the country, with spending by candidates and outside groups totaling about $5.5 million.

Get ready for that number to go up by about $1 million before the month ends.

Outside groups affiliated with both parties are set to drop an additional $996,000 as the race between Republican Justin Fareed, a 28-year-old former Capitol Hill staffer, and Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal enters the home stretch.

First up is the House Majority PAC, a Democratic Super PAC that counts liberal mega-donors and unions as primary funders.

On Friday, the group launches a $328,000 broadcast ad in the Santa Barbara media market that criticizes Fareed for his support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and highlights Trump’s comments that women should face “some sort of punishment” if abortion is banned and they still seek the procedure.

Trump made the comment in March. Fareed told the Montecito Journal that he supported Trump’s candidacy just before the June primary.

“Fareed’s embrace of Trump, who would even punish women seeking an abortion, reveals his true character,” said House Majority PAC Executive Director Alixandria Lapp in a statement.

Meanwhile the National Republican Congressional Committee has placed a $668,750 broadcast ad buy that covers a time period between Sept. 27 and Nov. 8, according to a source tracking media buys.

The outside money adds more heat to a race that the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report recently said was more competitive than previously thought. They moved the race from the “safe for Democrats” to “Democrat favored.” Another race handicapper, the Cook Political Report, still ranks the seat as “likely Democrat.

Democrats have a six-point voter registration advantage in the district and down-ballot Democrats tend to do well there in presidential election years. President Obama beat former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney by 11 points in 2012.

Fareed had $293,492 in the bank while Carbajal had $541,664 in cash on hand, according to FEC records filed in July.

The race has already attracted significant spending by super PACs and nonprofit groups. About $828,000 was spent by two Democratic groups — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the House Majority PAC — on Carbajal’s behalf before Friday’s latest buy.

A Texas-based group called Citizen Super PAC, which has drawn funding in part from from groups like the Republican Super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund and Ohio Coal giant the Murray Energy Corp., has spent $310,000 to support Fareed.

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Gov. Brown signs law inspired by cases involving the rape of janitorial workers

Legislation based on a national investigative report detailing cases involving the rape of women working late-night janitorial shifts was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The new law, Assembly Bill 1978, requires janitors and their supervisors to complete sexual harassment training beginning in 2019.

The 2015 investigation, begun by California journalists and featured nationwide on PBS, found widespread instances of sexual assault on late and overnight shifts in the janitorial industry.

The governor’s top aide, Nancy McFadden, announced Brown’s decision on Twitter on Wednesday. Advocates for the new law had maintained a vigil at the state Capitol urging the governor to take action.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez attacks state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris over controversial company Herbalife

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez calls on her rival, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, to help hundreds of people who say they have been victimized by Herbalife’s predatory business practices. Sanchez says the company targets low-income, imm

Rep. Loretta Sanchez opened up a new line of attack against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris on Thursday, criticizing her opponent in California’s U.S. Senate race for not doing enough to protect consumers from what she called the “predatory practices” of nutritional company Herbalife.

In July, the Los Angeles company agreed to a $200-million settlement and to change its business practices after federal regulators found that the company falsely told people they could quickly get rich by selling its weight-loss shakes, teas and other supplements.

On top of the settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Herbalife also agreed to pay $3 million to settle an investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office.

Standing with activists who said they had spent thousands of dollars on the company’s products, Sanchez tore into Harris’ office for not taking public action against the company.

“She has been silent,” the Orange County congresswoman said during a news conference outside Harris’ offices in downtown Los Angeles. “She hasn’t taken a single step.”

Sanchez, who said Latino immigrants were specially targeted by the company, repeated her attacks in Spanish for the gathered news television cameras. Harris, she said, “ha hecho nada,” repeating the phrase three times for effect.

Sanchez’s campaign handed out copies of a letter that Sanchez and New Mexico Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in July 2013 asking for an investigation of Herbalife’s business practices.

Harris’ staff met with Herbalife critics in 2014. Her office at the time declined to say whether the attorney general was investigating the company.

On Thursday, David Beltran, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said “to protect their integrity, we can’t comment on potential investigations.”

The attorney general’s office confirmed it has been in talks with federal regulators to make sure relief comes to California victims, regardless of their immigration status.

Sanchez and her sister, U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Whittier), were among the federal lawmakers lobbied by billionaire investor William Ackman to call for federal regulators to investigate Herbalife, according to reports in the New York Times. Ackman’s campaign came as his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, bet more than $1 billion that Herbalife’s share price would fall by selling the company’s stock “short.”

Harris’ campaign dismissed the attacks by Sanchez, whose campaign has taken on a more pointed tone of late, slamming Harris for her actions while in office.

“It’s a shame that Loretta Sanchez continues to launch false, Trump-like smears against Kamala Harris, attacks that are especially phony given Sanchez’s history shilling for deep-pocketed special interests as a member of Congress,” said Nathan Click, spokesman for the Harris campaign.

According to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, support for Harris is at 30% while support for Sanchez is the same as the percentage of Californians who say they don’t plan to vote for either candidate: 16%.

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Gov. Brown approves new construction oversight in response to fatal 2015 balcony collapse in Berkeley

Construction crews remove pieces of a balcony that collapsed in Berkeley, exposing what appears to be dry-rot lumber. The collapse killed six people and injured seven a few blocks from UC Berkeley.
Construction crews remove pieces of a balcony that collapsed in Berkeley, exposing what appears to be dry-rot lumber. The collapse killed six people and injured seven a few blocks from UC Berkeley.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a bill providing more oversight to construction contractors in response to last year’s collapse of a balcony at a Berkeley apartment building that killed six students and injured seven others, many of them Irish exchange students.

The tragedy, which happened during a birthday party, was followed by news that the builder of the apartment complex had paid out $26.5 million to settle claims of construction defects on various other projects.

“This bill is an important step toward preventing another tragedy,” Brown said in a statement.

State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Leandro) authored SB 465.

“It ensures that the state agencies tasked with overseeing the construction industry are taking appropriate steps to identify bad actors and improve building standards,” Hill said.

The bill requires contractors convicted of crimes related to their work to report that information to the Contractors State License Board, which oversees the industry, Hill said.

The measure also mandates that the board determine whether receiving construction defect settlement information would be useful for them to protect the public. In addition, the bill requires the Building Standards Commission to look at improving safety requirements for balconies and other outdoor structures.

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Senate committee approves nomination of California judge to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-7 Thursday to send to the Senate the nomination of U.S. District Judge Lucy Haeran Koh for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This is a nominee with very strong, impeccable credentials, a distinguished track record as a prosecutor, private practitioner and a judge,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said before the vote. Feinstein and fellow California Sen. Barbara Boxer both support Koh’s nomination.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told the committee he opposes Koh’s nomination, in part because of a decision she made in a 2015 case involving the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Koh ruled that the government must get a warrant to obtain the day-to-day information a phone saves about its physical location, called cell site location information, which can create a near-continuous record of people’s movements. Shortly before Koh’s decision, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that a warrant was not needed for the government to get the information.

Cornyn said he’s worried Koh would be willing to ignore Congress’ intent or Supreme Court precedent “in favor of what the judge views as better policy.”

Feinstein responded that there was no direct precedent on the topic when Koh made her ruling and that the judge had considered the decisions of other courts, including related cases from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Koh has served as U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California since 2010. The Senate confirmed her then by a 90-0 vote.

Whether Koh and the 29 other judicial nominees whose nominations are pending will get a vote before the end of the year is unclear. On Wednesday, Cornyn told Politico that he doesn’t expect votes on judicial nominations before the general election, but some could happen in the weeks after, known as the “lame duck” session.

If confirmed, Koh would be the first female Korean American to serve as a federal appellate judge.

She would replace Judge Harry Pregerson, who at 92 announced plans to step down last summer.

Koh graduated from Harvard Law School in 1993 and worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Department of Justice before serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California from 1997 to 2000.

In private practice, she worked as a senior associate in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and as a partner in the Palo Alto office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the California Superior Court for Santa Clara County.

Koh is married to California Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar.

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California Republican Party leader wants FBI notes from the money laundering case against Rep. Ami Bera’s father

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The vice chairman of the California Republican Party wants federal investigators to reveal the names of donors used to hide large contributions to the campaign of Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) by his father.

Babulal Bera was sentenced last month to federal prison for organizing a money-laundering scheme that funneled at least $260,000 to his son’s campaigns in 2010 and 2012.

The request made on Tuesday by Harmeet Dhillon, the state GOP vice chairman, asks for “all names and documents” of the donors in question as well as any correspondence the FBI may have between the congressman and his son.

Dhillon’s request under the federal Freedom of Information Act cites “the need for transparency prior to the upcoming election.”

Bera, who faces a tough reelection battle on Nov. 8, has said he had no knowledge of his father’s efforts to illegally donate money. The Bera campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

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California will start regulating pet-boarding facilities

Dogs in the sleeping area at a Los Angeles pet boarding facility.
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Dog kennels and pet hotels will have to comply with new rules after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Wednesday to regulate animal-boarding facilities.

Such operations were not explicitly regulated under California law before. The new law requires facilities to meet minimum standards ranging from checking on animals once a day to providing elevated platforms in cat enclosures.

The law also requires facilities to be clean and meet safety standards, such as providing an isolation area for sick pets and installing fire alarms.

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After half a dozen attempts, House Democrats again call for a gun vote

Several House Democrats lined up in the House chamber Wednesday morning, one by one calling for a vote to expand background checks for gun buyers and to keep people on the FBI watchlist for purchasing guns.

Their requests were denied, as they have been the half a dozen or more times Democrats have tried to call for a vote.

Most of California’s 39 House Democrats participated in a sit-in on the issue in June, and several used live-streaming apps such as Periscope to film the proceedings, which is not allowed under House rules.

There has been talk for weeks about whether House Republican leaders will punish Democrats in some way for the 26-hour sit- in — and some Republican members are pushing for a strong response — but nothing official has taken place. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) told reporters last week that a punishment would come when it is ready.

Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Los Angeles) joined several Democrats who gave brief speeches calling for votes on the gun control bills Wednesday.

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Gov. Brown signs new laws to boost climate change spending in California’s low-income communities

Gov. Jerry Brown
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Hailing the measures as a way to advance California’s climate change programs through new investments and greater equity across the state, Gov. Jerry Brown signed four bills Wednesday to increase spending to combat greenhouse gas emissions and direct more of that money to low-income communities.

“We’re really transforming and spurring innovation,” Brown said. “And that means new jobs, new technologies and a better way of life.”

The event comes a week after the governor signed legislation at a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles to extend and strengthen the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets as well as give legislators more say over how that will happen.

Wednesday’s event was in Fresno, the largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, where the state hopes to target much of the new spending as a way to help poorer communities disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change.

“We will be closing the green divide that we see between the coast and the valley,” said Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Echo Park), who authored one of the bills.

Under the measures signed Wednesday, the state will spend $900 million generated by its cap-and-trade program, a key plank in the state’s climate change efforts that forces polluters pay to release emissions. The money will fund the state’s popular electric-car rebates and transit, rail and park projects, among other programs.

The other bills Brown signed will determine how some of the money is spent. Electric-car rebates will now be available only to those making $150,000 a year or less. Another measure would increase the percentage of climate-related dollars going toward low-income communities. A third would create and fund a new program for disadvantaged communities to develop local efforts to combat climate change, such as more low-income housing and pedestrian walkways.

All of the measures were advanced this year as many lawmakers representing low-income communities of color made themselves a force in the state’s climate change debate after complaints that existing policies weren’t doing enough to benefit the districts they represent.

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California Democrats urge President Obama to OK expanding Covered California to people in country illegally

Californians gathered at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to urge President Obama to approve a waiver that would allow immigrants in the country illegally to buy unsubsidized health insurance in California through the exchange created by the Affordable Ca

California will soon be the first state in the nation to ask the federal government to allow immigrants in the country illegally to purchase health insurance through a state exchange. Democrats from the Golden State gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to urge President Obama to approve the request quickly.

The state has to formally request federal permission for immigrants to pay for coverage through Covered California by submitting a waiver to the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law prohibits people not in the country legally from buying insurance through Covered California.

The plans would not be subsidized by the state or federal government.

State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who sponsored the bill in Sacramento, is in Washington to meet with federal officials, including Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation, to drum up support for the waiver application.

He said the change is particularly important for mixed-status families, many of whom won’t sign up for coverage if it doesn’t apply to everyone.

“We see time and time again, when you can’t enroll the entire family, the entire family just leaves without enrolling anyone,” Lara said.

The Department of Health has 180 days to make a decision once it gets the application later this month. Lara said he is unsure what the government will do.

Last year, the Legislature approved a Lara measure extending public healthcare to some 170,000 children who are in the country illegally, at a cost of $40 million. He said the ultimate goal is to extend access through the insurance exchange to all immigrants, not just those who can afford to pay.

Most of the Democrats in California’s congressional delegation signed a letter to Health and Human Services Director Sylvia Burwell and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urging them to approve the waiver.

California Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren said she thinks about her daughter’s pregnancy, and what it would mean if she caught a disease or illness from someone because they didn’t have access to healthcare.

“If she’s exposed to measles, you don’t care whether the person with measles has their papers or not,” she said. “You want everybody to be healthy, you want everybody to be vaccinated.”

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Downey) questioned the wisdom of not letting people who can afford insurance buy it.

“It is going to cost the taxpayers nothing, not one penny,” she said, calling it the “moral and ethical thing to do.”

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California billionaire Tom Steyer announces support for November ballot measure to abolish death penalty

(AFP/Getty Images)

California billionaire Tom Steyer on Wednesday threw his support behind a November ballot measure that would repeal the death penalty in the state.

Steyer, a potential gubernatorial candidate and the president of NextGen Climate, said California had spent $5 billion to put 13 people to death since 1978 — or $384 million per execution.

“The death penalty is an expensive and failed policy that California can no longer afford,” Steyer said in a statement. “Proposition 62 will save Californians $150 million a year, provide victims with swift and certain justice, and make sure no innocent person is mistakenly executed by the state.”

Proposition 62 would replace capital punishment in California for first-degree murder with life in prison without the possibility of parole. It is one of two competing measures on the future of the death penalty on the Nov 8 ballot.

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Frustrated transportation groups urge the Legislature to come back in a lame-duck session

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Saying that “it is time to stop ignoring the transportation needs of our state,” a coalition of more than four dozen economic and local government groups urged state lawmakers on Wednesday to restart talks on a transportation funding agreement before the end of November.

“Everyone in California seems to recognize that our transportation system is in terrible shape and the cost of repairs are going up each year,” said the letter, signed by 64 representatives of business, labor and government groups.

“Leaders in both parties and the governor must work together to develop a consensus approach that will provide additional funding, protect and dedicate those dollars for transportation improvements and include appropriate reforms so the money is spent in an accountable and efficient manner.”

Gov. Jerry Brown convened special legislative sessions in 2015 on healthcare and transportation funding needs, and a broad agreement on the healthcare portion of the task was struck earlier this year.

Transportation negotiations, though, have failed to resolve the key sticking point: A supermajority vote is needed in both the Assembly and Senate to increase the state’s gasoline tax, a key component of plans from Brown and Democrats.

Legislative Democrats put forward a $7.4-billion proposal earlier this month that would boost the gas tax by 17 cents a gallon. That’s roughly twice the size of an earlier plan pitched by Brown.

But even if those plans could pass muster with rank-and-file Democrats, Republican legislators also would have to cast at least a few votes for the tax increase. Assembly Republicans offered their own plan in 2015 that relies on redirecting truck weight fees and a sizeable chunk of proceeds from the auction of greenhouse gas pollution credits.

While the Legislature adjourned for the year on Aug. 31, the state constitution sets the official expiration of terms on Nov. 30. That would conceivably give even termed-out lawmakers about three weeks after election day, though lame-duck sessions in Sacramento are extremely rare.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) told The Times editorial board last week that he’s “willing to listen” to new transportation ideas and said he’s looked at both the idea of both a lame-duck session and asking newly sworn-in legislators to take action on a transportation proposal in December.

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Hillary Clinton tweets her support after Gov. Brown signs farmworker overtime legislation

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday voiced her support for California on Twitter after Gov. Jerry Brown signed historic legislation to expand overtime pay for hundreds of thousands of farmworkers across the state.

The new rules, to be phased in over the next four years starting in 2019, will eventually allow employees on farms and ranches across the state to earn overtime compensation after eight hours of work in a day or 40 in a week.

Leaders of the United Farm Workers of America have hailed Brown’s decision as a victory in a 80-year quest to establish broad workplace rights and protections for a vulnerable workforce made up largely of Latino immigrants. But farmers and ranchers say the measures will backfire on workers, as farming businesses adjust schedules and cut employee hours to avoid the additional costs.

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On eve of Hispanic Heritage Month, California congressman proposes American Latino Museum for third time

American Latinos aren’t reflected in the country’s most well known museums, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra said Tuesday. He’s trying to change that.

Becerra (D-Los Angeles), joined by Rep. Ileana Ros-Leighten (R-Fla.), reintroduced a bill Tuesday — they’ve now sponsored it three times — to create a National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) sponsored the Senate version.

“It’s bad enough that we’re missing from television, we’re missing from the books that we read in school, that in so many ways we’re missing from the things that people in America see day to day,” Becerra said. “The more that we give people a chance to see the full depth and dimension of what it means to be an American, I think the better off we all are.”

The bill’s reintroduction comes days before the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month Thursday and the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Sept. 24.

Becerra said in an interview in his Capitol Hill office that he’s hoping the two events might provide a route forward for the bill this time, despite the limited number of bills that usually pass so close to an election.

“It’s always been a bipartisan bill, it’s just a matter of getting to the magic number of 218 [votes],” Becerra said. He said some members don’t understand why the museum is needed.

The proposed museum would be inside the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, which reopened as a special events space this year after extensive renovation. The bill would start the planning process. But that doesn’t mean the museum would open quickly: The African American museum was approved in 2003 and opens next week.

It would be built with a combination of federal and private funds, as other museums and memorials on the Mall have been.

As he spoke about why he thinks the museum is needed, Becerra got up from his desk and pulled a framed photo of his parents with President Clinton from a cabinet.

His father, a former construction worker, told Becerra stories about what it was like to live somewhere where he wasn’t wanted. His mother was an immigrant from Mexico. Neither thought they’d ever meet the president, he said.

“A lot of people wouldn’t know that there are Americans of Latino descent who couldn’t walk into restaurants simply because of a sign that said ‘no dogs or Mexicans allowed.’ It’s important for us to know our history,” he said. “When I think about my parents, I think about all those people whose story has not being told.”

The National Mall, lined with more than a dozen Smithsonian Museums dedicated to art and culture, is a reflection to the world of what it means to be an American, Becerra said. He serves on the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents.

“You can still go to all of those museums and walk out not knowing about all Americans very well,” Becerra said.

The Smithsonian’s Task Force on Latino Issues said as much in its 1994 report titled “Willful Neglect,” saying that “the Smithsonian Institution almost entirely excludes and ignores the Latino population of the United States.”

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California bans orca captivity and breeding following SeaWorld’s decision to end its program

Sea World announced it would stop breeding orcas in March.
(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday that will outlaw orca breeding and captivity programs like the one formerly run by SeaWorld theme parks.

California parks will also be banned from featuring the marine mammals, known as killer whales, in performances for entertainment purposes. Starting in June next year, orcas in captivity can be used for “educational presentations” only.

The law, authored by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), makes exceptions for scientific and educational institutions holding orcas for research or rehabilitation.

SeaWorld San Diego, the park featured in the critical 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” announced in March that it would stop breeding orcas and end theatrical shows.

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Final step in $2-billion plan for homeless housing signed by Gov. Brown

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

State officials received the green light Tuesday for a $2-billion bond project designed to provide new housing for homeless Californians suffering from mental illness.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation allowing the sale of the bonds that will finance the plan, a version of which was first unveiled by Democrats in the state Senate earlier this year. Tuesday’s action marks the final chapter in a deal reached with Brown during budget talks in June.

The bonds will be repaid with money collected by a tax on incomes of $1 million or more, money earmarked for mental health services.

Supporters see the new program as a way to speed up help for those in need and living on the street across the state.

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California congressman calls for hearing after visiting pipeline protesters in North Dakota

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and supporters confront bulldozers working on the Dakota Access Pipeline in an effort to make them stop.
(Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images)

After traveling to North Dakota to see how a proposed oil pipeline might affect a local Sioux tribe, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) is asking for a congressional hearing to determine whether the Standing Rock Sioux were properly consulted before the Army Corps of Engineers approved permits for the project.

The 1,168-mile-long Dakota Access Pipeline would transport crude oil from North Dakota to refineries in Illinois. The pipeline would cross the Missouri River within a half-mile of the tribe’s reservation and pass through a burial ground and sacred site. It has drawn widespread condemnation from many Native Americans, including Californians who have traveled to North Dakota to join the protest to keep the project from moving forward as tribal officials challenge the Army Corps’ permits in court.

“If this pipeline was too much of a contamination risk for clean waters in the northern route, why would they consider it OK now to put it near Native Americans and their waterways?” Ruiz said in an interview at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Ruiz, who is the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee’s Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee, traveled to the reservation and protesters’ campsite Saturday to see how close the pipeline is to the water and a burial ground.

He and House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called for a hearing by the subcommittee in a letter to its chairman Tuesday.

“The tribes have a right to self determination, and a say in policy that can affect their land, their life and their sacred sites,” Ruiz said. “Tribes throughout the country are united under this issue because it goes to the historical trauma that they have faced repeatedly with the lack of federal agencies going through due process with tribes and respecting their sovereignty.”

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Californians protest at Tanzanian Embassy over arrest, $62,000 in fines for transporting giraffe bone

Jon and Linda Grant of Foster City joined Rep. Jackie Speier at the Tanzanian Embassy to protest the Ambassador’s refusal to meet with them about their arrest in the country last winter.

Foster City residents Jon and Linda Grant stood outside the Tanzanian Embassy in Washington on Tuesday, warning others of their experience in the country and pleading with the Tanzanian ambassador to meet with them.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) and a handful of staffers joined the Grants, waving signs and speaking to passersby.

Their plight began with the purchase of an unusual souvenir at a game reserve in South Africa last winter, an etched giraffe bone. They were assured it was legal to purchase and had no trouble entering the next country on their trip, Tanzania.

But when the couple went through security to leave, they were detained and sent to a Tanzanian jail. Their passports and belongings were seized. The charge was poaching: They were accused of killing the country’s national animal.

It took the intervention of Speier and the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania before the charges were reduced to exporting a trophy without a permit and the retirees were allowed to come home. In total, the experience cost them $62,000 in fines, court fees and bribes. They even had to pay someone to fly from the South African souvenir shop with the original receipt.

When Speier and the couple tried to enter the embassy Tuesday, the door was barred.

“I’ve had to intercede on behalf of constituents in foreign countries before, but nothing like this,” Speier said. “This really smacks of all kinds of illegal graft and bribery, and I think it’s a warning to all American tourists: Beware.”

Speier has asked more than 30 times for a meeting with the Tanzanian ambassador since early April, she said.

“I don’t want another American tourist to be subject to this,” Speier said. “What a nightmare.”

The Grants also were scheduled to meet with State Department officials and House Foreign Affairs Committee staff while in Washington.

While the arrest occurred during a personal vacation, the couple have spent decades traveling around the world doing charity work, including a dozen trips to African countries to drop off wheelchairs or build wells or schools through the Foster City Rotary Club.

“We’ve given up travel. We’ll never travel to Africa again,” Jon Grant said. “It took the spark out of us to do that anymore.”

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Gov. Brown vetoes bill that would have cut taxes on tampons and diapers

Consumers in California will still pay sales taxes on diapers and tampons after Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday vetoed a series of bills that would have created or expanded tax breaks, citing their costs.

“Tax breaks are the same as new spending,” Brown said in his veto message for the bills.

This year, governors in states including Illinois and New York signed legislation to repeal sales taxes on tampons through a nationwide campaign that has argued the tax penalizes women because other necessities are tax-free.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), author of the tampon tax bill, tweeted a harsh criticism of the governor:

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), author of the diaper tax bill, said in a statement that she will continue to push for sales tax reforms.

“We knew from the beginning that making the case for addressing diaper need would be a long journey, and today’s disappointing setback just means we’ll be back to try again,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “We will continue working to achieve sales tax reform and bridge the diaper gap that forces too many of California’s working families to struggle.”

Brown has yet to decide on a second bill from Gonzalez that would have provided a $50-a-month stipend to purchase diapers for parents enrolled in the CalWORKs state welfare program.

Repealing the sales tax would have cost state and local governments $35 million annually, according to the state Senate Appropriations Committee. The tampon tax repeal would have cost $20 million this year, according to the state Board of Equalization.

Both the diaper and tampon sales tax repeals unanimously passed the Legislature last month.

All told, the seven tax breaks would have cost the state about $300 million, according to Brown. They also included an exemption for sales taxes at museum displays and vehicle fuel taxes.

Brown aide Nancy McFadden tweeted that the measures should have been addressed during the state budget cycle.

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Tobacco tax supporters release new television ad in one of state’s most expensive campaigns

One of the most expensive ballot measures going before voters in November is starting to heat up.

Backers of Proposition 56, which would raise the state’s cigarette tax by $2 a pack, released a new television advertisement Tuesday, focusing on tobacco’s effects on children.

You can view the ad here:

“Big tobacco’s motives are to keep tobacco prices down so that their customers, especially kids, will continue to buy their products,” said Yes on 56 campaign spokesman Mike Roth.

Roth said the ad will begin airing on statewide television today.

Supporters of the tobacco tax hike include the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the California State PTA, the American Heart Assn. and billionaire investor and potential gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer. They have raised more than $15 million so far.

Opponents, chiefly tobacco companies Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, have contributed $56 million to defeat the measure. The No on 56 campaign unveiled its first television ad last month.

Staff writer Sophia Bollag contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

11:26 a.m.: This post has been corrected to reflect Prop. 56 is not the most expensive measure so far on November’s ballot.

This post was originally published at 9:28 a.m.

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Democrat challenging Rep. Darrell Issa was accused of threatening his ex-wife, according to report

Democrat Douglas Applegate, a retired U.S. Marine colonel challenging Rep. Darrell Issa’s reelection bid, was accused of harassing and threatening his ex-wife during their divorce proceedings and child custody battle more than 10 years ago, court records show.

An Orange County Superior Court judge granted Applegate’s ex-wife, Priscilla Greco, two temporary restraining orders against her ex-husband in 2002 and 2004.

Court records show Greco testified that while she and Applegate were separated, he once looked in at her through her window when she was getting dressed. She also accused him of stalking and verbally abusing her.

The Issa campaign was quick to pounce on the incident, first reported by Politico Tuesday, releasing a statement highlighting what they called the “disturbing” details of the allegations.

Applegate, a San Clemente attorney who on Monday was endorsed by California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, issued a statement Tuesday accusing the Issa campaign of a “desperate and politically motivated attack.”

“I love my family and couldn’t be more proud of the children I’ve raised with Priscilla. This kind of dirty personal attack is exactly what’s wrong with politics and voters deserve better,” Applegate said. “As someone who has worked with victims of domestic violence, I’m appalled that Congressman Issa would sink so low but unfortunately I’m not surprised.”

The Applegate campaign also released a statement from his ex-wife, who said she supports her former husband’s bid for Congress and will be voting for him in November. When contacted by The Times, Greco said she had no further comment.

“I’m disappointed that someone is making disrespectful and uninformed personal attacks against our family,” she said in the statement. “Doug and I are parents first, and we raised two amazing children together.”

The Applegate campaign also released a video of his two children, 20-year-old son Loren and 17-year-old daughter Renee, who defended their father and said he was a “great dad who’s always been there for us.”

Applegate’s campaign manager, Robert Dempsey, said the allegations against the candidate came during a contentious divorce and that the court never found him responsible for any wrongdoing.

When the temporary restraining orders were issued, Applegate complied with a court order and turned his two handguns over to authorities. The firearms were later returned, Dempsey said.

Court records show that Applegate was also arrested for driving under the influence in 1999. He received a sentence of five years probation and the charges were dismissed in 2005.

Issa, an eight-term Republican congressman from Vista, also had brushes with the law when he was a young man. He has been charged twice with car theft, although both cases were later dismissed. He was charged twice with carrying a concealed weapon.

On Jan. 16, 1973, Issa pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possession of an unregistered gun. A magistrate fined him $100, put him on probation and ordered him to pay $107 in court costs. At the time, Issa was a student at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich.

By day’s end, the California Democratic Party and National Republican Congressional Committee joined the fray, issuing dueling statements about the allegations and Issa’s political record.

Issa outspent Applegate by more than $700,000 in the June primary, but Applegate still nabbed 45.5% of the vote in the 49th Congressional District race, while Issa finished with 50.8%.

Last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it would provide support for Applegate’s general election campaign.

Updated at 5:16 p.m. with additional details from court documents and a video response from the Applegate campaign.

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What would Proposition 59 actually do about Citizens United and money in elections?

A brief timeline of the history of Citizens United. 

California voters will get to weigh in on the flood of money in politics this November through a ballot proposition that supporters say sends a strong message and detractors say does nothing much at all.

Here is a look at what the proposition would do, and what it wouldn’t do, about the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed elections to become dramatically more expensive.

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Gov. Brown makes overtime pay for nannies and other caregivers a permanent part of California law

(Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown removed temporary provisions on Monday for overtime for nannies and other domestic workers, thus ensuring additional pay would continue for more than nine hours of work in a single day or 45 hours in a week.

The original 2013 law signed by Brown was set to expire on Jan. 1. The new law, Senate Bill 1015 by state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), will keep those provisions in place.

“This critically important legislation will allow domestic workers to continue receiving overtime now and into the future,” Leyva said in a written statement.

Brown’s signature on the bill came at the same time as news of his decision to also sign a controversial bill expanding overtime pay rules for farmworkers.

Nancy McFadden, the governor’s top advisor, tweeted praise for both bills on Monday afternoon.

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Rep. Steve Knight hit with attack ad in Los Angeles County congressional race

The attack ads began Monday in one of the state’s most closely watched congressional races as Democrat Bryan Caforio’s campaign launched a TV spot criticizing Republican Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster) over his opposition to abortion.

The ad features a newspaper headline from when House Republicans voted last September to defund Planned Parenthood. It then cuts to a clip of Knight saying: “I am pro-life. I don’t make exception.”

Some Republicans oppose abortion but make exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when a mother’s life is at risk. Not Knight, who represents the 25th Congressional District stretching from the Antelope Valley west to Santa Clarita and Simi Valley.

“I am a pro-life candidate. I make no exception. I don’t have any of those 3 that a lot of my other Republicans have,” he said in an interview in December.

Knight has emphasized his antiabortion stance since he won the seat in 2014. That race pitted Knight against fellow Republican and former state legislator Tony Strickland.

This time Knight is going up against Caforio, an attorney and first time candidate who moved to the district shortly before declaring his run last fall.

Caforio’s campaign would not disclose the size of the ad buy but said the spot will air on cable television in the Los Angeles media market and also run as part of “a targeted digital buy.” His campaign launched its first ad, a biographical short, at the end of August.

Knight responded to the ad in a statement.

“I’m a father of two and my wife is a NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] nurse who sees every day just how precious and fragile life is,” he said. “I am pro life, and a tireless advocate for a range of women’s health issues, like protecting pregnant women from the Zika virus and supporting women in the military who have suffered sexual trauma, and I will continue to fight for these priorities in Congress.”

The attacks are likely to continue: national Democrats have identified Knight’s seat as a prime pickup opportunity that could move them closer to reclaiming a majority in the House.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report called Knight “the most vulnerable incumbent in California” this summer when the number of registered voters identifying as Democrats in the district surpassed those belonging to the Republican Party.

There were 14,000 more registered Republican voters than Democrats in the district in 2012. That year, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the district by two percentage points.

Democrats now have a 4,564 voter advantage among registered voters — a single percentage point lead — while about a fifth of voters in the district have no party preference, according to the secretary of state.

Caforio has been hustling for dollars, including using a trip by vice presidential pick Mike Pence to the district to raise funds.

The campaign said he raised about $19,000 off the visit.

Knight’s campaign had $630,935 in the bank as of June 30. Caforio had $137,667.

6:00 p.m.: This post was updated with a response from the Knight campaign.

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House OKs leases at VA campus in West L.A., clearing the way for more homeless vet housing

The House of Representatives voted Monday to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to again offer leases on its West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus, authority it needs before homes for disabled, female and homeless veterans can be built there.

The VA announced plans in January to develop the long-neglected 387-acre campus, the largest open parcel on the Westside. The development is part of the settlement of a lawsuit over substandard care of homeless veterans.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), along with former Rep. Henry Waxman, passed legislation suspending the VA’s leasing authority in 2007 after years of mismanagement, and Congress has to approve a bill that restores it before the project can move forward. The leases will allow private companies to offer veterans such services as daycare, workforce training and healthcare on the grounds.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) co-sponsored H.R. 5936, the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016, which passed the House by voice vote Monday.

“Today represents a giant leap forward in restoring the property to the Old Soldiers’ Home it was always intended to be,” Lieu said in a statement.

Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) are co-sponsoring the companion bill in the Senate, which is part of a larger measure for veterans that has yet to come up for a vote.

Feinstein said in a statement that she is working with the leaders of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to move the bill as quickly as possible.

“Los Angeles has the highest number of veterans and homeless veterans in the country and we need to get this bill done,” she said.

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Gov. Jerry Brown signs historic legislation granting expanded overtime pay to farmworkers

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) last month speaks in support of the legislation expanding overtime pay for farmworkers. He is flanked by Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers, on the left, and by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), the author of the legislation, on the right.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

With little fanfare, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed historic legislation that would expand overtime pay for California farmworkers.

Assembly Bill 1066, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez (D-San Diego), calls for a phase-in of new overtime rules over four years beginning in 2019.

It would lower the current 10-hour-day threshold for overtime by half an hour each year until it reaches the standard eight-hour day by 2022. It also would phase in a 40-hour standard workweek for the first time. The governor would be able to suspend any part of the process for a year depending on economic conditions.

The decision followed intense showdowns on the floor of the state Assembly, where a similar proposal died in June a few votes short of the majority it needed to pass.

“We are letting the signature speak for itself,” said a spokesperson for Brown.

The United Farm Workers of America, which sponsored the bill, says it addresses an injustice first inflicted on farmworkers nearly eight decades ago. In a critique similar to those used by opponents of increasing the minimum wage, opponents argued it could backfire on farmworkers, as it saddles farmers and growers with higher costs and could force them to limit work hours and hire more employees.

Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers union, said he was grateful to the lawmakers who voted for the legislation and to Brown for “making a tough decision like this and changing the course of history.”

AB 1066 “would give license to farmworkers in other states fighting for the same thing,” Rodriguez said. “I’m crying tears of joy after so many years that farmworkers have worked so hard to win a significant victory like this that will dramatically change their lives.”

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage and overtime standards, but excluded all agricultural workers, the majority of whom at the time were African American.

In California, the Legislature exempted farmworkers from earning overtime pay in 1941. That prohibition remained unchanged until 1976, when the state Industrial Welfare Commission ordered overtime pay for farmworkers after 10 hours on the job on any single day and 60 hours in a week. Hourly workers in other jobs across the state receive overtime after eight hours a day and 40 hours a week.

There have been fights over the issue twice before in recent years. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar overtime bill in 2010. Another bill in 2012 passed through both houses of the Legislature, but was killed when it came back to the Assembly for a final vote.

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Medal of Valor awarded to police officers who responded to San Bernardino terrorist attack

San Bernardino police Officer Brian Olvera, posing with his family, was one of eight officers awarded the Medal of Valor by Gov. Jerry Brown, center, and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, second from left.
(Sophia Bollag / Los Angeles Times)

Six officers who responded to the San Bernardino shooting massacre in December were among those awarded the Medal of Valor on Monday.

Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris presented the medals, the highest honor California awards to public safety officials, to eight officers in a ceremony at the Capitol.

“You and your families give so much to your state and your country,” Harris, who is running for U.S. Senate, told the officers at the ceremony. “Through their sacrifice, their courage and their bravery, [the officers] did everything that was important and needed to be done for homeland security.”

Redlands police Officer Joseph Aguilar; San Bernardino police Officers Brian Olvera and Nicholas Koahou; and Deputy Bruce Southworth and Cpls. Rafael Ixco and Chad Johnson of the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department were all honored for their roles in a firefight with the San Bernardino shooters.

After the terrorist attack in December at a San Bernardino government building that left 14 dead and 22 wounded, the two shooters fled the scene in an SUV. Officers cornered the car on a residential street, where a shootout ensued that left both assailants dead and two officers wounded.

California Highway Patrol Officer Brett Peters was also honored for saving a man who tried to jump off an overpass in Oakland. San Diego firefighter Alexander Wallbrett was awarded a medal for rushing to defend a colleague from a knife-wielding assailant.

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Why the governor’s big housing plan for California failed

Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to deal with the state’s housing affordability crisis crashed and burned this year.

Brown wanted to streamline local housing regulations so that it would be easier for developers to build if they reserved a portion of their projects for low-income residents.

But it failed because a large collection of interests, local governments, labor unions, environmentalists and renters among them, all had something to lose from the measure.

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Senate leader and lawmakers head to Mexico City for economic meetings

(David Butow / For The Times)

California’s Senate leader is leading a group of 13 state legislators on a weeklong trip to Mexico City to discuss the economy, environmental issues and more.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and the group of lawmakers plan to meet with top Mexican officials over the next six days, the second consecutive year for the trip.

Lawmakers, who wrapped up their work in Sacramento for the year at the end of last month, also plan to participate in a symposium with the University of California to encourage study abroad opportunities between students in Mexico and California.

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More than 235,000 votes didn’t count in June’s U.S. Senate race, and some think ballot designs are to blame

A bumper crop of U.S. Senate candidates and the resulting challenge in designing ballots may be why more than 235,000 California voters had their selections for the race rejected in June.

“Our research shows a clear problem with complicated ballot designs,” said Philip Muller, an election data analyst whose firm creates online voter guides.

Muller and partner Davit Avagyan sorted through election results from all but six California counties to see how many “over-votes” were cast in the U.S. Senate race -- ballots on which voters chose two or more candidates.

Because elections officials have no way of knowing which of those candidates was the preferred choice, those Senate votes weren’t counted.

Election officials warned this past spring of potential confusion with a ballot listing 34 candidates who were in the race to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer. Under the state’s top-two primary rules, only Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez advanced to the Nov. 8 general election.

A variety of ballot designs were used by counties, some with more over-vote totals than others. The data analysts concluded that some of the most significant problems happened in counties that used double columns of Senate candidates on two successive ballot pages, with voters presumably thinking they were voting on more than race.

“The more complicated the design, the more likely voters were to over-vote, which caused their votes to be disqualified,” Avagyan said.

Though the missing votes would not have changed the outcome -- Harris bested Sanchez by almost 1.6 million votes in the June primary -- the analysis found that the Senate race stood alone in the number of over-voted ballots.

Elections officials worked hard to avoid the problem once the long list of candidates became final.

“County registrars saw this as an issue early on in the primary and jumped on it from a design standpoint and voter education priority,” said Dean Logan, registrar of voters in Los Angeles County and president of the state association of elections officers.

But even with new voting machines envisioned, many that would allow more flexible ballot designs, the popularity of voting by mail means the problem could persist.

“The reality is, however, that vote-by-mail continues to be a primary choice for voters in California and the design and layout options are limited,” Logan said. “Voter education and outreach remains critical.”

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Should the California Coastal National Monument be expanded?

Lawmakers hoping to add land to the California Coastal National Monument will host the director of the federal Bureau of Land Management next week as he visits proposed additions and meets with locals about the idea.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Reps. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), Anna Eshoo (D-Menlo Park) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) will shepherd the director, Neil Kornze, around the sites on Sept. 16. Kornze plans to meet with locals at 2 p.m. at Cambria Veterans Hall in Cambria.

The members introduced the California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act earlier this year. It would add five coastal sites: 440 acres at Lost Coast Headlands, 13 acres at Trinidad Head, 8 acres at Lighthouse Ranch in Humboldt County, 5,780 acres from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies in Santa Cruz County and 20 acres from Piedras Blancas in San Luis Obispo County. It also would include some small rocks and islands off the coast of Orange County.

The monument runs the length of California, protecting a zone that extends 12 miles out to sea and wildlife such as seals, sea lions and seabirds. Land and off-shore areas have been regularly added to the monument since it was created in 2000.

In February, Boxer asked President Obama to expand the monument with his authority under the Antiquities Act, which he has previously used. It’s not clear if he’ll act on the request.

Time is ticking for Capps and Boxer to resolve the issue, because both will leave Congress in January.

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Taxpayers will shell out almost $15 million for California’s biggest election guide ever

(John Myers/Los Angeles Times)

At more than half a pound in weight and 224 pages, California’s fall voter guide will make for a hefty addition to mailboxes across the state.

It also appears to be the longest and most costly guide in state election history.

While the fact that the Nov. 8 ballot features 17 propositions is the real reason for the record-setting nature of the guide, the proposed laws themselves are longer than those in years past.

Proposition 64, the effort to legalize marijuana, takes up almost 33 pages.

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California Politics Podcast: A big gap remains in the U.S. Senate race showdown

The date on the calendar may have changed, but polling suggests that the status of the U.S. Senate race in California remains where it was when the summer began: Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is in the driver’s seat.

On this week’s podcast, we discuss the race and the challenges for Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

We also discuss three of the Nov. 8 ballot propositions: One to extend income tax rates on the state’s high-income earners, and two related to the fate of the death penalty in California.

I’m joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News.

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Gov. Brown signs law that cracks down on fake celebrity autographs

Mark Hamill
(Justin Tallis/Getty Images)

An autographed collectible sold in California will need to come with a certificate that verifies it’s not a forgery under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown signed the bill Friday to crack down on selling items with fake celebrity signatures.

The proposal won the support of actor Mark Hamill earlier this year.

Best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars” films, Hamill often uses his Twitter account to sort out whether something has his genuine signature on it or has been forged.

AB 1570, by Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar), expands consumer protections that currently are limited to fake signatures on sports memorabilia.

The new law will take effect in January.

“In a way, it seems futile to try and counter what is clearly a very lucrative market,” Hamill told The Times earlier this year. “But we can’t let them get away with it.”

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Millionaire gives to group opposing the legalizing of pot in California

Marijuana plants fill a grow room in the University of Mississippi research lab, the only such site under contract with the federal government.
Marijuana plants fill a grow room in the University of Mississippi research lab, the only such site under contract with the federal government.
(Brandon Dill / For The Times)

In a sign that California’s pot initiative is getting national attention, a Pennsylvania millionaire has contributed $1.3 million to a nonprofit group that is raising money to oppose Proposition 64 on the November ballot.

The initiative would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults in California.

The contribution by retiree Julie Schauer was provided in April, May, June and July to the Smart Approaches to Marijuana ACTION, INC./NO ON PROP 64 committee.

Later in the day, supporters of Proposition 64 filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, alleging much of the money was reported late.

However, Kevin Sabet, a co-founder of SAM Action, said all the money will not go to fighting Proposition 64, because the Virginia-based group also has educational programs and campaigns in other states.

So far, Schauer’s money has made up the bulk of $64,000 that has gone to a separate committee opposing Proposition 64, which has raised less than $300,000.

Supporters, including former Facebook president Sean Parker, have put up $6 million.

Schauer, who accessed the donation from a family trust, has been active in opposing marijuana legalization in the country.

In a posting on the site DISQUS, Schauer wrote: “We are against (a) MARIJUANA INDUSTRY which promotes it as harmless, while 455,000 people were hospitalized in emergency rooms for panic attacks, paranoia and psychosis related to marijuana consumption.”

Updated at 4:45 pm: to reflect that supporters of Proposition 64 filed a complaint that the money was reported late.

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Happy Birthday California, proclaims Gov. Jerry Brown

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House holds moment of silence on steps of the Capitol ahead of 15th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., joined by House members, speaks on Capitol Hill Friday during a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks.
(Molly Riley/AP)
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) join members of the House of Representatives in singing "God Bless America" on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Sen. Feinstein asks for more cash to cut down dead trees in California before they catch fire

A firestorm approaches as a fire crew begins to pull out at Mormon Rocks Station in the San Bernardino National Forest off Highway 138 last month.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay to quickly remove trees that have died because of California’s drought.

Feinstein asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to shift $38 million in the Department’s budget to pay for removing trees from federal land identified by the California Governor’s Tree Mortality Task Force. The projects include “high hazard” zones in the Stanislaus, Sierra and Sequoia national forests and have already received all necessary environmental clearances.

“After five years of historic drought, which has led to the death of an estimated 66 million trees in California alone, my state and its people face a heightened and potentially catastrophic risk of wildfire this year and for years to come,” she said in a letter to Vilsack.

Feinstein also asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to instruct the Forest Service to request sustained federal funding to remove the dead trees.

The U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection say 5.5 million of the 66 million dead trees must be removed as quickly as possible, according to Feinstein. About 3.7 million of these high-priority dead trees are the responsibility of the Forest Service, which estimates that it would need as much as $562 million to cut them all down.

The Forest Service has budgeted only $32 million for the 2016 fiscal year for tree removal in California.

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Senate race heats up as Sanchez rips Harris over actions on San Onofre nuclear power plant

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Loretta Sanchea (D-Orange)
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez on Thursday unleashed her first major attack against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, her rival in California’s U.S. Senate race, accusing Harris of putting the safety of Californians and the coastline at risk after the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

Sanchez criticized the attorney general for defending a California Coastal Commission permit that allowed more than 300 million pounds of nuclear waste to be buried at the San Onofre site in northern San Diego County.

The Orange County congresswoman also accused Harris of purposely delaying a criminal investigation into allegations of collusion in the $4.7-billion settlement reached between the California Public Utilities Commission and Southern California Edison over the closure of San Onofre. Sanchez called on the U.S. Department of Justice to take over the investigation.

“Ms. Harris is failing to protect the people of California and the coastal environment,” Sanchez said during a morning news conference in San Diego. “She’s just been letting it go by, hoping that she wins the election in November and doesn’t have to deal with this.”

Up until now, California’s Senate race has been quietly plodding along since the primary, relatively lost in the shadow of the daily political eruptions of the presidential race.

With less than two months to go before the historic Democrat-versus-Democrat Senate election in November, Sanchez must find a way to close the gap with Harris, who leads in the polls, to give herself a credible shot at victory.

Sanchez already has been courting Republicans and independents, and her attacks on Thursday may indicate that her campaign is shifting to more aggressive tactics.

The Harris campaign responded Thursday by accusing Sanchez of trying to politicize a criminal investigation. A Harris spokesman said Sanchez’s comments follow a pattern of political missteps and controversial comments made by the congresswoman, including her criticism of President Obama shortly after he endorsed Harris for Senate.

“Representative Sanchez today is embarking on a deeply dishonest and negative campaign, falsely attacking and politicizing an ongoing criminal investigation,” Harris campaign spokesman Nathan Click said. “It’s what Californians have come to expect from Sanchez, who has been repeatedly criticized for her divisive attacks against Muslims, Native Americans and even President Obama.”

David Beltran, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, referred questions about Sanchez’s comments to Harris’ campaign office,.

Recently, however, officials at the attorney general’s office have said the agency is actively investigating the PUC settlement with Edison, which includes a secret meeting in Poland involving Edison officials and then-PUC President Michael Peevey.

Former San Diego City Atty. Mike Aguirre, who has been a frequent critic of the PUC and has sued over its decisions related to the San Onofre deal, joined Sanchez at her news conference. He accused the attorney general of allowing the statute of limitations to lapse in the criminal case against Peevey and others involved in the meeting in Poland.

“We need a senator who is going to protect the public,” he said, throwing his support behind Sanchez.

The attorney general’s office has repeatedly discounted Aguirre’s accusation, saying the statute of limitations has not expired.

The California Coastal Commission in October approved a permit allowing nuclear waste from San Onofre to be buried in concrete bunkers within 125 feet of a sea wall and the beach.

A community group is challenging the permit in court, saying the commission neglected its obligation to protect the coastline. The group’s lawsuit also accuses the commission of failing to require Edison to prove there were no other sites that could accept the nuclear waste.

The attorney general’s office, which serves as the legal counsel for most state agencies, is defending the Coastal Commission’s actions.

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Jumping into local politics, Bernie Sanders endorses Berkeley city councilman in mayor’s race

The Bernie Sanders revolution continues in Berkeley.

The U.S. senator from Vermont is done with his quest for the presidency, but he is still flexing his progressive political muscles in down-ballot races.

And it is hard to think of a more appropriate place for Sanders to make an impact than Berkeley’s mayoral race.

City Councilman Jesse Arreguin’s campaign was giddy with excitement as it announced Sanders’ endorsement Thursday.

“Berkeley is known across the country and the world as a progressive, trailblazing city. And so Berkeley needs a truly progressive mayor,” Sanders said in a statement from Arreguin’s campaign. “That is why I endorse Jesse Arreguin. Jesse Arreguin will be Berkeley’s kind of mayor. He is a tireless and effective champion for workers’ rights, for civil rights, and for social justice. He will not rest until Berkeley works for everyone, not just the few.”

Arreguin’s campaign called the endorsement an “absolute, no-doubt-about-it game changer” in the crowded race to replace Mayor Tom Bates, who has held the seat since 2002.

The nod from the progressive hero could be just what Arreguin needs to differentiate himself from a pack of candidates that includes fellow City Council members Laurie Capitelli and Kriss Worthington, entrepreneur Bernt Wahl, graduate student Ben Gould, homeless activist Guy “Mike” Lee, Naomi Pete and Native American activist Zachary RunningWolf.

So far, Capitelli has raised more money than any other candidate in the race. But Sanders’ legion of supporters could change that — Berkeley was home to one of the ZIP Codes with the highest giving rates for Sanders, according to a Times analysis published in June.

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Lou Correa nabs his primary opponent’s endorsement in Orange County congressional race

Lou Correa, who is running for Loretta Sanchez's congressional seat in the 46th district, greets supporters at a campaign fundraiser at the La Casa Garcia restaurant in Anaheim.
Lou Correa, who is running for Loretta Sanchez’s congressional seat in the 46th district, greets supporters at a campaign fundraiser at the La Casa Garcia restaurant in Anaheim.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Former state legislator Lou Correa picked up the endorsement of vanquished primary opponent and fellow Democrat Joe Dunn on Thursday, giving him a boost as the November general election approaches.

Dunn, also a former state senator, was upset in the primary when he finished in 4th place behind Republican Bob Peterson and Bao Nguyen, the 36-year-old mayor of Garden Grove.

Nguyen received 14% of primary votes to Correa’s 43%. The victor will represent Orange County’s 46th Congressional District, a seat now held by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who is running for U.S. Senate.

The congressional race will be an interesting test for voters in the diverse district: both candidates are Democrats and their respective ethnic voting blocs can get out the vote.

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Gov. Jerry Brown signs sweeping climate legislation in Los Angeles

(Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown signed two measures on Thursday that will ramp up California’s efforts to combat climate change, increase legislative oversight of environmental programs and prod regulators to take new steps to curb local pollution problems.

The measures, Senate Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 197, were passed after a tough political fight in the Capitol.

Another battle is expected next year, when Brown wants to safeguard the cap-and-trade program — which requires companies to purchase permits to pollute — from legal uncertainty over its future. That could come in the form of new legislation or a ballot measure in 2018.

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Video: Gov. Jerry Brown signs California’s landmark climate change law

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Darrell Issa’s challenger is getting financial and strategic support from House Democrats hoping for an upset

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista)
(Chris Usher / Associated Press)

The House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Thursday it will provide support for Doug Applegate’s effort to unseat Rep. Darrell Issa.

Issa (R-Vista) finished with a surprisingly low 50.8% of the vote in the 49th District’s primary. Applegate, a retired Marine colonel, earned 45.5% of the vote.

The DCCC has added Applegate to their Red to Blue Program, which means the first-time candidate will get financial and strategic help from the national party. It also alerts donors to new candidates that could use their help.

“Col. Applegate has proven his deep commitment to helping middle-class families get ahead and keeping Americans safe,” DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján said in a statement. “As a part of the Red to Blue Program, Col. Applegate will continue to build on his formidable grassroots organization to make sure families in California’s 49th Congressional District get the leadership they deserve.”

The district encompasses parts of Orange and San Diego counties, including Camp Pendleton, San Clemente, Oceanside and Vista.

The race is among those being most closely watched in California ahead of November, but even with the national party’s support, Applegate faces an uphill climb to unseat an eight-term incumbent who is also the wealthiest member of Congress.

The nonpartisan analysts at Cook Political Report consider the seat likely to stay in Republican hands.

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Trump says immigrants who join the military could become legal residents, an idea backed by this California Republican

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock)
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump embraced an idea from Central Valley Rep. Jeff Denham on Wednesday night, saying immigrants who serve in the U.S. military could be eligible to become residents.

“I could see myself working that out, absolutely,” Trump said Wednesday in New York at NBC’s “Commander in Chief Forum,” after an audience member asked about the idea. “Military is a very special thing.”

The idea sounds pretty similar to Denham’s ENLIST Act, which would allow people brought to the United States illegally as children before 2011 to become lawful residents if they complete a term of military service.

“ENLIST is a small yet important step in the immigration debate and shouldn’t take away from broader immigration reform. Both candidates should support it,” Denham (R-Turlock) said in a statement Thursday.

Denham has said he plans to support the Republican nominee, but has avoided specifically mentioning Trump by name.

Denham broke with his party in 2015, saying he’d push ahead with the ENLIST Act despite Republican House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s promise not to act on immigration reform.

The bill stalled in the House Armed Service Committee in April 2015. Bills not approved by the end of the year have to be resubmitted to be considered by the next Congress.

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New ad from millennial candidate says Santa Barbara congressional race is a question of ‘stale vs. fresh’

There are two people running for an open U.S. House seat representing a scenic stretch of California’s Central Coast: Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal and former Republican Capitol Hill staffer Justin Fareed.

In case you can’t tell that the 28-year-old Fareed is the younger of the pair, his ads work hard to hammer that point home.

Check out his latest, “Stale vs. Fresh,” which could be mistaken for a Subway ad.

Fareed’s ads have turned heads since he first made a run for the seat in 2014 challenging Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), who is retiring. Those ads reminded viewers that he was once on the UCLA football team in college: his main ad featured him running through the district clutching a football. He lost in that primary.

His ads in 2016 have also drawn attention.

One reader wrote the San Luis Obispo Tribune to poke fun at an ad featuring Fareed riding a horse, calling it “a clone of a cougarlife.com commercial.”

But longtime Central Coast political columnist Jerry Roberts called the ads “the campaign’s most eye-catching spots.

Some of Fareed’s ads were cooked up by famous GOP ad man Fred Davis, best known for bringing the world the much-discussed “demon sheep” ad for onetime Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina.

Neither Davis nor Fareed’s campaign responded when asked about who made the ad or if it will air on television.

Carbajal came in first place in the primary with 31.9% of the vote while Fareed claimed 20.5% of the vote, besting Republican Assemblyman K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian by just 2 percentage points or 4,805 votes.

Carbajal has long ties in local politics while Fareed is something of a new face in the region. Still, Fareed has tapped into large donor network that got him out of the competitive top-two primary with nine candidates on the ballot.

If history is any indication, Fareed has a tough road to victory in November: Democrats have a six-point voter registration advantage in the district and down-ballot Democrats tend to do well in presidential election years.

President Obama and Capps both won the district by roughly 11 points in 2012.

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Mike Pence is in California. Can this congressional campaign raise $5,000 off the visit?

We know Democratic candidates have been using Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a sort of boogeyman to scare voters and pry open donor checkbooks.

But can his vice presidential pick Mike Pence scare donors into chipping in some dough for Democratic candidates too?

Congressional candidate Bryan Caforio hopes the answer is yes.

Caforio, an attorney and first time candidate who is challenging Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster) for his North Los Angeles County seat, is using Pence’s scheduled visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Thursday to try and raise $5,000.

“Remember, this is the same guy who signed one of the most restrictive anti-choice laws in the country and cemented LGBT discrimination into Indiana law,” reads a Caforio email blast to potential donors, with an aim to raise the specific figure. “Will you chip in before Pence and the Trump team arrives?”

The email is the latest attempt by a down-ballot candidate to turn his local election more into a referendum on Trump and Pence. State Assembly hopeful Al Muratsuchi recently held a rally protesting Trump outside the Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Muratsuchi’s campaign has even put up an entire website featuring video of Republican Assemblyman David Hadley being confronted by someone asking if he’ll support Trump. (Hadley says he won’t vote for Trump.)

Caforio, who only moved to the 25th Congressional district shortly before announcing his run for office there, has also focused much of his campaign on attempting to link Knight to Trump.

Time will tell if the specter of Trump will help candidates like Muratsuchi and Caforio take down their Republican rivals.

And no word yet on if Caforio met his fundraising goal.

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Gov. Brown on the more than 700 bills awaiting his signature: ‘It’s like a mini PhD in government structure and policy’

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Clash over the number of Senate debates continues, but candidates agree on at least one

U.S. Senate candidates Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez continue to spar over how many debates they will hold before the November election, but both have accepted invitations to at least one.

The two will face off in Los Angeles on Oct. 5 for a debate sponsored by the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles and KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

In early August, the Harris campaign announced that she had agreed to participate in just two debates before the general election, the Oct. 5 debate in Los Angeles and a Sept. 20 faceoff in Sacramento.

Sanchez rejected the Sacramento debate. Her campaign said she has accepted the invitation to the Oct. 5 debate and three others, all to be held in Los Angeles and aired statewide, and on Tuesday she challenged Harris to agree to all four.

The Harris campaign flatly rejected the other three candidate forums. Harris political consultant Sean Clegg said she had had “closed the door on new debate invitations.”

The Sanchez campaign said it would continue to press for more.

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Kamala Harris still favored by wide margin in U.S. Senate race, according to new poll

Kamala Harris, California attorney general, makes her opening statement during the Senate debate in San Diego on May 10.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris continues to enjoy a large lead over her rival, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, in the U.S. Senate race, according to a new CALSPEAKS poll by Sacramento State’s Institute for Social Research.

According to the survey, 51% of the respondents said they supported Harris compared to 19% who backed Sanchez. A quarter of those polled said they were undecided and 6% favored “someone else.”

The poll was conducted for four National Public Radio stations in California, including KPCC in Los Angeles.

Those who took part in the poll were on citizen panels and agreed to participate in surveys over an extended period of time. Participants were drawn from a broad cross-section of state residents, and the pool was not limited to just registered voters or Californians likely to vote in the November election.

In the June 6 primary, Harris received 39.9% of the vote and Sanchez nabbed 18.9% among the 34 candidates on the Senate ballot.

A Field poll in early July found that 39% of likely voters supported Harris, compared with 24% for Sanchez.

The two Democrats will face off in the November election, setting the stage for the highest-profile contest between two members of the same party since California adopted a top-two primary election system.

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How two California congresswomen got sexual assault bills passed

Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) speaks at a 2014 Capitol Hill news conference.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t often cheer legislation championed by the dean of the state’s majority Democratic congressional delegation. Maybe it helps that an up-and-coming freshman Republican’s name was attached to the legislation and that it deals with an issue gaining a lot of attention over the past few years.

The House just passed a “bill of rights” for sexual assault victims. Here’s the story of how Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) ended up co-sponsoring the bill.

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Jerry Brown to sign climate change legislation Thursday

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown will sign into law two sweeping measures on climate change Thursday in Los Angeles, his office announced.

The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Vista Hermosa Natural Park.

The legislation sets a tougher target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increases legislative oversight of climate programs and prods regulators to take stronger steps against local pollution problems.

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Loretta Sanchez to star at super PAC fundraiser backing her campaign

Rep. Loretta Sanchez makes her opening statement during a Senate primary debate.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

An Orange County super PAC formed to support Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s U.S. Senate campaign has invited her to be the featured guest at its Newport Beach fundraiser Friday.

Candidates for federal office and super PACs that can raise unlimited amounts of money to back their campaigns have fewer restrictions than ever before, and the practice of attending fundraisers has become commonplace in this year’s presidential election.

Still, both the Sanchez campaign and a spokesman for the super PAC formed to support her — California’s New Frontier — insist the congresswoman will only make a few brief remarks at the invitation-only event. She will not solicit contributions to the super PAC or discuss political strategy, said Orange County attorney Al Stokke, a spokesman for California’s New Frontier.

“She’s going to be a speaking, but we’re trying to keep ourselves independent,” Stokke said. “When we talk about strategy and all that, she won’t be part of that.”

Sanchez campaign spokesman Luiz Vizciano said the congresswoman will attend the fundraiser, but only make a “brief stop to greet attendees.”

The super PAC was formed earlier this year to ensure that Sanchez made it past the June primary election. Political consultant Stu Mollrich of Newport Beach is helping to coordinate the effort.

Stokke said the political organization has strong support from Democratic donors as well as Republicans, inlcuding members of the Orange County business community.

California’s New Frontier had raised $99,000 as of June 30, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Among those who donated to the super PAC was Virginia Ueberroth. Her husband, Peter Ueberroth, is the former commissioner of Major League Baseball and was chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee during the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

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U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez weighs in on Colin Kaepernick and the national anthem debate

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Harris rejects Sanchez debate offer

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters in July.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is refusing a demand from her Senate rival to participate in three additional debates.

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez on Tuesday called for four debates. The proposal was a counter offer to the two debates that Harris announced she would participate in last month.

“As we’ve said for weeks, our campaign is done debating debates and has closed the door on new debate invitations,” said Harris political consultant Sean Clegg. “If Sanchez is serious about debating, we’ll see her at KABC on October 5.”

Harris had agreed to participate in an Oct. 5 debate sponsored by the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles KABC TV and a Sept. 20 debate sponsored by the Sacramento Bee and other media outlets.

Sanchez rejected the Sacramento event, saying a debate held in Stockton during the Senate primary was in the same media market and that the forums should be held in other parts of California. She also insisted on more than two debates.

“I would expect my opponent to respect the voters and to say yes to the four debates,” Sanchez said Tuesday after addressing students and faculty at UCLA.

The scrum over the debate schedule has been going on for weeks, although the campaigns have not held direct negotiations. Instead, both sides have been taking with organizations offering to sponsor the candidate forums and airing out differences through the media.

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NextGen’s Tom Steyer backs proposition urging Citizens United repeal

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Supporters urge governor to sign bill ending statute of limitations for prosecuting rape

State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) speaks in support of her bill to end the time limit for prosecuting rape cases.
(Sophia Bollag / Los Angeles Times)

Flanked by alleged sexual assault victims and their supporters, state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) urged Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday to end California’s statute of limitations for rape.

The Legislature sent Leyva’s bill, SB 813, to Brown last week. He has until Sept 30 to sign the bill, which would end the time limit in California for prosecuting rape, child sexual abuse and other felony sex crimes.

“This bill does not abolish the very high burden-of-proof standard,” Leyva said at a state Capitol news conference. “[SB] 813 simply ensures that the door does not slam in the face of victims.”

Several of those who spoke in support of the bill said they were sexually assaulted. They were joined by attorney Gloria Allred, who said she met with representatives from the governor’s office Tuesday morning. Allred is representing more than 30 women who say comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them.

“For almost all of them, wherever the alleged sexual misconduct is said to have taken place, no criminal case will be filed,” Allred said. “For most of these accusations it was simply too late for a prosecutor to even consider them.” Several of the alleged assaults occurred in California.

Allred said that a number of Cosby’s accusers “had no idea” there was a statute of limitations for rape prosecutions.

A woman identified only as Linda said at the news conference that she was sexually assaulted by Cosby in the 1970s and supports changing the law in California.

“I didn’t report the assault because I was afraid of what might happen to me if I did go to law enforcement at that time,” she said.

Cosby, who has said his relationships with his accusers were consensual, is being tried in Pennsylvania on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault. The charges were filed just before that state’s 12-year statute of limitations would have expired.

In California, the statute of limitations for rape is 10 years unless DNA evidence emerges later. Sex crimes against minors must be prosecuted before the alleged victim turns 40.

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Loretta Sanchez makes counteroffer in heated negotiations over California Senate debates

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez wants to have four debates — seeking to double the two proposed by her rival in the November election, Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

The two campaigns traded barbs in early August after the Harris campaign announced she would participate in two forums, including one in Sacramento that Sanchez later rejected. At the time, Sanchez political consultant Bill Carrick criticized the Harris campaign in early August for “arrogantly announcing” her terms.

The Democratic congresswoman from Orange, the underdog in the race, demanded more in her counterproposal. She also made clear she was declining to participate in the Sacramento debate. Carrick said one of the Senate primary debates was held in Stockton, the same media market as Sacramento.

Here are the debates Sanchez is proposing:

  • Oct. 5, sponsored by the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, KABC TV in Los Angeles and ABC affiliate stations in the state.
  • Oct. 14, sponsored by UCLA and NBC affiliate stations.
  • A debate sponsored by KCBS/KCAL TV in Los Angeles and CBS affiliate stations in the state. The date has yet to be determined.
  • Nov. 3, sponsored by KPCC-FM in Los Angeles and public radio stations in California.

Harris had agreed to the Oct. 5 debate and one on Sept. 20 in Sacramento, with her political consultant Sean Clegg saying her campaign evaluated approximately 10 invitations and accepted two with high quality sponsors and access to large audiences. They wanted one debate to be in Northern California and one in Southern California.

“I challenge Ms. Harris to four debates on the complex issues a United States Senator will face including foreign relations, homeland security, national economy and immigration reform,” Sanchez said in a statement released on Tuesday. ”I look forward to a substantive debate with Ms. Harris on our records and our clear understanding of that national and international issues we face.”

Harris later rejected Sanchez’s debate offer.

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The 12 congressional races we are keeping a close eye on

25th Congressional District candidate Bryan Caforio, a Democrat, left, gives his opening statement in a debate against rivals Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) and LAPD Lt. Lou Vince, a Democrat, at Hart Hall in Newhall. Knight and Caforio are on the ballot this fall.
(Gina Ferrazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Election day might be nine weeks away, but California sends vote-by-mail ballots out in just more than a month and voters will soon have their say.

With the August doldrums over and more people focused on the election, here are the 12 congressional races we’re watching.

There are Democrat-on-Democrat matchups, some potential threats for incumbents and more than one race in which legal and ethical issues could be in play.

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California Politics Podcast: Wrapping up the legislative session

Lawmakers left Sacramento this week bleary-eyed after a late-night race to pass bills before the legal deadline of midnight Wednesday. And those final actions capped a very busy two years under the state Capitol dome.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we take a look not only at the final big deals — including an agreement on spending the proceeds of the state’s auction of greenhouse gas pollution credits — but at the overall record of the Legislature since it convened in December 2014.

That record includes a raising of California’s minimum wage and new laws designed to reduce gun violence. It also includes the failure to craft a solution to the state’s transportation woes.

I’m joined this week by Marisa Lagos of KQED News.

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Lawmakers head to Santa Clara to demand judge in Brock Turner case be recalled

San Jose -- National and state lawmakers on Friday called on voters to recall Santa Clara Judge Aaron Persky, saying he had a pattern of bias in favor of white and privileged offenders in sex crimes against women.

Persky first spurred international outrage when he sentenced Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in Santa Clara jail for the rape of an unconscious woman. Turner, who has become the face of a national movement against sexual assault, walked out of that facility this morning after serving three months of his sentence.

“Today, Brock Turner is a free man,” said U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez, standing across from the Santa Clara County jail with more than a dozen lawmakers, advocates and local leaders. “And yet women who have been sexually assaulted are still prisoners of fear.”

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A ballot measure to overhaul the state energy regulator?

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Big changes to the state’s energy regulator fall flat

Two months after an overhaul to the state’s energy regulator was announced to great fanfare, lawmakers failed to push through the legislation that would have made those changes.

Gov. Jerry Brown and a trio of legislators had wanted to increase transparency and safety rules and shrink the responsibilities of the California Public Utilities Commission. But key details remained undecided as legislative deadlines ticked away, and bipartisan support for the package ended up collapsing.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer retiring? Hardly. Her new role starts next year

Sen. Barbara Boxer has emphasized that leaving the Senate isn’t retirement, at least not in the traditional sense.

In her next phase, which includes inaugurating a lecture series named for her at UC Berkeley next year, the Democrat plans to speak based on her most recent book, “The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life.” She also will spend time raising money for progressive candidates.

Boxer and the university announced the lecture series Thursday. She will be donating papers, photos, digital files and other records from her nearly 35 years in Washington to Cal’s Bancroft Library.

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In the congressional race between Nguyen and Correa, a tough choice for voters in Little Saigon

Volunteers make calls for Lou Correa.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

With the rise of Vietnamese American candidates running for office in Orange County over the past decade, voters have become more familiar with politicians with names like Nguyen and Tran.

But Bao Nguyen, the 36-year-old gay mayor of Garden Grove, is not the kind of politician Vietnamese Americans are used to seeing — or supporting — in Little Saigon. A charismatic progressive who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president earlier this year, Nguyen has taken unpopular positions in the historically conservative Vietnamese community, where nearly all home-grown politicians have been Republicans.

When Nguyen faces Lou Correa, a former state senator and fellow Democrat, for the 46th Congressional District this fall, it will be a test of how far the loyalties of this politically organized ethnic voting bloc can stretch.

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Gov. Jerry Brown convinces counties association not to oppose parole measure

Gov. Jerry Brown leaves a meeting of the California State Assn. of Counties in Sacramento.
(John Myers/Los Angeles Times)

The state organization representing county governments decided Thursday to not take a position on Proposition 57, the revamping of California’s prison parole system that is being championed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown made his case at a meeting of the California State Assn. of Counties’ board of directors in Sacramento. The group also heard from Merced County Dist. Atty. Larry Morse, who opposes Prop 57.

The measure, if approved by voters, would allow new opportunities of parole for some prison inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes.

While some county officials had reportedly favored the association formally opposing Prop. 57, CSAC leaders ultimately voted to abstain.

“That’s a good thing,” Brown said as he exited the meeting Thursday afternoon.

The governor said he told county officials that the prison sentencing system that existed in California prior to 1977 -- the year he agreed to allow strict sentencing criteria -- was a better way to go.

“It worked better,” Brown said. “The recidivism rate was lower.”

Prop. 57 opponents, including the California District Attorneys. Assn., argue the initiative would still allow inmates with a violent history to be released early. The official ballot argument against Prop. 57 refers to the state parole board -- which would have the discretion to release inmates -- as “state government bureaucrats.”

“It is true that the parole board can make a decision,” Brown said after speaking at the CSAC meeting. “They have discretion, just like the district attorneys who have unfettered discretion to charge or not.”

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Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez asks governor to sign bill on sentencing for sexual assault

Rep. Loretta Sanchez
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) asked the governor Wednesday to sign a bill to impose mandatory minimum sentences on some sexual assault perpetrators.

In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, Sanchez, who is running for the U.S. Senate, cited the Brock Turner sexual assault case that prompted the legislation. Sanchez faces another Democrat, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, in her upcoming race.

“All victims of sexual assault deserve equal treatment,” she wrote. “However, the reality is that the law can and has failed victims by giving well-connected and affluent predators like Brock Turner an advantage.”

Turner, a Stanford University student, was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, and his six-month jail sentence was widely criticized as too lenient.

The bill, AB 2888, would require prison time for people found guilty of sexually assaulting someone who was unconscious or too intoxicated to consent.

The bill’s opponents say mandatory sentencing has disproportionately affected people of color and led to the state’s large prison population. Supporters of the bill say it would do the opposite and ensure punishment for privileged people who commit crimes.

Turner is scheduled to be released early from jail this week after serving half of his sentence.

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Lawmakers sang gospel as the California legislative session concluded

In the early hours Thursday, moments before the California Legislature concluded its 2-year session, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers broke out into Gospel song to bid farewell to its last departing member.

Former Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), a huge Gospel fan, smiled on as the choir, led by Assemblywomen Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) and Susan Eggman (D-Stockton), sang to commemorate the end of her term. She was one of 14 Assembly members and six state senators, who likely marked their last day arguing on the floors of their respective chambers.

When Atkins was sworn in as speaker in 2014, members said, she requested a gospel choir. Lawmakers and legislative staff said it was an apt way to bookend her time at the Capitol and the first time many had ever heard singing on the Assembly floor.

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President Obama endorses Rep. Scott Peters

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

President Obama has endorsed Rep. Scott Peters’ bid for a third term in the 52nd Congressional District, the San Diego Democrat’s campaign announced Thursday morning.

“I know Scott Peters and the people of his district could not have a better representative in the U.S. Congress fighting for their security, prosperity, and economic opportunity,” Obama said in a statement. “Scott Peters is the real deal - a thoughtful, independent, hard-working leader who delivers for San Diego.”

Peters received 58.9% of the primary vote. The second-place finisher, Republican businesswoman Denise Gitsham, got 16.2%

The seat is a target for Republicans this cycle, as the GOP strives to link Democrats who accepted donations from Rep. Ami Bera’s father, who was recently sentenced to a year and a day in prison for illegally funneling cash into his son’s campaigns.

The district, which includes a chunk of northern San Diego, along with the suburbs of Poway and Coronado, several universities and Navy and Marine Corps bases, has been known to oust incumbents.

Peters himself unseated GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray in 2012. He has been boosted throughout the election cycle by the Democratic Party, including Obama.

During a fundraiser in California last fall, Obama called Peters “one of the finest members of Congress.”

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Loretta Sanchez sees an opening in California Senate race -- with GOP voters

Rep. Loretta Sanchez makes her opening statement during the Senate debate in San Diego on May 10
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

California Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez is reaching out to voters who may be turned off by having to choose between two Democrats on the November ballot.

Sanchez in recent weeks has popped up on a conservative talk radio show in San Diego to tout her record against “Islamic extremists” and also bragged about landing endorsements from two prominent Southern California Republicans.

To win in November, Sanchez may need to win over those Republicans, independents and moderates who feel disenfranchised by having to choose between two Democrats for Senate.

Her rival, state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, leads in the polls and has the backing of President Obama and other top Democratic leaders.

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