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Essential Politics May archives

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Welcome to the archive of May posts on our Essential Politics news feed on California politics and government news. If you’re looking for something from June, find it here.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter for more, or subscribe to our free daily newsletter and the California Politics Podcast

State Senate flexes its muscle with Southern California’s clean-air board

Amid charges that polluting industries are taking over Southern California’s clean-air board, the state Senate on Tuesday approved countermeasures including an expansion of the board by three state apppointees.

Senate leader Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) introduced the bill that would expand the South Coast Air Quality Management Board from 13 to 16 members and require the board to submit to the state Air Resources Board its plans to meet federal and state air quality standards.

“As a result of deliberate efforts to weaken the board’s clean-air majority, there is not one single Latino on the board,” De Leon told his colleagues before they approved SB 1387 and sent it to the Assembly for consideration.

The new board members would be appointed by the governor, the Senate Rules Committee and Assembly speaker.

De Leon criticized recent actions by the board to dismiss its long-standing executive officer and take steps he said will weaken clean-air regulations.

“The air basin is still among the most polluted areas in the United States of America,” De Leon told his colleagues. “Simply put, we can’t go back on our progress nor can we afford a delay.”

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No smoking or vaping at California beaches or parks under this bill

Smoking would be banned at California parks and beaches as a health and wildfire risk under legislation approved Tuesday by the state Senate.

Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego) introduced SB 1333, which would make smoking or disposing of tobacco waste an infraction subject to a fine of up to $250.

“Cigarettes are non-biodegradable and contain over 164 toxic chemicals,” Block told his colleagues. “They cause a substantial trash issue and health problems at our beaches and parks.”

He also noted second-hand smoke is a health risk to nonsmokers. The bill applies to electronic cigarettes and medical marijuana as well as combustible cigarettes. Block said that the tossing of lighted cigarettes has caused many wildfires. “If this measure prevents just one wildfire, it will save millions” of dollars, he said, as wildfires can cost as much as $3 million each.

The action comes just weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown approved a package of other anti-tobacco bills, including one that raises the smoking age in California from 18 to 21.

Officials estimate it will cost up to $1.1 million to install 20 signs at each of the state’s 280 parks and state beaches.

The bill is supported by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Lung Assn. in California and Sierra Club California.

The vote was 25 to 11 to approve the bill and send it to the Assembly.

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Assembly passes ‘right-to-try’ bill for terminally ill Californians

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Bid to extend criminal reclassification under Proposition 47 passes Assembly

An effort to allow felons additional time to reduce their punishments under guidelines established by a 2014 ballot measure made it through the Assembly on Tuesday.

Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure, changed some nonviolent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and allowed those previously convicted under the old rules to ask the courts to lower their punishments. But that provision ends next year, and Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) wants to give felons eligible for the relief five more years to reduce their punishments.

“We’re going to find a lot of cases where justice has been denied to individuals,” Weber said during debate on the bill.

Weber said keeping the existing deadline would lead to a flood of petitions that would tie up the courts and force prosecutors to rush through cases. Weber noted that the bill was sponsored by the San Diego County district attorney’s office and unopposed by law enforcement organizations.

But issues surrounding Proposition 47 generate significant controversy. The California Police Chiefs Assn. has blamed the initiative for a recent increase in property crimes across the state.

“Prop. 47 has enough problems,” said Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach). “Let’s not give them more years.”

Because it modifies a ballot measure, Weber’s bill required a two-thirds vote of the Assembly to pass. After debate on the floor, the measure was roughly 10 votes short of passage. But a few hours later, Weber had rounded up enough support.

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Measure aims to tackle unequal pay based on race

A year after approving a tougher equal-pay bill for women, the state Senate on Tuesday passed legislation aimed at closing a wage gap in California based on ethnicity.

State and federal law already ban employers from providing different pay based on race or ethnicity. The new measure proposed by Sen. Isadore Hall III (D-Compton) would broaden that prohibition by saying bosses cannot pay employees of one race less than they pay people of other ethnicities for “substantially similar work,” even if their titles are different or they work at different sites.

The legislation, which now goes to the Assembly for consideration, would make it easier for employees to file legal claims over disparate pay.

Hall cited a U.S Census Bureau report that found that black men on average earn 75 cents for every dollar earned by white men.

“It’s the year 2016. It’s unnacceptable,” Hall told his colleagues. “No employee should be denied an equal wage for an equal day of work.”

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Assembly rebukes State Bar of California by rejecting funding bill

“This is new territory for me,” said Assemblyman Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) as he counted the votes for his committee’s simple bill to reauthorize membership dues charged to attorneys for joining the State Bar of California.

The bill only garnered eight votes in support, after a bipartisan group of assembly members rose to criticize the agency’s operations in the wake of a recent audit and accusations leveled by its former executive director.

“It’s time that we send a clear message to the state bar,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).

The agency, which answers to the California Supreme Court, has faced enormous criticism for its business practices and internal operations. The state audit earlier this month concluded that the agency had a “lack of transparency” in its dealings with both attorneys and the public.

Assembly Bill 2878 attempted to address some of the concerns that have been raised while re-upping the authorization to impose $390 annual membership fees for attorneys.

“Everyone agrees that the bar needs to be reformed in some significant ways,” said Stone.

But his colleagues were unmoved when it came to the plan in front of them.

“I hope we have the opportunity to vote on a bill that reflects real reform,” said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco).

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Congresswoman who was on the fence endorses Hillary Clinton

U.S. Rep. Norma Torres endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid over the weekend, leaving just three California House Democrats who haven’t publicly backed a candidate.

In mid-May, the Pomona Democrat said she wanted to hear more from Clinton about immigration and Native American issues before making a decision.

Torres made the endorsement while opening a campaign office for Clinton, saying she wants Democrats to focus on defeating the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

Torres endorsed Obama early in the 2008 race and campaigned for him when she was mayor of Pomona.

Going into the final days before the June 7 primary, 36 House Democrats and the state’s two Senators have endorsed Clinton. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (San Fransisco), Reps. Alan Lowenthal (Long Beach) and Barbara Lee (Oakland) are staying out of things — for now.

Lowenthal and Lee still haven’t decided whom to back, according to their staffers.

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Citizens would draw lines for L.A. County supervisor districts under new measure

Los Angeles County would be required to create an independent citizens panel to redraw county supervisor district boundaries after the next U.S. Census under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate.

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) modeled his legislation after a process approved by state voters for redistricting at the state legislative level after the last U.S. Census.

“For a county with over 10 million residents … it is imperative that we have a fair and impartial process for drawing districting boundaries,” Lara told his colleagues.

His bill would require the redistricting plan approved by the citizen panel to stand, taking away the county’s current powers to modify it.

SB 958 was approved 25-11, with most Republicans in opposition. It now goes to the state Assembly for consideration and has a good chance of passage.

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State Senate acts to reimburse agencies for San Bernardino massacre response

The state Senate on Tuesday took initial action to pave the way for the state to reimburse San Bernardino-area agencies for the full $18-million cost of responding to the Dec. 2, 2015, mass shooting that left 14 people dead and even more injured.

Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) said the attack created unusually high expenses for police and medical agencies that responded to the terrorist act.

State law would only allow the agencies to get 75% reimbursement, but Leyva said that would create a financial burden for local agencies. Leyva’s bill allows 100% reimbursement.

“Their quick and selfless response saved countless lives and prevented this tragic act from becoming much worse,” Leyva told her colleagues before the uninimous vote to approve SB 1385 and send it to the Assembly for consideration.

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Senate candidate Tom Del Beccaro gets tea party nod

The Tea Party Express on Tuesday endorsed Republican Tom Del Beccaro in California’s U.S. Senate race, calling him a “conservative thought leader.”

The political action committee’s support comes just a week before California’s June 7 primary election.

“Tom Del Beccaro has long been a leading California advocate for limited government, fiscal responsibility and policies that promote economic growth,” said Tea Party Express cofounder Sal Russo.

Russo praised Del Beccaro’s call for a federal flat tax and his efforts to broaden the Republican base when he was chairman of the California Republican Party from 2011 until 2013.

Recent opinion polls show Del Beccaro and the other top Republicans in the race — George “Duf” Sundheim and Ron Unz — lagging behind Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez among likely primary election voters. About one-third of voters said they were undecided.

Under California’s “top-two” primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will face off in the November general election, regardless of political party.

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Two Democrats continue to lead the pack in California’s U.S. Senate race, poll finds

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Gov. Jerry Brown wants to take development power away from cities. But he needs their help for his housing plan to work

If Gov. Jerry Brown’s housing plan passes, local governments will lose some of their power over development.

But at the same time the governor wants to force cities to approve affordable housing projects more quickly, he’s relying on the same cities to zone enough land for housing in the first place. Without enough cooperation from cities, it’s unlikely the governor’s plan is going to have much of an effect on the state’s housing shortage.

I’ve written a lot about the governor’s housing plan since he unveiled it earlier this month. I’ve put all my coverage in one place so you can keep track of what’s happening, and I hope to keep it updated as the proposal winds its way through the Legislature.

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Gov. Jerry Brown backs Hillary Clinton for president

With just a week to go before California’s June 7 primary election, Gov. Jerry Brown wrote an open letter saying he will vote for Hillary Clinton “because I believe this is the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump.”

The Democratic governor announced his decision after playing coy for months.

In the letter to California Democrats and independent voters, Brown praised Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for running a strong campaign for the Democratic nomination.

He lauded Sanders for his message that “the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of America’s wealth, leaving the majority of people far behind.”

Brown noted that mounted a similar campaign when he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1992. (He also ran in 1976 and 1980.)

Clinton touted the Brown endorsement in a press release. It isn’t yet clear to what extent the governor will work to help the former secretary of state, who will be back in California this week to campaign.

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California police misconduct records will remain secret after bill dies in committee

California’s strict policy against releasing information about police misconduct will remain in place after a Senate committee killed a bill Friday that would have opened up some records to public disclosure.

SB 1286 from Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) would have allowed the public to access internal reports in cases where police departments found their officers had committed sexual assault or racial profiling, lied on the job or other significant examples of misconduct. It also would have made available investigations of officer-involved shootings and other major use-of-force cases.

The bill had faced substantial opposition from law enforcement groups and was held in the Senate’s Appropriations Committee on Friday without discussion.

California is one of just three states that specifically protect all internal police records from public view. Leno, who will leave the Senate at the end of the year because of term limits, had tried multiple times over the past decade to unwind some of the state’s police confidentiality rules. In recent years, police shootings and other high-profile use-of-force cases across the country had eroded trust in law enforcement, Leno had argued, and opening up the police disciplinary process would help gain it back.

But law enforcement organizations contended the bill would invade officer privacy while existing civilian review boards and potential prosecution provided enough outside accountability of police.

“Strong relationships between the community and law enforcement is critical to good policing,” Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement. “However, SB 1286 was poorly written, with no input from law enforcement and would have done nothing to improve relationships with the community.”

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Republicans believe partisan politics killed their bills during ‘suspense file’ hearing

Assembly Republicans were more than disappointed by some of the bills quietly killed on Friday during the final action taken by the lower house’s appropriations committee.

They smelled politics at play.

“The majority party speaks often of the need to help Californians who are living in poverty,” said Assembly GOP leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley). “I am disappointed that Assembly Democrats chose instead to put partisan politics first and block these important bills to give those in need a pathway to a better life.”

Mayes was the author of AB 2058, which would have offered monthly grants of between $100 and $300 for those in the state’s welfare-to-work program, CalWORKs. The bill received bipartisan support in its first committee hearing last month.

Republicans also pointed to bills that would have made forgiven mortgage debt tax-free, and a small monthly boost to the state’s tax credit for renters that has been unchanged for more than a quarter of a century. These bills also sailed through policy committees without any Democratic opposition.

The chairman of the Assembly’s fiscal committee, though, said it was all about the money.

“The Republican Party argues for limited government, yet my Republican colleagues in the Assembly sent more spending bills to the Appropriations Committee than in any year in recent memory,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).

It should be noted that not all Republican bills were killed, either in the Assembly or Senate’s “suspense file” actions on Friday.

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Bills to ban balloons and impose rules for fashion models killed in legislative ‘suspense file’ action

Not all bills killed in Friday’s action by the Legislature’s fiscal committees were attempts to resolve huge public policy debates.

Even some of the most narrowly tailored proposals were “held” in the Assembly and Senate appropriations committees. And like all other bills quietly killed during the clearing of the “suspense file,” there was neither public debate nor explanation.

Bills of note and, in many cases, novelty that were killed include:

  • AB 2539 by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) would have required California health standards for the fashion modeling industry. The standards would have required employers to adopt workplace rules to help models avoid developing eating disorders. One former model penned a Times op-ed in support of the bill.
  • SB 1467 by Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) would have placed new limits on how politicians use money raised by their ballot measure campaign committees — committees that can accept donations in unlimited amounts, and where Bates said too many lawmakers spend money to promote themselves.
  • AB 2709 by Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) would have banned the sale of balloons made of shiny metallic material that can cause power outages when coming into contact with electricity lines.
  • AB 2602 by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) would have limited free disabled parking to only those Californians with severe “mobility and dexterity” disabilities.
  • SBl 1002 by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) would have required the state to set up a toll-free hotline for people who have questions about California’s new aid-in-dying law, which takes effect June 9.
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Driving-while-high bills die in California Legislature

While the use of marijuana is skyrocketing in California, two bills aimed at cracking down on motorists who drive under the influence of pot were shelved Friday after cannabis industry officials said they were not supported by science.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee sidelined a measure by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) that would have made it a crime for a person who has 5 nanograms or more of THC, the active ingredient in pot, per milliliter in their blood to drive a vehicle.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also killed a measure by Republican Sen. Bob Huff of San Dimas that would have allowed law enforcement officers to use oral swab tests to strengthen cases.

Huff said his bill is needed, given that medical marijuana is legal in California and a measure proposed for the November ballot would allow recreational use of the drug.

“The use of both legal and illegal drugs while driving is rampant and fatal accidents are on the rise,” Huff said. “I’m disappointed that members of the Appropriations Committee killed this bill, imagining a state cost where none existed.”

He said he had hoped to get federal grants so law enforcement could buy new technology to test motorists.

The decision to shelve the bills was welcomed by Amanda Reiman, a manager with the Drug Policy Alliance.

“California is wise to express a desire to better understand the relationship between cannabis use and impairment before passing laws that could unduly impact those in California most in need of cannabis to alleviate their suffering,” Reiman said.

She noted that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act proposed for the November ballot sets aside revenue to research how to detect impairment.

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Senate panel shelves bill requiring employers to provide employees their schedules a week early

A measure that would have required many bosses in California to give their employees a work schedule at least one week in advance was shelved Friday after it was labeled a “job killer” by the California Chamber of Commerce.

Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) said her bill applying to employees in restaurants and grocery and retail stores was in response to an increase in unreliable scheduling that she said can leave employees unable to plan child-care, attend college or take a second job.

The bill was held on suspense Friday by the majority-Democrat Senate Appropriations Committee.

“Workers with reliable schedules also have reliable paychecks, which are vitally important so that they have an idea how much they will be making week to week,” Leyva said.

Leyva said Friday she is disappointed that the bill failed but promised to pursue the proposal in the future. “Progress takes time and today is simply another step towards ensuring that workers and their families are treated fairlym,” Leyva said.

SB 878 was a priority of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and was modeled loosely after a policy adopted by the city of San Francisco in 2014.

However, the Chamber led business groups in fighting the measure, arguing it would “eliminate flexibility in the workplace for employers and employees, deny employees the opportunity to work additional hours if desired” and “subject employers to unnecessary layers of penalties, investigative actions, and costly litigation.”

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Lawmakers kill plan to force statewide vote on Brown’s water tunnels

A closely watched effort to force a statewide vote on Gov. Jerry Brown’s water tunnels project was blocked Friday in the Assembly -- a big victory for Brown in a year where the plan faces some key hurdles.

AB 1713 by Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) would have required voters to approve the construction of twin underground water tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The bill’s language would have meant a statewide vote as soon as 2018.

Like all bills killed during the clearing of the Assembly appropriations “suspense file” there was no discussion and no explanation. Nor was there any public announcement of how legislators on the committee voted.

Though the bill received bipartisan support during an earlier committee vote, it was opposed by water agencies — most notably the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

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Bill that would have opened up some police misconduct records to public disclosure dies

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Bill to force a public vote on the governor’s delta tunnels plan is dead

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Governor-backed housing bill passes Assembly

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With transplant patients waiting, lawmakers fast-track bill allowing organ donations by HIV-positive people

With a seriously ill patient waiting for a new liver, the Legislature took the extraordinary action Friday of having both houses — within an hour — approve a bill that would allow HIV-positive people to donate organs to others who are HIV-positive.

Gov. Jerry Brown later Friday signed the bill, which becomes effective immediately. “This is a life-saving matter that aligns California with federal law,” said Deborah Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Brown. ,

The Assembly and Senate acted on the measure after San Francisco surgeon Peter G. Stock told lawmakers he has two HIV-positive patients needing liver transplants, including one who has identified a donor. However, state law makes it illegal for HIV-positive people to donate organs.

“I am deeply concerned for these patients because their health is failing, and I am concerned that, by the time the Legislature is able to act in the ordinary course, the patients will be unable to receive a transplant due to deterioration or unavailablity of a donor,” wrote Stock, professor of surgery at the UC San Francisco Medical Center.

Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) introduced SB 1408, which he said could prolong the life of seriously ill patients.

“Right now there is a felony associated with that donation,” Allen told his colleagues on the Senate floor. “We can save a life this month.”

He said 22 Americans die every day waiting for an organ transplant. “Let’s take care of this stigma. Let’s take care of this injustice,” he said.

With a life on the line, the case drew the involvement of state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris, who supported the change in the law. Harris wrote to lawmakers that they should “quickly remove these outdated criminal penalties and permit Dr. Stock and others to perform these groundbreaking and life-saving surgeries.”

Word of the governor’s action thrilled Dr. Stock, the surgeon.

“I’m stoked,” he said. “It’s going to mean something for 60 patients on the waiting list who have HIV but it also means something for the 4,000 other people on the waiting list who don’t have HIV because for every donor we add, somebody benefits.”

The patient whose husband has agreed to donate part of his liver will undergo surgery in a matter of weeks, “as soon as possible,” Stock said.

The surgery will take half of the liver of the husband with the understanding that livers can regenerate back to full size in weeks, he said.

UPDATED at 1:55 p.m. to reflect that the bill was signed by Gov. Brown.

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‘Restorative justice’ criminal rehabilitation bill passes Assembly

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White House signals support for Gov. Jerry Brown’s housing plan

Cecilia Muñoz is the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. She’s talking about how regulations can make homes less affordable, and she favorably cites Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed legislation to limit local government review over affordable housing projects.

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Republicans call on Roger Hernández to resign over domestic violence allegations

Three California Republican officials called on state Assemblyman Roger Hernández (D-West Covina) to resign from public office Thursday and end his congressional campaign a day after the lawmaker’s wife accused him in court of repeatedly assaulting her over the course of their three-year relationship.

“Given the serious and growing list of accusations, Assemblyman Hernández’s continued presence in the State Assembly brings dishonor to the entire California State Legislature,” state Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) said in a statement.

Rep. Mimi Walters of Orange County and California Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Harmeet K. Dhillon also called for Hernandez to step down and end his campaign challenging Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk).

Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Susan Rubio, who is seeking a domestic violence restraining order against Hernández while the two are going through divorce proceedings, detailed several episodes of domestic violence in court Wednesday.

She testified that he became physically violent with her more than 20 times during their relationship, alleging that he choked her with a belt, beat her with a broom and once held a knife over her head.

Hernández is mounting an intraparty challenge against Napolitano for her 32nd Congressional District seat in California’s June 7 primary. A spokeswoman for Hernández’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Hernández has an obligation to the people of California to represent them equally, and the repeated, serious allegations of abuse that surround him are in no way conducive to his role in representing California in the State Legislature,” Dhillon said in a statement. “Domestic violence is a very serious issue in our society, not a ‘private matter’ to be brushed under the rug by a man holding public office.”

In a May 3 declaration, Hernández denied earlier allegations by Rubio when she sought a temporary restraining order against him.

In a statement released by his spokesperson Thursday, Hernández said he would continue his campaign and maintained that the accusations were politically motivated.

“These allegations are retaliation,” he said in the statement. “At no point throughout our lengthy 16-month divorce process did Susan Rubio ever raise any accusation of domestic violence.”

Updated 6:50 p.m. This story has been updated with a response from Hernández.

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Where bills go to die: Today lawmakers will clear ‘suspense file’ for hundreds of measures in limbo

From commercial fishing to tax credits and even fashion model regulations, a massive stack of proposed laws faces a major deadline Friday morning at the state Capitol.

To survive, they must clear what’s known as the “suspense file” -- the place where bills that would cost taxpayers money are held in legislative limbo.

By law, bills with a fiscal impact must be sent to the floor of the Assembly and Senate by the close of business on Friday. That means it’s decision time for 694 pieces of legislation: 245 in the Senate, 449 in the Assembly.

Bills are generally sent to the “suspense file” if their projected cost to the state is $150,000 or more. The procedural move was widely used during California’s deficit years as a way for lawmakers to weigh the pros and cons of proposals in light of limited resources.

But government watchdog groups have long pointed out that the clearing of the “suspense file” ends up hiding some of the legislative sausage-making from public view.

That’s because bills that don’t clear Friday’s hurdle are essentially killed without a recorded vote.

And neither chamber offers any explantion for why those bills were killed. Decisions on the fate of the “suspense file” are made in private, hours or days before the public hearing.

In the Assembly, the Appropriations Committee chairperson will simply tell the public that a decision has been made to “hold” the bill. In the Senate committee, killed legislation won’t even be mentioned during Friday’s hearing.

That means that no one will know for sure whether a bill is really killed because of its price tag or its politics.

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Senate approves tobacco-free zone at kids’ athletic events

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Big-money groups back not one, but two candidates in San Bernardino Assembly race

Why are well-funded interest groups spending money to support both a Republican and a Democrat in the same Assembly race?

In Assembly District 47, one of the most hotly contested races this cycle, they may be trying to game California’s top-two primary system.

The California Realtors Assn. has poured in more than $207,000 toward getting Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino) reelected in her tough fight against Colton attorney Eloise Reyes.

But it has also been quietly funneling money into a committee that’s backing the race’s sole Republican, Aissa Chanel Sanchez, a 24-year-old regional sales training manager for SolarCity with no political experience and who has raised no money of her own.

Sanchez does not have an official campaign manager or a campaign website. She has not raised or spent any money, she said.

“It was just more of a confidence booster,” Sanchez told The Times. “I know people are looking at how young I am, but it’s just a learning experience.”

The Reyes campaign is crying foul.

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Pink razors and blue razors should cost the same under gender-pricing measure the California Senate just approved

Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego)
Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The state Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would prohibit businesses in California from charging customers different prices for similar goods on the basis of gender.

State Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), the author of the bill, cited the example of two substantially similar disposable razors sold by the same company. A package of 12 blue razors marketed for men cost $7.99. A package of 12 pink razors for women sold in the same store for $12.99.

“We understand that women already earn less income. Why are we charging them more for essential products that they need in their everyday lives?” Hueso said during the floor debate. “This bill would prohibit the sale of goods on the basis of discrimination to women or men.”

He also cited a 2015 study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs that looked at a wide variety of products, including toys and clothing, which found that women’s products cost more 42% of the time while men’s products cost more 18% percent of the time.

California has, for two decades, protected consumers against gender price discrimination in the service industry.

Hueso’s bill would allow consumers to challenge different prices by the same brand for similar or identical products.

But it allows price differences based specifically on the labor, materials, taxes or other gender-neutral reasons.

Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) joined most Republicans in opposing the bill, predicting it would lead to a flood of frivolous lawsuits that could drive small retailers out of business. He said consumers and the marketplace will weed out unfair pricing.

“I don’t think we need to have a pricing police going into retail shops,” Moorlach said. “I see it as a nightmare for retailers.”

State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) brought up an example in which one company sells a red boy’s scooter for $29.99 and a pink girl’s scooter for $49.99.

Other lawmakers joked about consumers saving money by using a product marketed to the opposite sex.

“Members, sex discrimination isnt a joke,” responded state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley). “It’s a reality that women have been living with for centuries.”

The bill goes to the Assembly for consideration.

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A chance to cuddle small animals before Congress breaks for Memorial Day

Retiring Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) tweeted this photo of her holding a kangaroo at an annual reception held on Capitol Hill by the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums.

Also attending the reception were an armadillo, penguins, sharks and a sloth, according to Capps’ staff.

After voting this morning, the House left for the Memorial Day break. Members aren’t scheduled to return until after California’s June 7 primary.

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Large majority of California voters favors raising tobacco tax $2 per pack, poll says

A new poll finds that 67% of likely voters in California support a proposed initiative that would increase the state’s tobacco tax by $2 per pack of cigarettes.

The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California also found that 60% of likely voters say that, in general, marijuana use should be legal, and 37% say it should not be legal.

The poll results are a boost to a coalition of health groups called Save Lives California that has submitted signatures it believes are sufficient to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

“Voters are poised and ready to save lives and ask smokers to pay their fair share to improve healthcare and fight cancer,” said Ken Wallis, a dentist and president of the California Dental Assn.

The measure, which also taxes electronic cigarette products, is opposed by the tobacco and vaping industries.

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‘You are an ignorant bigot’: California Democrat clashes with San Diego law professor on transgender issues

U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and a University of San Diego law professor got into a sharp back-and-forth over transgender rights during a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week about federal regulations.

Amid the national conversation about bathrooms and transgender rights, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights issued guidance on what facilities transgender students should be allowed to use at public schools.

University of San Diego School of Law professor Gail Heriot said the guidance is an example of the executive branch overreaching what the legislative branch intended.

Lofgren, a Democrat from San Jose, took issue with how Heriot described being transgender in her written statement. It is common for witnesses to submit a lengthy statement to the committee along with brief remarks.

“We are teaching young people a terrible lesson. If I believe that I am a Russian princess, that doesn’t make me a Russian princess, even if my friends and acquaintances are willing to indulge my fantasy,” Heriot’s written statement reads.

Heriot is a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

“I found this rather offensive,” Lofgren said. She theorized that the professor had never met a transgender child.

Heriot asked to comment, and Lofgren shot back: “No, it’s just my opinion.”

The video below shows the clash, starting with Lofgren reading from Heriot’s written testimony. Fingers are pointed. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) ultimately cut Lofgren off.

“We allow witnesses to say offensive things, but I cannot allow that kind of bigotry to go into the record unchallenged,” Lofgren responded.

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Assemblyman Roger Hernández faces new accusations of domestic violence in court

The estranged wife of Assemblyman Roger Hernández (D-West Covina) accused him of assaulting her more than 20 times over the last three years at a divorce court hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Susan Rubio, who is seeking a domestic violence restraining order against Hernández, detailed eight episodes of alleged violence during her testimony, including one in which she said Hernández choked her with a belt and another in which she said he “dropped” her on the floor and beat her with a broom.

Rubio testified that during one argument Hernández accused her of having an affair, retrieved a knife from the kitchen, held the knife over her head and told her, “Keep talking, watch what happens,” before backing away from her.

Hernández, who was at the hearing, declined to comment through his lawyer, Donald Schweitzer. In his opening statement, Schweitzer accused Rubio of coming forward with the allegations to hurt Hernández’s political career.

The assemblyman is challenging Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) for her 32nd Congressional District seat in California’s June 7 primary. Rubio’s sister, Blanca Rubio, is running for the Assembly seat Hernández is vacating because of term limits.

In court, Susan Rubio said Hernández accused her of “hooking up” with state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) when Rubio and Hernández went on a trip to Rosarito, Mexico, for her birthday with Hueso and his wife. Rubio said Hernández was upset that she and Hueso had separated from the others while horseback riding on the beach. She accused her estranged husband of pushing her when the other couple weren’t looking.

A spokeswoman for Hueso said that he remembered the trip but that there was no fight and Rubio and Hernández never argued. Hueso denied any allegation of an affair.

Rubio also alleged Hernández yelled at her for “ignoring” him during a separate trip to a Rosarito wine festival with other members of the Legislature. She said he stepped on her toe so hard that her toenail broke. He threatened to throw wine on her if she did not stop crying before other lawmakers saw her, she said.

“So I just held the pain,” Rubio said in court.

Rubio testified she tried to conceal bruises by wearing long sleeves and turtleneck shirts. She said she urged Hernández to seek professional help.

“I loved him,” she said.

In a May 3 declaration, Hernández denied earlier allegations by Rubio when she sought a temporary restraining order against him.

“I would never engage in the type of conduct respondent has accused me of committing,” he said in a court document.

Schweitzer said he would not comment on the case until he was able to cross-examine Rubio at the next court hearing on June 9. The temporary restraining order barring Hernández from contacting Rubio remains in place until then.

Times staff writer Liam Dillon contributed to this report.

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GOP Senate candidate Tom Del Beccaro is targeted by independent political committee

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Poll shows close contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in California

(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)

The Democratic primary appears to have narrowed in California, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California.

The poll showed a statistical tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders among likely Democratic voters. Clinton had 46% support, Sanders had 44%, and the margin of error was plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.

A previous poll, released in March, had Clinton leading 48% to 41%.

The survey counts both registered Democrats and independents who said they would cast ballots in the Democratic primary as “likely Democratic voters.”

But any independents who want to vote in the Democratic primary on June 7 still must request a Democratic presidential ballot.

When only registered Democrats were counted, Clinton was ahead 49% to 41%.

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Assembly, Senate move state budget plans to conference committee

Lawmakers have approved Gov. Jerry Brown’s effort to stash away an extra $2 billion in budget reserves, but Democratic leaders are gearing up for a showdown with the governor over spending levels for welfare and child assistance programs.

Passage of a spending plan by the Assembly Budget Committee on Thursday turns the focus to a conference committee of the two houses.

The Senate’s budget writers approved their own proposal on Tuesday.

In a sense, budget plans from both houses suggest a series of nips and tucks to Brown’s plan, cobbling together enough additional cash to fund a handful of Democratic legislative priorities.

Some of the more notable differences between legislators’ budget plans and Brown’s:

  • Brown has proposed putting an extra $2 billion into the state’s rainy-day fund as insurance against future economic downturns. While the Assembly agreed, Senate Democrats want to put the money into a different cash reserve that could be more easily tapped in the months to come.
  • Democrats in both houses are pushing for repeal of the long-standing law that denies families on welfare assistance additional help in the event of a new child. The change in the so-called “maximum family grant” would add about $100 million in spending in 2016-17.
  • The Assembly has included some $600 million for child care and preschool programs, a key demand of the Legislative Women’s Caucus but opposed by the Brown administration.
  • Both houses seek to slow down the spending on the Brown administration’s plan to earmark $1.5-billion for the construction and replacement of new state government buildings. Doing so would free up more money for spending on other government programs.
  • Assembly members want to redirect $250 million set aside by the governor for local jails. Their budget plan would send the money to mental health and community services. “We have to carve out new solutions,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the Budget Committee chairman, on Thursday.
  • Lawmakers are assuming that voters will approve a ballot measure on Nov. 8 to extend existing income tax rates on the most wealthy Californians. While the tax issue wouldn’t affect revenues in the fiscal year that begins July 1, it’s built into expectations about revenues for 2018 and beyond.

Updated 5:07 p.m. This story has been modifed. The original version incorrectly stated that the Assembly’s budget proposes putting $2-billion into a cash reserve fund that’s easier to access, but that proposal is contained in the Senate plan.

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House rejects bid to strip California water provision from appropriations bill

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press )

The House voted 247 to 169 Wednesday to keep to a measure affecting California’s drought in an appropriations bill.

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) had moved to strip the measure from the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017. He and other Northern California Democrats argue it would have a severe effect on the Endangered Species Act and Clean Air Act.

The House passed Hanford Republican Rep. David Valadao’s bill almost a year ago, but the Senate has refused to take it up, and many state Democrats object to it. His legislation focuses on funneling more water to San Joaquin Valley growers by reducing the amount used to support endangered fish populations.

Including the text of Valadao’s bill forces the two chambers to reconcile the versions of the bill.

The Senate is reviewing a bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) as part of a broad package of water bills for Western states.

California Republicans and Democrats took to the House floor Tuesday night to debate keeping the language in the bill.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer sits down with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in her office Wednesday.

“I was truly impressed by his brilliant legal mind and his quiet pursuit of justice,” she said on Facebook after the meeting.

On his way to the meeting, Garland passed a framed photo taken the day Boxer and several other then-House members stormed to the Senate to demand that Anita Hill’s sexual harassment claims be heard before voting to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

Boxer credits that fight for her ascension from the House to the Senate. The California senator has met with and considered six Supreme Court nominees since her 1992 election.

Garland has met with senators in both parties — including Sen. Dianne Feinstein — even as Republican Senate leaders say they will not consider a nominee put forward by President Obama.

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Elections officials now checking signatures on 10 potential statewide propositions

Elections officials across California are doing more than just preparing for the fast-approaching June 7 presidential primary. They are also making key decisions that will determine the size of the statewide ballot six months from now.

Backers of 10 potential propositions are watching as county elections workers check hundreds of thousands of voter signatures gathered over the past few months, most of which were submitted last week.

In doing so, there are two key questions: Did the campaigns -- on issues ranging from gun control to the salaries of hospital executives -- collect enough valid signatures? And can local officials make that determination through a random sampling of the signaures submitted?

If the random sample estimates that between 95% and 110% of an initiative’s signatures are valid, Secretary of State Alex Padilla will order that every signature must be checked. That process would undoubtedly not be complete by June 30, the legal deadline to qualify for this fall’s ballot.

In other words: Any initiative that can’t qualify for the ballot by the “random sample” method would have to wait until the November 2018 election.

Eight measures have already secured a spot on this fall’s ballot, though one of them -- to increase the statewide minimum wage -- is expected to be withdrawn in the coming weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a wage boosting law last month.

An updated report on Monday shows that of the 10 measures with signatures being checked, five appear in solid shape for clearing the “random sample” hurdle. State officials have yet to receive full county reports on signatures submitted for the remaining five initiatives.

An additional measure, which would ask voters their opinion on federal campaign finance rules, could be placed on the ballot by the Legislature. That would bring the total for Nov. 8 to 18 statewide propostions -- the most since March 2000.

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Bernie Sanders gives Tommy Chong the cold shoulder -- but it is chill

Tommy Chong is a big Bernie Sanders guy. He regularly tweets out love for the senator from Vermont. Earlier this year he and some volunteers got together and made a video supporting Sanders for president.

So he was kind of bummed when he was disinvited from introducing Sanders before a rally in East Los Angeles on Monday.

“It’s lip service to get the votes, but they don’t want to endorse what I stand for and what I’ve stood for all my professional career,” Chong told The Hollywood Reporter after he was uninvited to the rally. “It was an insult.”

A Sanders spokesman told the Reporter: “We appreciate his support but a scheduling issue came up.”

Later in the day Chong seemed to have mellowed out about the snub.

When The Times last spoke to Chong about the presidential race, he was upfront about his low opinion of Donald Trump and other Republicans in the race at the time.

He said Hillary Clinton would make a fine commander in chief, but he didn’t like her big-money donors.

“It is a money dance. They are dancing for whoever is pulling the strings,” he told The Times. “That’s what I like about Bernie; there is no one pulling the strings.”

Either way, Chong seemed to be all right on Tuesday. After all, it is his birthday. He is 78.

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‘Welcome to California water wars’: State’s congressional delegation debates water plans on the House floor

House Republicans are making another push for a bill addressing California’s drought, adding the text of a measure by Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) to two pieces of legislation headed to the Senate.

The House passed Valadao’s bill almost a year ago, but the Senate has refused to take it up. His legislation focuses on funneling more water to San Joaquin Valley growers by reducing the amount used to support endangered fish populations.

The Senate is reviewing a bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) as part of a broad package of water bills for Western states.

Including the text of Valadao’s bill in either measure would force the two chambers to reconcile the versions of the bill.

On Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats from Caifornia’s 53-member House delegation lined up to debate the inclusion of Valadao’s measure in the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal 2017.

The White House signaled this week that Valadao’s water legislation would prompt a veto of the appropriations bill if it reached his desk.

The House also will vote to include the language in the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016.

Here are some highlights from Tuesday’s back and forth among some California lawmakers.

Valadao held up a photo of tarp-covered homes in his district along arid dirt he called a shantytown.

“This is not in a Third World country. This is in the United States of America, this is right here in California, and this is something that’s happening in these communities because of this water being wasted,” he said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) argued that House Republicans have repeatedly met privately with Democrats to craft legislation the whole delegation can live with, but have been publicly stymied.

“There were more Democrats than there were Republicans and we stayed months in there talking. And we came to a lot of agreements. Maybe some people that were in the room won’t say that on the outside, but on the inside they agreed to a lot of pieces of the legislation,” he said.

My constituents can’t and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Water is not a luxury. It is a necessity, and we need it now more than ever.

— House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) sponsored an amendment to pull the Valadao text out of the bill. A vote on the amendment wasn’t held Tuesday night.

“These provisions would undermine 40 years of progress,” the Democrat said. “The provisions in the bill will weaken the Endangered Species Act and set a precedent of putting aside environmental protections.”

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) said that gutting the Endangered Species Act and ignoring the Clean Water Act to just turn on the pumps would be the “death knell of the delta.”

Gentlemen and ladies, welcome to California water wars. This is not the way to handle it.

— Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove)

Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno was the only Democrat to speak in support of including Valadao’s measure, saying that at least it would provide some relief.

“In the absence of getting a comprehensive water bill passed into law, which I have not given up hope for and my colleagues on both sides are still working on [on] a bipartisan basis with Sen. Feinstein, I hope my colleagues in the meantime will join me in supporting the provisions in this bill that Congressman Valadao has been able to provide that will in fact contain relief to the people of California who we represent and who have been most impacted by this drought,” he said.

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Pot legalization could provide $1 billion for state and local governments, analyst says

A proposed ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana could generate more than $1 billion annually for state and local governments, but also would likely lead to more cannabis use, requiring additional money to be spent on drug treatment, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office said Tuesday.

The report was presented to state lawmakers who held a hearing on the measure, which was proposed for California’s November ballot by a coalition that includes former Facebook president Sean Parker.

The measure would allow adults ages 21 and older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes and place a 15% tax on retail sales of the drug.

“Our best estimate is that the state and local governments could eventually collect net additional revenues that could range from the high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually,” analyst Aaron Edwards of the Legislative Analyst’s Office told lawmakers.

Supporters noted the measure requires some of the money generated go to stepped-up law enforcement and drug treatment programs and would reduce the state’s cost of keeping offenders in jail or prison.

“It’s time for a different approach, one that brings sanity and clarity to our marijuana laws,” said Diane Goldstein, a retired lieutenant with the Redondo Beach Police Department.

However, Shaun Rundle of the California Peace Officers Assn. said the marijuana measure will lead to more violent crime, including home-invasion robberies of marijuana growers. He said it “will undoubtedly burden keepers of the peace.”

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) said he is “quite irritated” that the proposal is an initiative instead of legislation that lawmakers could refine.

“My great concerns … are specifically about legal marijuana dispensaries becoming the neighborhood blight centers we’ve seen in liquor stores,” Ridley-Thomas said.

Meanwhile, the California Assn. of Highway Patrolmen on Tuesday joined other law enforcement groups in opposing the marijuana initiative, saying it will make California’s highways and roads “more dangerous” by increasing the number of drivers who are high on drugs.

“This proposed measure will result in no cost savings to the highway patrol, and in fact adds costs due to increased marijuana DUI-related accidents and fatalities as experienced by other states,” said the association’s president, Doug Villars. “This initiative also allows passengers in a vehicle to smoke marijuana, resulting in second-hand smoke intoxication of the driver.”

The measure, which is in the signature verification stage, had previously been opposed by the California Police Chiefs Assn. and the California State Sheriffs’ Assn.

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L.A. City Council gets in on Supreme Court action

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Lawmakers continue to press governor for more affordable-housing dollars

Lawmakers from the Assembly and Senate are continuing to push Gov. Jerry Brown to spend money on affordable-housing programs.

Assembly Democrats are asking for $650 million in subsidies to pay for rental housing for low-income workers, tax credits and farmworker housing. That amount, which advanced out of a budget hearing Tuesday, is half the $1.3-billion request a dozen Assembly Democrats made last month. Senators renewed their request for $200 million in funding to combat homelessness during their own budget hearing.

Brown didn’t include either funding request in his revised budget, saying that affordable-housing subsidies brought too little bang for the buck, especially with numerous budgetary pressures.

By reducing their request, Assembly members seemed to concede that a larger dollar figure didn’t have a chance to get Brown’s support.

“While the $650 [million] falls short of our original ask, if you will, it represents a significant investment of funds to address what is nothing short of a full-blown affordability crisis,” said Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco).

The governor does support a $2-billion bond promoted by Senate leaders that would reallocate existing dollars toward homelessness services. Brown’s major housing affordability plan involves loosening restrictions for developers to build homes, but that effort has attracted major opposition from labor and environmental groups.

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Still no deal in sight for state road funding

Long-stalled plans to boost funding for road repairs in California won’t happen as part of the state budget deal, the leader of the Assembly budget committee said.

“We have been working on transportation funding for over a year,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). “Overall, I support the governor’s proposal and, although it has a lot of support in the Legislature, it doesn’t have the votes to pass by June 15. By moving it to the policy process, we can keep these important discussions moving forward.”

Gov. Jerry Brown called a special session of the Legislature last summer to deal with road funding, but little progress has been made since. Last week, a coalition of cities, counties, labor and business groups put forward a new plan, which relies on increases in gas taxes and vehicle fees as well as reforms to the repair process, in hopes of breaking the logjam.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer to meet with Supreme Court nominee

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will meet Wednesday afternoon with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

The California senator has met with and considered six Supreme Court nominees since her 1992 election.

Garland has sat down with senators in both parties, even as Republican Senate leaders maintain they will not consider a nominee put forward by Obama. The White House has cast the meetings as chipping away at GOP resistance.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) met with Garland on April 6.

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Assemblyman Calderon backs Proposition 50 ballot measure spurred by his uncle’s legal problems

Then-state Sen. Leland Yee, left, and then-Sen. Ron Calderon in 2014, before both men were suspended with pay over corruption charges.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Assemblyman Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) has spent $41,500 in political funds to support Proposition 50, an anti-corruption measure put on the ballot in response to issues raised when his uncle, former Sen. Ronald Calderon, was indicted in a bribery case.

Ronald Calderon and Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco were indicted in separate corruption cases in 2014, leading to their suspension with pay by the Senate after lawmakers said state law prevents them from withholding the money. Proposition 50 would allow suspensions without pay.

Ian Calderon said he is supporting the ballot measure on principle.

“I voted to put Proposition 50 on the ballot because I believed it to be the right thing to do,” he said. “Proposition 50 protects our institution, and will help restore people’s trust in our ability to do our job.”

SeePolitical produced this video explaining Proposition 50.

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Two Californians to help write Democratic Party platform

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and former California Rep. Howard Berman will help draft the Democratic Party’s platform this year.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz named them to the 15-member panel that will help determine policy priorities ahead of the party’s July convention in Philadelphia.

This year, Democrats divided the makeup of the panel, with presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders each allowed to name a portion of the group and Wasserman Schultz naming four people. Lee and Berman were selected by Wasserman Schultz.

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Assembly Democrats cut affordable housing request in half to $650 million

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Voting rights lawsuit filed by Sanders supporters awaits its day in court

California’s deadline to register to vote is Monday night, but the plaintiffs in a federal voting rights lawsuit are undeterred in their quest to get extra time.

William Simpich, the attorney who filed a lawsuit on Friday demanding additional time to register new voters, said on Monday that he’s still waiting for the scheduling of a hearing in the case.

At issue: Confusion among some of California’s independent voters, officially know as voters with “no party preference.” As the Times first reported on Sunday, the lawsuit alleges these voters have not been given enough information about how to cast a ballot in the June 7 presidential primary.

The lawsuit was filed by a group supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as two voters from the Bay Area and California’s American Independent Party.

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Bill Clinton stopped by for a chat with Gov. Brown

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Senate candidate Ron Unz loses bid for Harvard University board

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California, tonight is your last chance to register to vote

The deadline to register to vote in California’s June 7 primary ends just before the clock strikes midnight.

  • To check the status of your voter registration, go to this website
  • Not sure which county you live in? Enter your ZIP code here
  • If you need to register, or reregister, go here
  • The last day to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot by mail is May 31. To make that request, you’ll have to submit a form through your county official’s office. You can find that here

If you’re an independent voter who wants to vote the Democratic Party ballot, you’ll have to be registered as “No Party Preference” and request a Democratic presidential primary ballot. (That’s at the heart of a lawsuit filed by backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders.)

If you’re registered with the American Independent Party instead, you won’t be able to cast that vote. You can check your status here.

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Measure on college voter registration passes Assembly, but with major changes

A measure aimed at registering more college students to vote passed the Assembly on Monday.

AB 2455 by Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) cleared the house with a 52-23 vote.

The idea was originally proposed by two UC Berkeley law students who sought to require California State University and community college campuses to automate voter registration for students when they sign up for classes online.

That language was stripped from the bill. Under the new version, campuses would be required to integrate a more direct link between online college enrollment systems and the Secretary of State’s online voter registration page, but would not be required to automatically transfer data to elections officials to register eligible voters.

Cal State and community colleges already are required to include a link to online voter registration on their websites, but Chiu says the new bill will encourage those systems and the University of California to move toward automated registration of students.

“I’m committed to continuing to explore this idea further and see how we can implement it in the future,” said Paul Monge, 26, who, along with recent graduate Cindy Dinh, submitted the idea to the lawmakers’ “There Ought To Be a Law” contest.

Monge said concerns were raised about the fact that unlike the DMV, which also registers voters, some colleges don’t collect and store signature information, a requirement to verify voter forms.

“We’ve been working closely with Paul and Cindy through every step of the legislative process,” Chiu said in a statement. “They’ve been supportive of the amendments because we’re still getting more young people registered to vote and this bill brings us one step closer to automated student registration.”

The bill next moves to the state Senate.

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State Senate votes to bar private communications with Coastal Commission members

The state Senate on Monday approved legislation that would prohibit developers, environmentalists and others from having private, off-the-record communications with members of the California Coastal Commission that could influence decision-making.

Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) introduced the measure because of concern over the recent Coastal Commission decision to remove Executive Director Charles Lester during a closed-door session with little public explanation.

More than 200 environmental activists and others testified against the removal, with some claiming commissioners were making the agency friendlier to developers.

Jackson told her colleagues that the commission has ‘’run amok,” adding the removal “has resulted in a high degree of public uncertainty, accusations of a lack of transparency in the decision-making process and concerns of undue influence.”

The bill would explicitly prohibit ex-parte communications involving development permit applications and board hearings on enforcement actions against improper development.

“SB 1190 will help restore the public’s trust in this commission, ensure that decisions are made with transparency and remove that backroom decision-making or the public perception that backroom decision-making occurs,” Jackson said during the floor debate. The vote was 23-12.

The commission, which plans and regulates the use of land and water along the coast, allows ex parte communications as long as they are disclosed. However, Jackson said the disclosures are often delayed.

Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) voted against the bill, saying it is too restrictive on communications between the public and its government.

“I think we are probably overreacting to something,” he said.

Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) voted for the bill despite concerns that the bill could prevent full and fair hearings to people and lacks a prohibition in ex parte communications with staff.

“Currently it’s nearly impossible to get a full and adequate hearing without ex parte communications,” Hertzberg said, noting interested parties often get only minutes to make their case at a hearing.

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Staff moves in the California delegation

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Voting rights lawsuit seeks to extend Monday’s deadline to register

A federal lawsuit alleging widespread confusion over California’s presidential primary rules asks that voter registration be extended past Monday’s deadline until the day of the state’s primary election on June 7.

“Mistakes are being made,” said William Simpich, an Oakland civil rights attorney who filed the lawsuit Friday.

At issue is whether voters understand the rules for the presidential primary, which differ from those governing other elections in California.

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California politics podcast: Chiang, Newsom and the 2018 governor’s race

It’s one of the biggest political questions in California once 2016 is all said and done: How many Democrats will jump into the race for governor in 2018?

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we discuss the entry into the race by state Treasurer John Chiang. And we look ahead as to how both Chiang and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom may work to keep their names in the news over the next two years.

We also discuss the complicated politics of gun control bills now making their way through the Legislature. And in our final segment, a little bit of political potpourri: Gov. Jerry Brown’s new challenges on water and high-speed rail, and how the Nov. 8 statewide ballot is finally taking shape.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown backs Kamala Harris for U.S. Senate

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday endorsed Kamala Harris for the U.S. Senate, saying she has served the state well as attorney general and delivering a blow to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), her top rival in the race.

“Kamala has done a great job and, as her client, I know what a hell of a lawyer she is,” Brown said. “She’s intelligent; she knows what she’s doing.”

Brown announced support at the headquarters of the California Democratic Party, which had endorsed Harris during the party’s February convention in San Jose.

The move crystallizes her support among the state’s top Democratic politicians.

Harris’ longtime friend and San Francisco political ally Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed her Senate bid in January.

Brown, Newsom and Harris all use the same San Francisco political consulting firm, SCN Strategies, which includes political advisors Ace Smith, Sean Clegg and Dan Newman.

Harris also has been endorsed by state Treasurer John Chiang, Controller Betty Yee and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

Even before launching her campaign a year ago, Sanchez said she knew that California’s “establishment Democrats” were already backing Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney. Sanchez has been endorsed by 17 members of California’s congressional delegation.

Sanchez also failed to land the state Democratic Party endorsement in her first run for Congress in 1996, and she went on to win the nomination and oust Orange County conservative Rep. Robert Dornan.

Harris was first elected attorney general in 2010, and was reelected in 2014.

There are 34 Senate candidates on the June 7 primary ballot. Recent opinion polls show that Harris is the solid frontrunner and have Sanchez in second place.

Under California’s “top-two” primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary will face off in the November general election, even if they belong to the same political party.

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Gov. Jerry Brown warns against ‘scorched earth’ presidential campaign for Democrats

Gov. Jerry Brown, who knows a thing or two about running an insurgent presidential campaign, took a not-too-subtle shot on Saturday at Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders.

“I don’t think anybody should be seeking the Democratic nomination with a scorched-earth policy. At the end of the day, we’ve all got to work together,” Brown told reporters after speaking at a United Farm Workers union convention in Bakersfield.

“It’s very important to beat Donald Trump. That’s the overriding imperative.”

Brown didn’t mention the Vermont senator by name. Still, Sanders has been locked in an increasing nasty fight with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, even though Sanders faces long odds in capturing the delegates needed for a victory.

Brown ran for president in 1976, 1980 and again in 1992, fighting hard in the Democratic primaries – especially against former President Bill Clinton in 1992 -- before he eventually fell short.

“I’ve run insurgency campaigns. And they have to be run in a way that, ultimately, the Democratic nominee wins,” Brown said.

He added that there is “great exuberance in getting highly negative” during a tough presidential primary fight. But he said that “it’s a temptation that should be avoided.”

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Gov. Brown, speaking to farm workers union, blasts Trump and Republicans

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Gubernatorial candidate John Chiang talks about his sister’s murder and the ‘power of community’

Less than a week after announcing his 2018 bid for governor, state Treasurer John Chiang addressed the United Farm Workers’ annual convention Saturday and spoke of the deep bond among all immigrants, including Latinos and Chinese, who worked the earth and picked crops in California.

Chiang also spoke of the death of his sister, Joyce, a federal immigration attorney who disappeared and was found murdered in Washington, D.C., in 1999.

“My sister was murdered,” Chiang bluntly told the crowd.

Heartbroken, his family found comfort in the tremendous outpouring of support after the tragedy, including from Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy was a passionate supporter of the farmworkers movement in the 1960s.

“Kerry Kennedy went to the mass and prayed and genuflected with my mom and my brother at the service,” Chiang told the union delegates gathered inside the Bakersfield convention center. “That’s the power of community.”

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Kamala Harris tells farm workers that ‘an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal’

U.S. Senate hopeful Kamala Harris, speaking to leaders of the United Farm Workers union, called for fixing the nation’s immigration system and protecting the rights of millions of immigrants in the country illegally.

Harris told union delegates gathered at Bakersfield’s convention center that immigration is the “civil rights issue of our time,” a phrase she has repeated often at campaign rallies. But the state attorney general offered few specifics on how she would work with the Republican leaders in Congress to pass legislation.

Harris received the loudest ovation when she said “an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal” in both English and Spanish.

Harris and her top Democratic rival in the Senate race, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, were both invited to speak at the event. But Sanchez canceled Saturday morning because of a “family matter,” according to Emily Morris, the congresswoman’s spokeswoman.

Harris, speaking to reporters afterward, also said that she was “skeptical” of the practice of hydraulic fracking by the oil industry in the Bakersfield region, the heart of California’s billion-dollar oil industry. She stopped short of calling for a ban or moratorium, however.

“There’s no question that we need a significant shift in terms of our reliance on oil in this country,” Harris said.

Gov. Jerry Brown is scheduled to address the UFW convention Saturday evening, and former President Bill Clinton will speak Sunday.

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Kamala Harris makes her Senate pitch to United Farm Workers

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Want to have dinner with Donald Trump? It’ll cost $25,000 (or more)

Donald Trump will raise money Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, marking his first foray into official GOP fundraisers with an event where tickets start at $25,000.

The dinner will be held at the home of Rachelle and Tom Barrack, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.

Guests paying $25,000 per person receive a photo and can attend the reception and dinner. Anyone paying $100,000 per couple becomes a member of the host committee and also gets a Republican National Committee Regent membership.

Trump and the RNC have entered into a joint fundraising agreement called “Trump Victory.” That means some of the money raised will go to the RNC and 11 state parties: Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The invitation notes the first $2,700 raised will go to Trump’s primary campaign and the second $2,700 to his general election campaign. The next $33,400 will go to the RNC’s operations account, followed by the next $100,200 to the party’s convention account. Another $100,200 will be allotted to the RNC’s Headquarters account. The $110,000 after that will go to the state parties, and the final $100,200 will go to the RNC’s Legal Proceedings account.

Democrats have a similar structure for high-dollar fundraisers, including one Hillary Clinton did recently with George Clooney.

The hosts listed on the Trump fundraiser invitation are RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Trump Victory Finance Chairman Lewis Eisenberg and Trump campaign Finance Chairman Steven Mnuchin.

Barrack, whose real estate private equity firm Colony Capital recently sold Miramax, has done deals with Trump, according to a profile in Fortune Magazine.

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Healthcare union submits signatures for ballot battle over hospital CEO salaries

One of California’s most vocal unions representing healthcare workers appears poised to make good on a long-standing threat: to ask voters to rein in the salaries of hospital executives.

On Thursday, state officials reported that the Service Employees Union-United Healthcare Workers West has submitted signatures on an initiative that would generally cap the salaries and other perks of private and some public hospitals at no more than the salary of the president of the United States – currently $450,000 a year.

“The hospital industry is run by people who are paid exorbitant salaries,” said Dave Regan, president of the labor union.

The initiative would give the California attorney general the power to enforce those salary mandates and could affect “a few hundred” hospital executives in California, according to one ballot analysis.

This is the second initiative the union has successfully landed on the fall ballot, having qualified a minimum-wage increase proposal in April. That measure could be withdrawn, as Regan has said the union supports the law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that will gradually raise the statewide minumum wage to $15 an hour.

The union backed off a similar salary-cap initiative in spring 2014 after reaching an agreement with the California Hospitals Assn. regarding union representation of workers and a joint effort to increase Medi-Cal funding.

But that détente abruptly ended earlier this year.

Jan Emerson-Shea, a representative of the California Hospitals Assn., called the initiative a violation of the brokered deal.

“It represents the third time in four years that UHW has attempted to use the ballot initiative process to leverage hospitals into organizing agreements,” she said in a written statement. “The filing of this measure is nothing short of an abuse of California’s ballot initiative system.”

Regan said the union tried to work cooperatively with hospital officials on a number of healthcare issues.

“They’re fundamentally committed to the status quo,” he said in an interview.

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Gov. Brown turns in signatures on parole ballot measure

Gov. Jerry Brown, still awaiting word on the legality of his plan to revamp the state’s parole laws, nonetheless submitted petition signatures on Friday to earn the measure a spot on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Brown’s ballot initiative remains under review by the California Supreme Court, after a Sacramento judge ruled that Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris had erred by approving last-minute changes in its wording. If Brown loses that case, the initiative would be barred from the fall statewide ballot.

The initiative, unveiled in late January, would allow early release for some prison inmates who are serving sentences for nonviolent felonies and who earn credits for education and other programs. It would also allow judges the discretion to keep some juveniles from being tried as adults.

Elections officials now must seek to verify the signatures collected by Brown’s campaign team, a process in which petition circulators were paid as much as $5 per signature. By law, the initiative needs 585,407 valid signatures.

In a speech to business leaders on Wednesday, the governor called the initiative “a system of incentives” for some prisoners to focus on their rehabilitation.

“I think it’s pretty reasonable,” Brown told the group.

But some law enforcement officers and district attorneys are poised to oppose the initiative.

“The governor longs for a return to the ‘bad old days’ of his first term that began in 1974, when parole boards freed inmates who had served extremely short sentences,” wrote George Hofstetter, president of the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, in a recent online critique.

Brown’s initiative is likely one of the very last proposals to seek a spot on the ballot, a list that could total as many as 18 propositions by the time the final signatures are verified by elections officials. Secretary of State Alex Padilla has until June 30 to certify the final list of ballot measures.

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Armenian American voters could swing District 43 Assembly race

With more than $1.2 million in outside spending already pouring in to the race in Assembly District 43, it’s clear there’s a lot at stake for this safe Democratic seat.

There’s a big factor that could affect the outcome: the district’s large bloc of Armenian American voters.

Armenians make up about 17% of the electorate in the district, and have become highly organized and are known to line up behind their own.

That matters in this race because Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian, a second-generation Armenian American who was raised in Glendale, is facing Laura Friedman, a Glendale City Council member who has benefited from most of the outside spending.

In a district where total turnout in recent presidential primaries has hovered around 50,000, the 45,000 eligible Armenian American voters here could swing the race in Kassakhian’s favor in a crowded field of eight.

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Former state senator admits campaign violations

Former state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) on Thursday reached an agreement with California’s political watchdog group in which he admitted violating campaign finance laws and will pay a $40,000 fine.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission approved the settlement, which replaces an $80,000 fine recommended originally by its enforcement staff before Strickland admitted to the violations.

The commission found that Strickland played a role in earmarking campaign contributions made to his 2010 campaign for state controller by supporters whose money went through two county Republican committees to disguise its source.

“We are pleased Mr. Strickland accepted responsibility for the violations,” said Galena West, the chief of enforcement for the FPPC. “The maximum fine imposed sends a message that this type of activity will be aggressively prosecuted and will not be tolerated.”

Strickland said he decided to settle the six-year-old case “in order to move forward.”

“I am very pleased that this matter has been resolved,” he told The Times in an email. “But, I want to be clear that there was no money laundering. I never solicited a party donation for me. In 2010, I was one of the top fundraisers in the state and raised money for the Republican ticket.”

This year, Strickland is chairman of the Committee for American Sovereignty, a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump..

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House votes to ban Confederate flag images from veterans cemeteries

The U.S. House on Thursday adopted an amendment by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) that prohibits federal taxpayer funds from being used to fly the Confederate battle flag at cemeteries operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The amendment was added to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act by a 265-to-159 vote.

The Veterans Affairs Department currently permits the display of the Confederate flag on Memorial Day as well as on Confederate Memorial Day at 131 facilities.

In a statement, Huffman said the vote was a step in the right direction, but that it was still shameful that a third of House members voted against it.

“Why would anyone in Congress — let alone a majority of the governing party — still condone displays of this hateful symbol on our sacred national cemeteries? Symbols like the Confederate battle flag have meaning. They are not just neutral historical symbols of pride, they represent slavery, war, lynchings and tragedy,” he said.

A similar effort by Huffman last year brought the appropriations process to a halt when Southern lawmakers protested the proposal, which would have restricted displaying the banner in federal parklands.

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Here are the gun control proposals approved by the state Senate

Here’s a quick overview of proposed gun control measures approved Thursday by the state Senate.

  • Ammunition regulation: SB 1235 by Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) requires background checks to buy ammunition. It also creates a license to sell ammunition, and creates a new system for collecting information about those sales.
  • Ban on large ammunition magazines: SB 1446 by Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) bans the ownership of any ammunition clip that holds more than 10 rounds.
A plastic pistol made using a 3-D printer, described by some as a "ghost gun."
(Jay Janner / Associated Press)
  • Bullet buttons: SB 880 by Sen. Isadore Hall (D-Compton) expands the legal definition of an “assualt weapon” to include a group of rifles with ammunition clips that can be quickly swapped out by using a bullet to push a small release button.
  • SB 894 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) requires reporting most lost or stolen guns within five days.
  • “Ghost guns”: SB 1407 by De León requires a person to get a serial number from state officials before making or assembling a gun.
  • Gun violence research: SB 1006 by Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) creates a new University of California center for researching gun-related violence.

Two other bills, both of which originated in the Assembly, were amended by Senate Democrats.

  • Gun theft: AB 1176 would make the theft of a gun a felony, a change in the 2014 law passed by voters as Proposition 47. As such, this proposal would have to be approved by voters on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot.
  • Gun lending: AB 1511 places tighter rules on lending someone a gun -- limiting those loans to family members or a licensed hunter.
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Gun control bills pass the state Senate

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The latest idea to fix California’s roads tries to put everyone else’s ideas together

Seeking to break the logjam over road repair funding at the Capitol, a broad coalition of local, business and labor leaders proposed a package of new taxes and reforms at a rally Thursday.

The plan, coalition leaders said, borrows from existing proposals from Gov. Jerry Brown, Democrats in the Assembly and Senate and GOP lawmakers who have failed to reach a deal for a year. The coalition plan includes a 12-cent hike in the gas tax, $500 million from cap-and-trade revenue and new fees for car owners, among other revenue increases. It also has a number of reform measures advocated by Republicans to reallocate transportation dollars and streamline environmental reviews.

“We can do reform. We can do revenue,” said Matt Cate, the executive director of the California State Assn. of Counties. “But what we can’t do is wait anymore.”

A transportation package has essentially gone nowhere since Brown called a special session on the issue last summer. Democrats have blamed Republicans for not entertaining new taxes while Republicans say the money the state has isn’t being spent wisely. Declining gas tax revenue as cars increase their fuel efficiencies has led to a funding crunch.

The coalition plan would raise more than $5 billion in its first year and nearly $7 billion by the fifth year as tax hikes get phased in. These figures are more in line with proposals from legislative Democrats and more than $1 billion higher than Brown’s plan.

Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley said the onus is on Democrats in control of the Legislature to get things moving.

“To date, they have refused to vote on their own transportation proposals, much less ours,” Mayes said in a statement after the rally. “Legislative inaction will not improve our roads.”

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Missed California lawmakers hopping around like frogs? We’ve got you covered

“Donald Jump” was among the frogs wrangled by state lawmakers at the 42nd Annual Capitol Frog Jump.

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U.S. House rejects Rep. Barbara Lee’s push to end war authorization

The House voted 285 to 138 Wednesday to reject an amendment from Rep. Barbara Lee that would have ended President Obama’s authority to use military force against Islamic State.

Congress approved an Authorization for Use of Military Force in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, to give President George W. Bush authority to use the military. Obama has said he believes that authority extends to fighting Islamic State, which sprung up as Al Qaeda’s strength waned.

Lee and other members of Congress say the president should have had to come back to Congress for a new authorization.

The Oakland Democrat tried to add an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have repealed the authority 90 days after the defense spending bill passed. To continue military operations in Iraq, Syria and other Middle East countries, Congress would have had to debate the merits of a new conflict and vote on a new military force authorization.

“The overly broad and almost 15-years-old [authorization] represents a major and very concerning deterioration of congressional oversight,” Lee said during debate over the amendment on the House floor. “Let’s repeal this blank check.”

Lee, who was the only House member to vote against the 2001 authorization, said she voted no because she was worried it gave presidents the power to wage endless war without Congress’ consent.

“I believe quite frankly, that history has borne that out,” Lee said.

A report from the Congressional Research Service requested by Lee shows the current authorization has been used to justify unclassified military action 37 times in 14 countries since 2001, including 19 times by Obama.

“This report only looks at unclassified incidents. How many other times has it been used without the knowledge of Congress or the American people?” Lee said.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) opposed Lee’s amendment, saying repealing the authorization “would unilaterally end the fight against ISIS and al Qaeda.”

“ISIS grew out of al Qaeda in Iraq, the president has determined that the 2001 AUMF allows the United States to target ISIS, both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs agree that they have full legal authority to combat ISIS and Congress has supported that view by appropriating funds,” he said.

In February 2015, Obama proposed a new Authorization for Military Force that would allow fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for three years. Congress has not brought up the measure, saying it is too limiting.

“A new [authorization] can not give President Obama any more authority to fight ISIS than he currently claims. It could give him less,” Royce said.

Royce said Obama still hasn’t laid out a broad strategy to fight the Islamic State.

“Once the president provides that strategy this House can have an informed debate over a new [authorization], but this amendment would leave us with no strategy and no authority,” Royce said. “That’s irresponsible.”

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Donald Jump underperforms at 42nd annual Capitol Frog Jump

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Congressman talks about space exploration with Bill Nye the Science Guy (but didn’t know who he was at first)

Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) said in an interview between House votes that his staff was very excited about meeting the television show host and educator Bill Nye the Science Guy, who was on Capitol Hill to talk about space exploration and funding for NASA.

“He’s a very sensible, adamant, thoughtful person,” Honda said.

Honda, 74, said he had heard of Nye, but didn’t know who he was at first. When his staff tried to explain, Honda said he compared Nye to Don Herbert, the science show host from his childhood.

“Like Mr. Wizard? The science guy? You know,” he said.

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Democrats rally behind gun control bills on eve of vote

On the eve of the California Senate acting on 10 gun control bills, state lawmakers on Wednesday said mass shootings, such as the one in San Bernardino last December, require legislative action to close loopholes in California’s already strict laws.

Eight members of the state Assembly touted a batch of proposals that include outlawing the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic rifles that have detachable magazines as well as those with “bullet buttons” that allow swift replacement of magazines.

Those already possessing such guns would have to register them with the state as assault rifles.

The bills were introduced after two terrorists killed 14 people attending a holiday event in San Bernardino.

“Death and injury arising from firearms violence by homicide, suicide and unintential shootings are on the rise,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said during a Capitol news conference. “None of us are immune from the tragedies that guns deliver every day throughout the state.”

Leaders of the Senate are concerned that a gun control initiative proposed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for November may persuade some lawmakers to withhold votes on the pending bills with the idea of leaving the decision up to the people.

Rendon declined to weigh in on that issue. “This is our process for going about that,” Rendon said of the Assembly bills pending in his house. “The Senate has their process for doing that. Obviously the lieutenant governor is following his process as well.”

The speaker said he isn’t worried that having the gun control initiative on the ballot may draw conservative voters to the polls to the detriment of Democratic candidates.

“As far as gun issues are concerned in general, our data shows that voters at the polls in November are more likely to reflect the views of the folks up here than they are of the ardent gun owners,” Rendon said.

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Getting a jump on the competition

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Flanked by Central American children, California congresswomen call for end to immigration raids

U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Lucille Roybal-Allard called for President Obama to stop deportation raids of Central American children and their families Wednesday.

Young children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador who fled violence in their home countries and are living in the Chicago area waved American flags and hugged the California congresswomen and Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) as they spoke at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol.

Hundreds of thousands of children have crossed the U.S. southern border in recent years seeking asylum. Because being present in the U.S. illegally is a civil offense, there is no right to an attorney during immigration or asylum proceedings. That means many children stand alone before an immigration judge when they ask to stay in this country.

“America’s response has fallen short,” Lofgren, a former immigration attorney, said. “There’s no other instance in American law where a child appears before a judge, facing off [against] a trained prosecutor standing for the government, by himself without access to any legal counsel.”

Roybal-Allard said the raids don’t live up to American values.

“Deporting Central American women and children who may have valid asylum claims but are unable to navigate the complexities of our legal system on their own is contrary to our American beliefs of fairness and justice,” she said.

House Democrats and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have repeatedly called on the Obama administration to stop the raids, which are targeted at Central Americans seeking asylum in the U.S. who already have been told to leave the country.

The newest wave of raids is expected to take place in May and June.

Lofgren and 77 of her House colleagues have put forth a bill to argue that, at a minimum, children and people with certain disabilities should have government-appointed attorneys to help them navigate the asylum process.

It has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee. Lofgren is the highest-ranking Democrat on the subcommittee.

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If November tax initiative passes handily, Gov. Jerry Brown won’t be surprised

Gov. Jerry Brown appears at the Sacramento Host Breakfast on Wednesday.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

While Gov. Jerry Brown has declined to endorse a November ballot measure to extend current tax rates on California’s most wealthy residents, he made it clear on Wednesday that the proposal has some pretty good political odds behind it.

“If you have to go to the people and ask them to tax, the best tax is the one where 99% of the voters don’t pay it,” said Brown to laughter and applause at the Sacramento Host Breakfast, an annual gathering of state business leaders.

“They’re a very amenable constituency for that kind of taxation,” he said.

Brown never mentioned it by name, but just such a proposal will probably appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The proposal, crafted by a coalition of labor and healthcare groups, would extend for 12 years current tax rates on the state’s top earners. Those higher rates were imposed temporarily by a 2012 ballot measure championed by Brown.

The governor has avoided taking a position on the ballot measure. Nonetheless, a statewide poll last month found 62% of likely voters support the proposal.

In his remarks to the business group on Wednesday, Brown made a point of talking about historical economic trends that cycle between boom and bust. His advisors now believe that, absent the tax increase initiative, California could face annual budget deficits as soon as the summer of 2018 -- during Brown’s final few months in office.

Which led to another small joke from the veteran politician.

“As my father told me, timing is everything,” the governor said. “I timed my return to Sacramento to begin the business cycle upward. And I’ve timed my exit for its downward cycle again.”

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Why not Jerry Brown for vice president in 2016?

Sure, he’s said he isn’t interested in running for the presidency. But maybe Gov. Jerry Brown would make a good running mate.

Times editorial writer Mariel Garza calls Brown an “obvious” choice with a “known and comfortable” brand that could cross party lines.

The real question, Garza points out, is whether Brown would want the job.

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John Chiang is praised by Villaraigosa, a possible rival in the governor’s race

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Gov. Jerry Brown’s housing proposal should be even stronger, legislative analyst says

Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed legislation to spur housing development is a significant change in how cities and counties approve housing and could be “an important first step toward addressing California’s housing shortage,” the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office said in a review of the plan.

Brown’s proposal would force local governments to approve urban housing developments without detailed reviews provided that the projects are already zoned for high-density residential use and that the developer sets aside a number of units for low-income residents.

Currently, Brown’s plan says projects eligible for streamlined approval must have at least 20% of their units designated as affordable with a smaller percentage for projects near mass transit. The analyst’s report recommends the Legislature consider lowering those requirements because the state needs to boost housing construction at all income levels to keep pace with growing demand.

“Requiring developers to set aside 20% of housing for low-income househoulds, however, may prevent many developers from taking advantage of the proposed streamlined approval,” the report said. “This could substantially limit how much new housing the governor’s proposal will produce.”

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has been one of the leading promoters at the Capitol of the perspective that California’s primary housing affordability problem is a lack of housing supply, not dwindling subsidies for low-income housing.

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Obama administration approves new healthcare tax for California that was the focus of big Capitol negotiations

Federal officials have signed off on Califronia’s newly crafted tax on healthcare plans -- the final chapter in this year’s intense debate over funding for health and social services programs.

The approval, given on Tuesday by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, comes almost three months after lawmakers gave final approval to the $1.3-billion proposal. The tax is imposed on managed care organizations, based partly on how many Medi-Cal patients they serve.

It replaced a prior tax plan that federal officials said the state could no longer impose, and was the focus of intense state Capitol negotiations earlier this year.

In particular, Republican and Democratic legisators agreed to approve the tax at the same time as the state increased money for services to the developmentally disabled and paid down state debts.

The announcement was good news for local health plans that provide service to more than half of the state’s Medi-Cal patients.

“Today’s approval provides stability to the program and guarantees that the quality healthcare our plans provide to these important populations will continue,” said Brianna Lierman, CEO of Local Health Plans of California, in a statement.

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Who’s got the most hops?

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Early reviews of Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget offer a glimpse of the debate to come

As budget negotiations begin at the state Capitol, keep an eye on the fate of about $3.5 billion of tax revenue. In the push and pull between legislative Democrats and Gov. Jerry Brown, the fate of those dollars is where the real debate is likely to play out.

Brown continued to insist in the revised budget he rolled out last week that the state should put an extra $2 billion into the rainy day reserve fund. And he proposed spending $1.5 billion on repairs to state government buildings.

But both choices would hamper the efforts of some legislative Democrats to boost spending on programs such as welfare assistance and subsidized child care for low-income families.

A report published Monday by the California Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit that advocates for those kinds of programs, concludes that Brown’s recommendations on extra cash reserves and building projects mean that “significant funding is not available to invest in other vital public systems and services.”

Meantime, a new report from Standard & Poor’s focuses on Brown’s projection of a reemerging budget deficit in 2018-19. The company’s analysts call it “noteworthy” that budgetary red ink would return even without new spending proposals.

Those two topics -- how to use what could be considered extra money and the long-term outlook -- will be key between now and June 15, when the Legislature must send Brown a budget for his signature.

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Gov. Jerry Brown proposes change to state agency’s name that has become a joke

It may be a bummer to those who enjoy clever acronyms, but Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to change the name of a new state agency called the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation.

Under a proposal sent by the governor to the Legislature as part of his budget revision, BMMR would be renamed the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta insists legislators were not intentionally trying to reference the slang word “bummer” when they passed a law establishing a new state agency.

“It became a joke after people focused on that acronym,” said the Democratic lawmaker from Oakland. “I am aware that people were talking about it, but that was not intended.”

State officials, including the head of the agency, Lori Ajax, were uncomfortable with the acronym for the agency that will license medical marijuana sellers starting in 2018.

In a recent interview, Ajax said the new law “includes various statutory changes affecting BMMR …” She paused, then said, “I shouldn’t use that word.”

One of her staff members chimed in, saying the acronym could come in handy in an advertising campaign.

“I think we ought to own it,” he said before pitching a possible ad: “Not licensed? Bummer.”

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John Chiang jumps into California’s 2018 governor’s race

California Treasurer John Chiang has made it official: He’s running for governor in 2018.

The Democrat made the announcement in a statement Tuesday morning.

“As your next Governor, I have a blueprint for expanding and renewing the California dream through fixing our crumbling infrastructure, making retirement security our generation’s call to arms, and rebuilding California’s middle class through better jobs and improved educational opportunities,” Chiang said.

Chiang’s political consultant, Parke Skelton, said the treasurer opened an official campaign account and will start raising money.

“It’s a statewide governor’s race, so it’s going to be expensive,” he said.

Right now, Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the only other well-known California politician to officially jump into the governor’s race. Newsom has been aggressively raising money and already has $5.4 million cash on hand.

Skelton said that Chiang has $3.2 million left over from his successful 2014 bid for treasurer and can transfer that money to his new campaign account for governor.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also has expressed an interest in running for governor, but the Democrat isn’t expected to make a decision until the summer or fall.

Chiang, a Democrat from Torrance, has been elected to statewide office three times: twice as controller and as state treasurer in 2014.

He expects the 2018 governor’s race to be very competitive, but said that his financial expertise as state treasurer and the former controller should give me an edge in these still uncertain-economic times.

“We can’t have a brilliant future with an empty wallet,” Chiang said.

The eldest son of Taiwanese immigrants, Chiang grew up in Chicago and New York and moved west after earning his law degree. He worked for then-Controller Gray Davis and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. In 1998, he won a seat on the Board of Equalization, which oversees the collection of tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. It was his first time in elected office.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s historic fourth term in office ends in 2018, and he cannot run for reelection.

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Republicans could be shut out of Orange County congressional race for first time

The race to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) in the 46th Congressional District could see Republicans shut out of the contest for the first time in the county’s history.

California’s relatively new top-two primary system is to thank — or blame. With a crowded field of Republicans expected to split dwindling GOP votes in the district and a more than 20-point voter registration advantage for Democrats, it’s likely the June 7 primary will leave voters with a choice between two Democrats: Lou Correa and Joe Dunn.

Both are former state legislators, and both were elected to those seats in part because of help from Sanchez. They have amassed more money than the rest of the candidates combined.

The pool of Democrats in the race also includes Bao Nguyen, the Garden Grove mayor who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam.

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No ballot selfies during June 7 primary, state elections officials say

In the age of sharing all kinds of daily activities on social media, Californians who head to the polls will no doubt want to tell their friends all about it on platforms like Facebook or Snapchat.

Don’t let them, a top state elections official is telling county registrars of voters.

“The secretary of state’s office has historically taken the position that the use of cameras or video equipment at polling places is prohibited,” wrote Jana Lean, the state’s election chief, in a Monday memo to county officials.

“Although there have been coverage in the media surrounding the use of cameras at polling places, our guidance will remain as it has in past years.”

In other words: No.

Elections officials point to a handful of state laws that deal with ballot privacy -- most notably state elections Code 14291, which states: “After the ballot is marked, a voter shall not show it to any person in such a way as to reveal its contents.”

An effort to change that law is pending in the Legislature. Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) has introduced a bill to remove that barrier, telling The Times earlier this year that he hopes to make voting “cool.”

But for now, don’t expect polling place volunteers on June 7 to look the other way if you pull out your smartphone and start snapping pictures.

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One of the governor’s favored housing bills clears a hurdle

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Munger spending money for Sundheim in U.S. Senate race

Republican mega-donor Charles Munger Jr.’s political organization, Spirit of Democracy America, has launched an independent expenditure campaign supporting GOP Senate candidate George “Duf” Sundheim.

Munger’s organzation has spent close to $53,000 on polling, research and a slate card mailer, Federal Election Commission records show.

Munger personally has contributed more than $2.5 million to state campaigns in this election cycle alone. Just over $1 million of that went to the Hold Politicians Accountable effort, which has proposed a ballot measure to ensure that state lawmakers and the public have time to read all new legislation before it is passed and aims to eliminate backroom deals.

Munger in 2015 also gave $400,000 to the super PAC supporting then-presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina.

Munger, one of the top benefactors for Republicans in California, on Monday declined to comment about the campaign on behalf of Sundheim. He said he wants to avoid even the appearance of coordinating with Sundheim’s campaign, which is prohibited.

But in an interview last week, Munger described Sundheim as a “thoughtful energetic man.” He also praised Sundheim’s tenure as chairman of the California Republican Party from 2003-07, a period that saw the recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and the election of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“The party functioned just fine under Duf. It raised money. It recalled a Democratic governor. It elected a Republican governor,” Munger said. “There are big things that happened.”

With the June 7 primary election just weeks away, Sundheim could use the help.

An April Field Poll had the top two Democrats in the race, Atty. General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, far ahead of the GOP pack. Harris received support from 27% of likely primary voters in California, compared with 14% for Sanchez.

The three top GOP candidates registered in the single digits: Ron Unz with 5%, Tom Del Beccaro with 4% and Sundheim with 2%.

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Governor: We can’t buy our way out of the affordable housing problem

Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to address affordable housing, which he unveiled during a Friday press conference on his revised budget, primarily tries to address the problem by lowering regulations for affordable development. Here’s what he said about his approach:

The general idea is if you want some assisted housing, you’re going to have to reduce some of the regulatory burdens that are faced by developers. That’s what the idea is. To get a subsidized rental unit, so-called affordable housing, in San Francisco it costs a $500,000 investment, a subsidy. $500,000. That means 10 people, it’s $5 million. A hundred people? $5 billion. So you need more housing. There was a time in the 1970s, I think, the median home price in L.A. was like $65,000. So we need more production that will bring, hopefully, the supply is going to bring down the cost. Otherwise, through subsidies and through restrictions, we’re just spending more and more tax dollars and getting very, very little. And the whole program anyway is for very small numbers of people

— Gov. Jerry Brown

Some context here. Yes, the governor’s math was wrong. But his larger point is that housing subsidies don’t deliver enough bang for the buck especially when compared to broader housing supply needs.

Indeed, an affordable housing plan from Assembly Democrats would cost $1.3 billion and produce up to 25,000 units over time. The state’s housing need each year is more than 100,000 units beyond what’s currently expected to be built, according to various estimates. Brown didn’t include any money in his budget to fund the programs Assembly Democrats wanted.

Affordable housing advocates also would push back against Brown’s take in a few ways. Most experts believe that market-based solutions to affordable housing, along the lines of what Brown is proposing, won’t provide enough homes for the state’s lowest-income residents. The per-housing unit subsidy that Brown references includes more than state money; advocates want to leverage state dollars to take advantage of federal affordable housing programs that require state investments. And Brown is implying that only one person lives in each affordable unit when units are much more likely to house entire families.

Still, Brown’s overall take lines up with the view promoted by academics and economists that the main issue in California’s housing affordability crisis is the amount regulatory burdens limit the supply of homes, particularly in wealthy coastal areas.

Brown rarely endorses bills still pending in the Legislature, but as part of his housing package on Friday he announced his support for three bills aimed at boosting housing supply. Legislation by Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) and Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) would make it easier for homeowners to add a second unit to their property. Another Bloom bill would allow developers to build at higher densities if they include affordable units as part of their projects.

Brown’s endorsements of these bills might get their first test in the Legislature as soon as Monday afternoon. All three bills could see votes on the floors of their respective houses on Monday.

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Analyst recommends ‘robust’ rainy-day fund for state budget

As the Legislature begins its deep dive into Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, its fiscal analysts are urging at least as much caution as Brown is suggesting. Maybe even more.

The first review by the indepdendent Legislative Analyst’s Office of the governor’s new budget argues that his call for an $8.5-billion reserve fund is a smart move.

There is no single ideal level for reserves. However, at this point in a mature economic expansion, we think it would be prudent to pursue a target for total reserves that is at least as large as the $8.5 billion amount in the governor’s revised budget proposal.

— Legislative Analyst’s Office

The early number crunching also points out that there have been notable spending increases since Brown unveiled his first budget plan in January.

Tops among those are spending linked to February’s enactment of a new tax on health insurance plans, a bipartisan deal that primarily was crafted to help the state’s Medi-Cal program.

But it also includes a deal the Brown administration struck last month on a new contract for the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. The agreement with prison guards is projected to cost the state $200 million now, and as much as $500 million a year by the summer of 2019.

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Podcast: Gov. Brown’s revised budget aims to rein in demands of Democrats

For much of the last two decades, a key part of state budget writing has been split down the lines of political parties.

Democrats generally believed the state should figure out its needs and then find the money to pay for them. Republicans, on the other hand, insisted that the state should only spend the money which it was already expected to receive.

Gov. Jerry Brown has upended that partisan split, usually advocating for the traditionally GOP approach. And his newly revised budget holds fast to that approach.

We take a closer look at Brown’s plan, and the politics of hammering out a final deal, in this week’s California Politics Podcast.

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This is decision week for backers of November propositions. Do they have the signatures?

There is no language in state election law that suggests Friday is any kind of official deadline for measures that hope to have a place on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot.

But every campaign believes it’s a real do-or-die moment, given that local elections officials have to validate all of those voter signatures in time for Secretary of State Alex Padilla to certify the list of propositions on June 30.

And after months of speculation and more than five dozen potential measures, the final list looks to be as many as 18 -- which would make this fall’s ballot the longest since March 7, 2000.

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GOP on the governor’s budget: Restraint is good

Assemblyman Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) said he stood with Gov. Jerry Brown in his call for financial caution after the governor released his revised budget Friday morning.

Obernolte, vice chairman of the Assembly’s budget committee, was less concerned with Brown’s plans than Democrats were in the Legislature’s ideas about spending beyond what the governor had recommended.

“We just heard the governor tell us that tax revenue growth in the state of California is slowing, and yet Democrats here in Sacramento continue to commit the state to higher and higher levels of state government spending,” Obernolte said.

One area where Obernolte disagrees with the governor is transportation spending. Brown is pushing for increases to the gas tax and other new revenue, while Obernolte said the state needs to better spend the money it has.

“Until we can tell our constituents that, it’s very difficult to support new taxation in the name of transportation,” he said.

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California voters to get chance to decide if cigarette taxes will go up by $2 a pack

A coalition of health groups including the California Medical Assn. has collected more than enough signatures to qualify an initiative for the Nov. 8 ballot that would raise the tobacco tax in California by $2 a pack, the group said Friday.

The Save Lives California Coalition plans to begin turning the signatures in to county elections officials on Monday.

California has one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the country, 87 cents per pack, far behind New York, where the tax is $4.35 a pack. California’s tobacco tax has not been increased since 1998.

The coalition, which also includes the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Assn., the American Lung Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, has to submit the signatures of 585,407 registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot.

A spokesman for the coalition said it has collected nearly 1 million signatures.

The news comes just after Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law measures raising the smoking age to 21 and regulating e-cigarettes.

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Loretta Sanchez touts votes against Iraq War and Wall Street bailout in new TV ads

California Rep. Loretta Sanchez launched her first salvo of campaign commercials Friday in her bid for a U.S. Senate seat.

The ads emphasize her votes against the Iraq War and the bailout of ailing financial institutions during the recession and describe her as a “senior member” of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

“Loretta Sanchez is the only candidate with national security experience,” one ad says of the Democratic congresswoman from Orange County.

Three of the four ads are in Spanish. In two, the congresswoman speaks directly to the camera.

Sanchez says she has fought for immigration reform and to raise the minimum wage. She also mentions that her parents were hardworking immigrants from Mexico.

“I come from you and I’ll fight for you,” she says in Spanish.

Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ads will run on broadcast and cable channels in “targeted markets” and online. He declined to say which markets.

Hours earlier, Democratic rival Kamala Harris announced her first TV advertising campaign.

Harris’ ads focus on her record as California’s attorney general and feature Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and labor organizer Dolores Huerta.

The Harris campaign said those ads will run statewide.

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Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes bill aimed at shedding light on lobbying on state contracts

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday vetoed a bill that would have expanded the disclosure of lobbying activities to include those who seek to influence state officials on government procurement decisions. He said it is not necessary.

Lobbyists currently have to disclose the money they receive and the source of the payments used to try to influence state officials on policy matters.

Assemblyman Richard S. Gordon (D-Menlo Park) introduced AB 1200 to shed light on behind-the-scenes work of hired consultants interested in the awarding of $11 billion in procurement contracts by the state each year.

“In light of this substantial spending, the public should have the ability to see who, if anyone is attempting to influence the procurement process and expenditure of taxpayer dollars,” Gordon said in a letter to his colleagues.

Brown did not agree with Gordon’s argument.

“Given that the laws regulating state procurement are voluminous and already contain ample opportunity for public scrutiny, I don’t believe this bill is necessary,” Brown wrote in his veto message.

Responded Gordon: “I’m obviously disappointed and continue to feel that this is an area where we don’t have transparency to determine who is influencing state contracts.”

The measure was opposed by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which oversees lobbying in the state.

Jodi Remke, chairwoman of the FPPC, wrote to lawmakers in March that the bill would “expand the commission’s mission” beyond oversight of lobbying to influence the writing of new laws.

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Gov. Brown sticks to grim budget outlook

One outstanding question as Gov. Jerry Brown began the release of his revised budget today was how conservative his numbers might be, given the fact that income tax revenues were lower than forecast.

Brown made his beliefs clear. “There are no halcyon days ahead,” on the budget.

On debating Democrats over the budget reserve, Brown said, “I think we’re going to have a battle about even the size I want.”

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Professor Brown in the house

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Housing news tucked into Brown’s revised budget

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Brown proposes money for quake warning system

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Details of Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget start to surface

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Which presidential candidate does your member of Congress support?

With California’s primary election about three weeks away, the Golden State’s congressional delegation is taking sides between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

But nearly half of the state’s Republicans in Congress aren’t ready to say Trump is their guy.

Four California House Democrats are keeping a tight lid on who they think should be their party’s presidential nominee.

The other 35 Democrats and both of California’s U.S. senators are with Clinton.

Check out the searchable database to see where your member of Congress stands, and if they are attending their party’s national convention this summer.

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‘Kamala Harris was fearless’: Elizabeth Warren and Dolores Huerta star in Senate hopeful’s new ad campaign

(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Democrat Kamala Harris released her first television ads for her U.S. Senate campaign on Friday, all focused on her record as California’s attorney general. The ads feature Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and labor organizer Dolores Huerta.

The three ads will run in markets statewide, said campaign spokesman Nathan Click. There are just four weeks to go before the June 7 primary election.

The ads will be the first to air from any candidate in a race for the first open U.S. Senate seat in California since 1992, which has attracted little attention thus far. Recent polls showed that one-third to one-half of California voters remained undecided on the race.

In one ad, Warren describes Harris as a “fearless” advocate for Californians who took on transnational gangs, prosecuted oil companies that violated environmental laws and won a $20-billion settlement from the banks responsible for the mortgage meltdown.

Huerta appears in a Spanish-language ad, saying that Harris “fights for the people” and defended unaccompanied immigrant children who fled to the U.S. Huerta ends the ad with the iconic United Farm Workers union slogan, “Sí se puede!”

In the final ad, Harris appears onscreen, arms crossed and in a courtroom, talking about her record since she was elected attorney general in 2010.

Both Warren and Huerta have endorsed Harris, and the Massachusetts senator has actively raised campaign funds for Harris.

Click said the ads will run on television network and cable stations across California.

An April Field Poll had Harris receiving support from 27% of likely primary voters in California, compared with 14% for her top Democratic rival, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange. The three top GOP candidates registered in the single digits: Ron Unz with 5%, Tom Del Beccaro with 4% and George “Duf” Sundheim with 2%.

Most of the Senate candidates have been campaigning for months up and down the state, but until now the radio and television ads that usually flood the airwaves in major statewide political races had not materialized.

In reality, only Harris and Sanchez have enough money to even consider a media campaign which, in California, can cost millions of dollars. Sundheim, Del Beccaro and Unz all have less than $100,000 in their campaign accounts.

Harris had nearly $5 million and Sanchez had $2.3 million in the bank as of March 31.

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Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget must answer some tough questions

Every May, governors revise their state budget plans and send a final proposal to the Legislature, a process that’s designed to ensure that lawmakers use the most current information on the economy and tax revenues.

And it’s the economy that will likely take center stage in Friday morning’s unveiling of Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget.

Revenues collected from personal income taxes missed their target in April by about $1 billion, according to one preliminary analysis. At the same time, Democrats in the Legislature have urged Brown to do more to fund programs for struggling California families.

How the governor and his team account for the missing revenues will be crucial. California’s state budgeting system, which includes a number of complex and sometimes confounding formulas, requires tax dollars to be attributed to the year in which they were earned. That presents a huge challenge in calculating what’s owed to schools, debt payments and the state’s newly expanded rainy-day reserve fund.

Brown, for most of his years back in the governor’s office, has been more conservative than legislators in setting tax revenue forecasts. And because lawmakers have generally agreed to use his projections, they’ve had very little else to spend in years when things were better than expected.

And few budget watchers in the state Capitol expect there to be a lot of surplus revenue this time around.

The governor’s budget will now head to the Legislature for a month of intense negotiations. By law, legislators must send the governor a final spending plan by June 15 for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

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California saw surge in new Democrats in first three months of 2016

The ranks of California Democrats grew by more than 98,000 in the early months of 2016, while Republican and nonpartisan registration dropped, according to data released Thursday by Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

Democrats now account for 43.65% of the state’s 17.2 million voters, the party’s largest share in state registration reports since December 2013.

Republicans continued their general slide in share of the state’s voters. The report shows almost 2.5 million fewer GOP voters than Democrats. The ranks of nonpartisan “independents” are slowly catching up to parity with Republicans, with about 634,000 fewer voters.

The new report reflects the voter rolls through April 8, and thus probably failed to capture what some elections officials have called a surge in new registrations apparently inspired by the presidential primaries.

The secretary’s office reports that in the last month alone, more than 500,000 voters have either newly registered or updated their registration online. More than half of those were voters between the ages of 17 and 35. And about 40% of the past month’s online registration happened in the days just before and after the most recent three presidential primary dates.

“The race for the White House is capturing the attention of many Californians,” Padilla said in a written statement.

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Villaraigosa stumps for Clinton in Oregon, stays mum on gubernatorial run

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Bill to crack down on fake autographs clears Assembly

A bill that Luke Skywalker has vouched for has passed the Assembly.

AB 1570, carried by Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar), would crack down on memorabilia dealers peddling items bearing fake autographs.

Actor Mark Hamill, known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, voiced support for the bill after noticing a deluge of “Star Wars” items for sale on eBay and other auction sites with phony autographs.

Hamill has used his Twitter feed to provide input on suspect items, telling his fans whether signed items they’ve bought are real or fake. More recently, he’s used the platform to tweet Assembly members and ask for their support on the bill.

The bill would require certificates of authenticity for signed memorabilia sold by dealers in California, and entitle duped consumers to damages up to as much as 10 times the cost of the forged item in civil court a remedy already offered to customers who buy signed sports memorabilia.

The measure now heads to the state Senate.

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State Senate suspends rule barring political fundraising during budget season

The state Senate on Thursday voted to rescind a rule prohibiting campaign fundraising during the budget season after Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said it is giving an unfair advantage to moneyed special interests opposing incumbents.

The vote was 24-8 to suspend rules that were adopted two years ago as part of an effort by the Senate to regain public trust after three of its members were charged with crimes. The suspension is in effect for this legislative year.

“After careful review, the Rules Committee has determined that the restrictions are too limiting to apply unilaterally to only one legislative house,” De León said in a floor speech in which he asked for the rules to be suspended. “I do so with reluctance as a well as regret.”

Republican state Sen. Jim Nielsen of Gerber was one of those who opposed dropping rules that also ban fundraising by senators during the last month of the session. Nielsen said it does not look good to shelve the rules right before they take effect.

“The timing is certainly not the best right now,” Nielsen said. “We have a rule in place. Is it working? Probably not. But I feel the timing was inappropriate. Why now?”

Democrats were concerned that Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) was being outspent by a committee of oil companies in one close race. Beall voted against the rule change Thursday.

De León said democracy requires fair elections.

“But in the current election environment with unprecedented millions of dollars pouring into our political system and threatening to drown out the candidates themselves on both sides of the aisle — Democrats as well as Republicans — we cannot in good concience or as a matter of good policy force our members to unilaterally disarm, play by a different set of rules and cease to defend themsleves,” De León told his colleagues. “If we do we aren’t stanidng up for democracy. We are giving an unfair advantage to the powerful and very wealthy special interests who are to attempting to gain their results.”

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A fix for California’s roads doesn’t look like it’s coming soon

Gov. Jerry Brown can count a lot of big deals he’s made over the past couple years with the state Legislature on water infrastructure, healthcare taxes and the minimum wage.

But when it comes to fixing the state’s broken streets, it doesn’t appear that the governor has made much progress.

Brown and Democrats in the Assembly and Senate are pushing an increase to the state’s gas tax and new annual fees on motorists to help pay for road improvements. But GOP lawmakers aren’t buying it.

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GOP challenger says he got it wrong in Senate debate attack on Kamala Harris

George "Duf" Sundheim
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Republican candidate George “Duf” Sundheim on Wednesday said he got “it wrong” during Tuesday night’s Senate debate when he blamed Democrat Kamala Harris, California’s attorney general, for a 34% increase in violent crime in the state over the past year.

Sundheim had accused Harris, the front-runner in the Senate race to replace the retiring Barbara Boxer, of “failing to keep us safe.”

Sundheim said he had misquoted figures in a report on violent crime released by the Public Policy Institute of California. The PPIC report found that 34 of 66 California cities reviewed experienced a double-digit percent jump in violent crime.

“We did get it wrong,” Sundheim said Wednesday. “Violent crime is up dramatically, but we misread the press release by the PPIC.”

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Senate votes to allow female World War II pilots to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

About 1,000 female pilots served stateside during World War II in the WASP program to free up male pilots for combat.

They flew more than 60 million miles domestically, and handled test flights, repaired military aircraft and ferried male officers around the U.S. They towed targets during live-ammunition training. Thirty-eight died while serving.

In 2002, Arlington National Cemetery’s administrator said that those who served in the WASP program were eligible for full military honors upon being buried there, and that the women had been eligible for burial there since 1977. But last year, the secretary of the Army overturned that decision, saying it was wrong.

The family of pilot Elaine Harmon refused to accept that edict after Harmon’s will instructed that she wanted to be buried at Arlington. The Army’s decision came shortly before Harmon’s death at 95, and her ashes remain on a shelf in her daughter’s closet in Maryland.

In January they teamed up with San Diego Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) on legislation to allow those who served in the WASP program to be buried in Arlington. It passed the Senate on Tuesday night and next goes to the president.

Davis said Wednesday she is thrilled the bill passed.

“These amazing women who helped win World War II deserve access to Arlington Cemetery and the full honors we give our war heroes,” Davis said in a statement. “It is an injustice that they are being denied access to Arlington, which has always been considered a special place of honor. If you are laid to rest in Arlington, it is known that you sacrificed to protect and preserve our democracy.”

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Nurses out in force to support Bernie Sanders

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San Bernardino police chief and sheriff endorse Rep. Pete Aguilar

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) has received the endorsements of San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan and San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, the congressman’s campaign announced Wednesday.

The two law enforcement chiefs were thrust into the national spotlight and praised for their response to the December shootings at the Inland Regional Center, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

The endorsements come as Aguilar faces a trio of Republican challengers, including Paul Chabot, who has made his career in the military and combating terrorism a central part of his campaign. Chabot has been endorsed by the San Bernardino Police Officers Assn.

“Not only does Congressman Aguilar understand the challenges our police officers face on a daily basis, he’s also working hard every day to make sure we have the resources to keep our residents safe. I’m happy to endorse him for a second term to Congress so he can continue his advocacy on behalf of the City of San Bernardino and our police department,” Burguan said in a statement put out by the campaign.

Neither Burguan nor McMahon took a position in the 2014 race, said Aguilar’s campaign manager Matt Liebman.

“Pete Aguilar has proven himself to be a real champion for San Bernardino County’s law enforcement community, and he’s always there when you need him,” McMahon said in a statement. “His track record of working across party lines makes Congressman Aguilar the type of leader we need representing our region in Congress.”

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Voters will likely be asked for 12 more years of higher income taxes on the wealthy

When Gov. Jerry Brown asked California voters to raise taxes in 2012, he made clear that it was temporary, revenues needed to balance the books for only a few years.

On Wednesday, a coalition of labor and healthcare groups said some of those taxes are needed for a while longer.

“It simply extends the current tax rates on the wealthiest 2% of Californians,” Laphonza Butler, president of Service Employees International Union California, said of an initiative to extend the 2012 personal income taxes through 2030.

Butler and a group of education and healthcare groups announced on Wednesday that they’ve gathered more than 980,000 signatures to earn the tax extension a spot on what looks to be a very long Nov. 8 statewide ballot.

Unlike 2012’s Proposition 30, which temporarily raised the state’s portion of the sales tax and high-earner income taxes, the new initiative is focused only on income taxes. A single person earning more than $263,000 and joint filers earning more than about $526,000 would continue to pay the rates established by Proposition 30.

How much money the initiative would bring in between 2018 and 2030 depends on the stock market, given that so many of California’s most wealthy taxpayers derive their income from capital gains. The independent Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates an extra $7.5 billion is a fair assumption for 2019, perhaps more in years after that.

The money would first benefit public schools and then be directed toward the state’s Medi-Cal program for the working poor. Health advocates believe the annual boost to that program could be as much as $2 billion.

Nearly two-thirds — 62% — of likely voters supported the proposal in a statewide poll last month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California — very strong numbers, historically, for a ballot measure this early in the political season.

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Voters likely to consider repeal of death penalty on November ballot

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How to make college more affordable? Candidates tell audience full of college students

The lone audience question came from a student at San Diego State University, where tonight’s debate was hosted: “What are you going to do to make a university degree more affordable?”

Sanchez said she supports increases to federal grants and making community college free. She also says she wants to help create a federal program to allow students to refinance their loans.

Harris agreed.

“We refinance homeowner debt, we refinance car loans, let’s refinance student loans,” Harris said. “It’s not fair.”

Unz said his solution would be to put “tremendous pressure” on public universities to cut costs by as much as 40%, including tamping down on what he called “the textbook scandal.”

“People are being extorted hundreds of dollars a year,” he added.

Del Beccaro responded by saying vocational schools have not been given enough attention, and that it was a mistake to allow the federal government to “take over” the student loan industry. He proposed that pricey Ivy League schools pay for students who can’t afford tuition.

Sundheim was less specific, decrying diminished college affordability as a “travesty” that he blamed on administrative costs and employee pensions. He promised to find “breakthrough technologies” that he said would lower costs and increase quality, but was short on specifics.

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Tonight’s debate: Lots of topics, little time to answer

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Harris punts question on nuclear waste

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Wide range of opinions on climate change in Senate debate

Senate candidates were all over the map at Tuesday night’s debate when it comes to climate change. Ron Unz said he’s not convinced that global warming is actually happening, despite the broad scientific consensus.

“I’m not persuaded that the evidence is there,” he said.

Tom Del Beccaro said he doesn’t expect the American people to reach a consensus on climate change, but said reducing pollution is a good goal. Promoting cleaner manufacturing in California could help shut down dirtier operations in places like India and China, he said.

“None of us want more pollution,” he said.

George “Duf” Sundheim said he would emphasize innovation, not regulations, to handle environmental concerns.

“The right way to go about it is to encourage innovation,” he said.

Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez, the two Democratic candidates, had similar perspectives.

Harris touted her work defending California environmental laws from oil companies. She also said the state could help develop solutions to water shortages around the world.

“Let’s take this seriously,” Harris said. “California can be a leader.”

Sanchez said she would take a global view of environmental problems, given that emissions need to be reduced around the world to slow climate change.

“Cutting our gas emissions isn’t enough anymore,” she said.

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Let in more Syrian refugees? The candidates respond

When responding to questions about whether the U.S. should allow additional Syrian refugees into the country, GOP candidates expressed varying levels of opposition.

Ron Unz staked out a relatively nuanced position, saying that he didn’t oppose resettling Syrian refugees in particular, but that overall immigration in the U.S. remains too high.

“It should be safety first, as our mothers said,” Tom Del Beccaro said.

Sundheim cited “a responsiblity as human beings to look after” Syrian refugees. But, he added, “we can’t let them into this country” as long as security concerns persist.

Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez took starkly different positions. Sanchez said her Orange County district has “a history of resettling refugees,” especially the Vietnamese, and that the vetting process is already rigorous.

“We have to be a beacon to bring and help those people,” she added.

Harris also defended plans to welcome Syrian refugees and decried what she called anti-Muslim rhetoric surrounding some of the opposition.

“We must embrace our Muslim brothers and sisters,” she said.

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Unz is ‘not persuaded’ on climate change

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Few fireworks so far in Senate debate

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Wars over water?

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30 minutes down, 30 to go

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Del Beccaro pushes a flat tax

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Senate candidates spar over gun laws

All the Senate candidates were given a chance to sound off on gun laws, starting with Loretta Sanchez, who was questioned on her vote for legislation that would give some legal immunity to gun manufacturers.

Sanchez, a Democratic congresswoman, brushed off the question, pointing instead to her high marks from gun control advocates and opposition from the National Rifle Assn.

“My record is strong on protecting Americans with respect to gun violence,” she said. The law, she added, “didn’t give blanket immunity to the gun makers.”

Ron Unz, a Republican businessman, said he would focus on drugs, not guns.

“Guns are a distraction” from the real issues, he said.

Tom Del Beccaro, a former state chairman of the Republican Party, said he would protect the Second Amendment.

“Banning guns lead to problems,” he said, emphasizing that prosecutors should enforce the laws on the books.

Duf Sundheim, another former Republican Party state chairman, said the issue of guns should be left to the states. Then he shifted to an attack on Kamala Harris, the Democratic state attorney general, saying she’s failed to adequately enforce the law on removing guns from people who aren’t allowed to have them.

Harris rejected the criticism, saying state officials have rounded up 10,000 guns. She said the program was “revived” under her leadership.

“Let’s not play around with real human lives,” she said.

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Candidates on the Syrian refugee crisis

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Sundheim’s clear target

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Donald Trump’s donations to Kamala Harris

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Opening statements from Democratic candidates Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez

The opening statement from Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate debate came down to one word, “proud.”

“I stand here as a proud daughter of California,” said Harris, the state attorney general.

Harris repeated the word several times, saying she was “proud to fight for California homeowners” and proud to protect abortion rights and fight criminal organizations.

“I’ve been proud to do all of that as attorney general,” she said.

Loretta Sanchez, a congresswoman from Orange County, said her background makes her the right candidate for the U.S. Senate.

She said she was “born and raised in a working-class, bilingual Southern California family.”

Sanchez also highlighted her experience in Congress.

“I am ready on Day One to keep Californians safe,” she said.

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GOP candidate Sundheim comes out swinging, says Harris ‘in the pocket’ of donors

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Former Republican chairman George “Duf” Sundheim opened the debate with strong words against Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. The question was about candidates’ personal bios and what makes them qualified, but Sundheim’s first words were more about the Democratic front-runner.

“I’ve never held elected office; she’s been in elected office since the age of 26,” Sundheim said of Harris, noting that the differences between their resumes “couldn’t be more profound.”

Sundheim continued, saying Harris has “repeatedly shown that she will always side with her donors” even if that means going up against some of the state’s most vulnerable.

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This debate isn’t like the last one

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Tiny band of protesters on hand to greet Kamala Harris

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Orange County Democrats to GOP: Bring it on

As national Republicans leaders prepare to open a training office in Orange County on Wednesday, Democrats are responding by noting that the one-time GOP stronghold is no longer the bastion of California conservatism it once was.

Republicans still hold an 8-point advantage over Democrats in the percentage of registered voters in the county, but that lead is about one-third what it was in 1992. And since Donald Trump became a force in the presidential contest, twice as many Democrats have registered to vote than Republicans, according to the Democratic Party of Orange County.

“Although our local party has worked hard to make significant inroads with targeted registration programs the past several years, the truth is, Donald Trump has become our best marketing tool,” said party Chairman Henry Vandermeir. “He’s insulted pretty much every constituency in this county, which has helped drive Democratic registration to new highs.”

Vandermeir made the comments on the eve of the opening of a Republican Leadership Initiative office in Stanton. The initiative was formed in 2015 to recruit and train field staffers to supplement party get-out-the-vote efforts in key states and has so far trained nearly 3,000 fellows.

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California’s last U.S. Senate debate before the primary is about to begin

Five candidates in California’s U.S. Senate race are about to take the stage for the last of just two debates before the June 7 primary election.

The event, which is being held at San Diego State University, starts at 7 p.m. We’ll cover it live in this space. It is being broadcast on public television and radio stations across the state.

Expect to see a few more fireworks than the last debate, held in Stockton, since this will be the candidates’ last shot to deliver a message to voters across California.

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Gov. Brown signs bill requiring testing before Aliso Canyon gas wells can resume operation

The entrance to the site of the Aliso Canyon gas leak.
The entrance to the site of the Aliso Canyon gas leak.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation that sets strict rules barring injection of new natural gas into old wells at Aliso Canyon until independent experts determine the operations are safe.

The bill was approved by the Legislature in response to a four-month leak of natural gas that caused neighboring residents to complain of nausea, dizzyness and other problems. Costs could reach $665 million.

“Now that the news cameras have left Aliso Canyon and moved on, the governor and the Legislature have shown that their memories are vivid and that a hard lesson has been learned,” said Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), the author of SB 380. “We must do all we can to prevent another disaster.”

Some 8,000 families were relocated, including 2,000 who are still away from their homes even though the leak was plugged in February.

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GOP lawmakers accuse Democrats of manipulating legislative process on gun-control bills

A Senate panel approved a batch of new gun-control bills Tuesday while opponents objected that lawmakers manipulated the legislative process by taking measures unrelated to firearms that have been through committees, gutting the bills and inserting new language to restrict weapons.

During a committee hearing, Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) accused Democratic colleagues of “political gamesmanship to hijack the process and limit public participation.”

Democratic leaders rewrote bills left behind when former Assemblyman Henry Perea (D-Fresno) resigned from office to work for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

The measures approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee include one requiring registration of homemade guns, also known “ghost guns” because they are not registered with serial numbers that can be tracked.

AB 857 passed six committees and the full Assembly as a bill setting priorities for California’s Clean Truck, Bus and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program.

But after Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom proposed a ballot measure to regulate firearms, Democratic leaders worried that similar bills might not garner sufficient support in the Assembly, where members may prefer to instead let voters decide such controversial measures.

By putting bills through a gut-and-amend process, sponsors may be able to bypass some committees in the Assembly where gun control has not been welcomed in the past, complained Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego).

“That does decrease the public’s ability to give input,” Anderson said during the hearing.

“There is no chicanery involved,” responded Senate President Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) a coauthor of the “ghost gun” bill. “I don’t think anything is being circumvented when we are having a Public Safety Committee hearing where the public can testify.”

The manuevers were also denounced as “an abuse of the legislative process,” by Craig DeLuz, legislative advocate for the Firearms Policy Coalition. “It is shameful legislative leadership would invoke such extraordinary procedures just to shove more anti-civil-rights legislation into an already overflowing hopper,” he said.

Other bills approved by the committee would make gun theft a felony, require background checks for those who buy ammunition, and restrict owners from loaning firearms to other people. The ammunition bill, De León said, is needed “to ensure that criminals and other dangerous individuals cannot purchase ammunition.”

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For California voters, picking a U.S. Senate candidate could be ‘like throwing darts at a dart board’

California’s U.S. Senate race may be a lot more unpredictable than expected, and that’s not good news for the Republicans in the race.

Recent opinion polls have consistently shown two Democrats, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, in first and second place, respectively. Trailing behind, in varying order, have been three Republicans: Tom Del Beccaro and George “Duf” Sundheim, both former chairmen of the California Republican Party; and Silicon Valley businessman Ron Unz, who championed a 1998 initiative to end bilingual education.

But those poll results are misleading, since voters surveyed were only asked to rank those candidates, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of consulting firm Political Data Inc.

There are a total of 35 people running for Senate, including 12 Republicans. The Times’ editorial board met with many of those candidates and asked them what issues are top priorities for them.

When Capitol Weekly conducted a web-based poll that included all 34 candidates, the results among the Republicans were very different.

Former state Sen. Phil Wyman of Tehachapi, who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in 2014, topped the field of GOP candidates, coming in third overall. Trailing behind him was Greg Conlon, a retired accountant from Atherton, who lost a race for state treasurer in 2014. Unz finished a sliver behind Conlon.

“Everybody has been polling the five candidates we know, and that has been the problem,” said Mitchell, who assisted with the survey. “The fact is that regular voters have almost no information about who these people are. It’ll be like throwing darts at a dart board.”

Granted, all the Republicans finished in the low single digits and were all within the poll’s margin of error, Mitchell said. And almost half the people surveyed said they were undecided.

Still, the survey indicates that support among the GOP candidates was so splintered that it increases the odds that Harris and Sanchez may be the top two finishers in the June 7 primary, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Harris and Sanchez probably did well because of their higher name recognition among voters and the titles listed under their names on the ballot: Harris is listed as “Attorney General of California” and Sanchez as “California congresswoman.”

Mitchell said that while Del Beccaro, Sundheim and Unz are well known to political insiders and have raised the most money among the Republicans in the race, most California voters have never heard of them — just like many of the other candidates on the Senate ballot.

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Bill to remove ‘Orientals’ from federal law heads to President Obama’s desk

Legislation backed by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) to remove from federal law several racial terms now considered offensive is headed to the White House for President Obama’s signature.

Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) co-sponsored the bill, which strikes the term “Oriental” from existing federal law and replaces it with “Asian American.” HR 4238 also removes the terms “Negroes,” “Indians” and “Eskimos” from federal law.

“Orientals is an offensive and antiquated term, especially so when referring to America’s vibrant Asian American community,” Royce said in a statement. “Using this term in federal law lends it a legitimacy it doesn’t deserve.”

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President Obama to travel to Hiroshima atomic blast site

The White House announced Tuesday morning that President Obama will become the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima. He will visit the site of the August 1945 atomic bombing later this month during a trip to Japan for the G-7 Summit.

Last month, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) took to the House floor to implore the president to make the trip, saying political leaders in any countries with nuclear arsenals should see the site themselves.

Takano visited the site in 2002 with relatives who survived the blast and fallout, which killed 140,000 people.

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Donald Trump’s California delegates include House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Darrell Issa

Donald Trump may have a strained relationship with the Republican establishment, but his campaign has assembled a posse of California GOP party stalwarts and longtime elected officials to serve as his pledged delegates in this summer’s national convention.

The list, which was released by Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s office Monday evening, includes longtime party officials such as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Harmeet K. Dhillon, vice chair of the California Republican Party.

With Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropping out of the race last week and Trump firmly claiming the mantle of the Republican presumptive nominee, there’s not much suspense left for the California presidential primary June 7.

Still, compiling a delegate slate was a significant organizational task for the Trump campaign, which has struggled at times in the delegate chase.

In the California Republican primary, campaigns submit a list of pledged delegates -- three from each of California’s 53 congressional districts plus 10 statewide representatives --before the election.

California’s 172 delegates are allocated based on which candidate wins in each district; an additional 13 go to the statewide winner.

Cruz also submitted a full slate of delegates that includes Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove and Rhonda Rohrabacher, wife of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach.

But the bulk of the boldfaced names are on the Trump slate, including Reps. Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa, state Sen. Joel Anderson and Assemblyman Jay Obernolte. Obernolte’s wife, Heather, also appears on the list.

Other Trump delegates include “Papa” Doug Manchester, a real estate developer and former owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and Dennis Revell, a Sacramento-based political consultant who was married to Maureen Reagan, daughter of Ronald Reagan.

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Assembly votes to make public single-use restrooms gender neutral

The state Assembly voted Monday to address complaints by women and transgender residents that it is unfair to have single-user restrooms reserved for men and women.

The bill, which was passed on a 52-18 vote, would make single-user restrooms in public and government buildings “all gender,” taking down signs designating them for men or women only so that anyone can use any restroom.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said his measure would make restrooms more convenient for women and for transgender Californians who may identify as a woman and feel uncomfortable using a restroom designated for men, and vice versa.

Other government agencies are going further.

“Restrooms access influences our ability to participate in public life,” Ting said. “It defies common sense to restrict access to single-user restrooms by gender. ‘All gender’ signs will ensure that everyone’s rights are protected by ending problems of convenience, fairness and safety.”

Requested by the Transgender Law Center, California National Organization of Women and Equality California, Ting’s bill next goes to the Senate for action. It is part of a national debate about whether restrooms should be gender-neutral, or designated men- or women-only.

Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said there is no problem with the status quo because people of any gender can currently use single-use restrooms. He said women will not want to use restrooms where men leave behind dirty seats.

“We’re going to inconvenience a lot more people by doing this where right now under the status quo there is no inconvenience,” Gallagher said during the floor debate. “No woman wants to use the bathroom after many men have been in that same bathroom. As hard as we try, men, you know that your aim is not always that good.”

Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) supported the bill, rejecting Gallagher’s argument.

“I don’t think that because your aim is bad that makes you any kind of special category where you must have your own bathroom,” Eggman said.

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Ethics officials propose $80,000 fine against former Sen. Tony Strickland for alleged campaign violations

California enforcement officials are proposing $80,000 in ethics fines against former state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Camarillo).

The punishment is for allegedly aiding three supporters in disguising that they were the true source of contributions to Strickland’s unsuccessful 2010 campaign for state controller.

The recommendation from the enforcement division of the state Fair Political Practices Commission comes in documents released Monday after Strickland was accused of 16 violations of campaign finance law, including political money laundering and the filing of false statements.

Strickland and his attorney have not responded to notices from the FPPC offering him a chance to defend himself, so the commission will consider adopting, at its May 19 meeting, what’s known as a Default Decision and Order declaring he violated the law.

The FPPC enforcement division alleges Strickland arranged for supporters to make $65,000 in contributions to his campaign, but through and in the name of the Ventura County Republican Party and the Stanislaus County Republican Party.

The investigation found the true sources of the contributions were supporters Matthew Swanson, president of Associated Feed & Supply Co.; Andrew Barth, an investment manager residing in San Marino; and William M. Templeton, a Dallas resident who had significant business interests in oil and gas production and real estate in Ventura County.

It is against the law for political party organizations to agree to earmark contributions they receive to go to specific candidates. Strickland also is accused of accepting the contributions even though they exceeded campaign contribution limits.

“The evidence shows that all parties understood that VCRP and SCRP would act as the undisclosed intermediaries’’ for the contributions to Strickland’s campaign, according to a report by enforcement staff to the commission.

“The deliberate conduct in this matter resulted in significant non-disclosure, depriving the public of information regarding the campaign activity and the true sources of Strickland’s campaign funds,” the report said. “The conduct in this case is more egregious than the conduct in the comparable cases because of the active involvement of Strickland and his campaign in coordinating and concealing the true sources of the funds.”

The staff report said Strickland did not respond to subpoenas to be interviewed by investigators.

An attorney for Strickland did not return a call for comment Monday.

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Sierra Club picks a favorite in California’s U.S. Senate race

The Sierra Club has endorsed state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in California’s U.S. Senate race, snubbing Democratic rival Rep. Loretta Sanchez in part because of her stance on increasing the state’s water supply and her recent comment on Muslims.

The national environmental organization praised Harris for defending California’s strict environmental laws, taking legal action against companies that dump hazardous waste and protecting the health and safety of Californians threatened by environmental hazards.

“Congress desperately needs more climate champions like her,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement released Monday.

While Sanchez had received the Sierra Club’s endorsement in prior congressional elections, her comments that she would consider amending endangered species laws to increase the state’s water supply is a major concern, said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California.

During a campaign stop in the Fresno area in November and again when she met with the Fresno Bee editorial board, Sanchez had said she believed that everything should be “on the table.”

“She recently made some statements on her willingness to change the Endangered Species Act,” Phillips said.

Sanchez says the state needs to increase water storage to help alleviate prolonged periods of drought, and she supports legislation by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein that could provide some federal funding for the state’s two largest proposed storage projects — Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley and Temperance Flat Dam on the San Joaquin River.

Harris told the Sacramento Bee editorial board last week that she was “not familiar” with the projects, but that she is opposed to weakening endangered species laws.

Phillips said the state Sierra Club was also concerned about a comment the congresswoman made about Muslims following the deadly terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris.

Sanchez said 5% to 20% of Muslims worldwide supported the idea of a caliphate — a strict Islamic state.

Following those comments, the congresswoman was criticized by immigrant rights group and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. During the last Senate debate, Sanchez said the figures she mentioned have not been repudiated by any credible source.

“We’re pretty involved in equity and fairness,” Phillips said. “There is probably more room in the House of Representatives for people who are less careful about what they say than there is in the Senate.”

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Brown extends drought measures: ‘Water conservation must be a part of our everyday life’

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Uber’s approach is gentler — but still aggressive — in California

Uber and Lyft have had many big successes at the Capitol, but they haven’t won all their battles.

Three weeks ago, a bill to make it easier to do fingerprint-based background checks of ride-hailing drivers squeaked through an Assembly committee. The bill’s author, Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks), has proposed new regulations on the companies many times over the years. Nazarian’s bill sailed unanimously through its first Assembly committee without a peep from the companies and was on its way to the Appropriations Committee. But before it arrived, the bill got routed to the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee led by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), a big supporter of the ride-hailing industry.

Once that happened, Uber, Lyft and tech umbrella groups TechNet and Internet Assn. all came out in opposition. The move happened so quickly, Nazarian said, that the labor groups and limo drivers who back his bill didn’t have enough time to put their support on the record prior to the hearing. Ultimately Nazarian was able to scrounge up enough votes to move his bill along over Gatto’s opposition.

Contrast this maneuvering, Nazarian said, with what Uber did in August 2014 when Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla wrote a bill to add insurance requirements for ride-hailing drivers. Back then, the company mailed advertisements across her district, slamming her as the “anti-tech, anti-consumer choice.”

“They have changed their tune and are much more diplomatic about it,” Nazarian said. “Instead of getting in your face, they try to kill [bills] in other ways.”

Uber also has a long history of using its vast user databases to push lawmakers and regulators. Before its state regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission, decided on new ride-hailing rules last month, Uber emailed its drivers and customers urging them to protest a proposed regulation that would have limited drivers’ ability to rent cars to work for the company. But these notes had much less fire and brimstone than the company directed toward Bonilla.

“Please make your voice heard and let the CPUC know that this rule will hurt drivers,” Uber’s email to drivers read. The CPUC ended up delaying its decision on the rental car issue.

It remains to be seen if Uber’s gentler approach in California will continue if things start going against the ride-hailing industry. Besides car rentals, the CPUC still plans to decide whether to require ride-hailing companies to perform fingerprint-based background checks on their drivers — a regulation that’s anathema to the industry.

In Austin, Texas, the companies just spent millions in an unsuccessful effort to overturn a City Council decision requiring such background checks there. During the campaign, Uber sent automated text messages to thousands of Austin customers, urging them to vote against the background checks.

Uber and Lyft lost by six percentage points in Saturday’s special election and are stopping service in the city.

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The story behind Uber’s and Lyft’s successes in Sacramento

Over the weekend, voters in Austin, Texas, delivered a huge blow to Uber and Lyft by voting to uphold strict background checks for the companies’s drivers.

The ride-hailing firms have no such problems in California these days. Here, they have racked up a string of impressive victories at the Capitol recently, ushering through regulations they want and blocking those they don’t. Uber and Lyft have benefitted from strong lobbying efforts inside and outside the Capitol, support from powerful Democratic lawmakers and a reluctant state regulator.

Here is a timeline of the companies’ recent triumphs.

For some context on public opinion, pollster Paul Mitchell shared on Twitter some of his latest statewide numbers on the companies.

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There’s a new way to register to vote at the DMV — but there’s a problem with it, voter advocates say

Voting rights activists have long complained that the process for registering to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles is too cumbersome, confusing and potentially violates federal law.

Since the 1990s, anyone who indicates on a California driver’s license application that they want to register to vote has had to fill out a separate paper form — with much of the same information already logged.

Last year, a coalition of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters and California Common Cause threatened to sue on behalf of voters.

So on April 1, the DMV rolled out what they say is a simplified process that will electronically transmit a person’s data to the secretary of state’s office and register them to vote. But there’s one problem, the advocates say: Unless voters also stop to answer questions at a computer terminal in another room, they won’t be able to choose their party preference or answer other important questions.

Voting rights activists say this two-step process could disenfranchise thousands of voters, especially those who still want to vote in the Republican Party’s closed presidential primary.

“We really think people are going to slip through the cracks here,” says Lori Shellenberger, voting rights director for the ACLU of California.

Since the terminals were rolled out last month, the DMV has registered more than 14,000 voters in its offices statewide. But of those, more than a third did not complete the questions posted at the touchscreens.

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Hillary Clinton opens campaign headquarters in Oakland

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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer won’t endorse Donald Trump

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GOP Rep. Steve Knight tries to distance himself from Donald Trump

When Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster) took the microphone to introduce himself at a debate in his district Thursday night, he started off by talking about his career, his wife and his children.

Then he quickly pivoted to distancing himself from Donald Trump.

Trump, Knight admitted, “looks like, maybe, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party — but we don’t know that yet.”

While some in his party, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) are embracing Trump, Knight, who is in his first term, has not endorsed the controversial GOP presidential candidate.

Knight’s north Los Angeles County district is almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with 21% of voters listing no party preference.

National Democrats are making a strong push for the seat, and some analysts say the seat is more in play and will be more expensive for Republicans to hold with Trump at the top of the ticket.

In an interview after the debate, Knight said he was still “working on figuring out what I am going to do with the presidential race.”

Though Trump looks like he has locked up the nomination, Knight said he is still looking at “some of the situtaions that might happen in July” at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

“We still got a convention,” he said. “And they are not going to cancel the convention, and he still hasn’t gotten enough delegates. So until that happens, I think this is a moot point, I think this is something for sensationalism.”

Knight on Thursday debated his two Democratic challengers, attorney Bryan Caforio and Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Lou Vince.

Knight isn’t the only one holding out on an presidential endorsement. Caforio has yet to endorse a candidate in his party’s contest. His campaign manager, Orrin Evans, said Caforio is “excited” about front-runner Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and will “proudly support” the Democratic nominee.

Vince has endorsed Sanders.

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Politics podcast: Gov. Brown signs tobacco laws, June primary dynamics change without heated GOP race

The signing by Gov. Jerry Brown of five new tobacco laws marks the end of one political battle, and the potential beginning of another.

On this week’s episode of the California Politics Podcast, we discuss what could come next -- namely, the potential for the tobacco industry to ask voters to overturn the laws through a statewide referendum.

We also take a broader look at the propositions that seem likely for the Nov. 8 ballot. And, with the Republican presidential race now over, political consultants in California are rethinking their voter turnout models for what was assumed to be a high-interest primary on June 7.

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Rep. Darrell Issa endorses Donald Trump

Rep. Darrell Issa endorsed GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Hillary Clinton makes it clear she’s running for Barack Obama’s third term in the White House with nothing but a different name on the door,” the Vista Republican said. “That makes our choice all the more obvious. Eight years of an arrogant administration and continuous corruption is a long time — and it is long enough.”

On CNN’s “New Day” in late February, Issa compared Trump to Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who lost after saying pregnancy rarely results from “legitimate rape.”

“He was the wrong candidate and it wasn’t until later that they realized that somebody who wasn’t thinking about what they said, who was saying things that were off the wall brought down the party,” Issa said of Akin. “Donald Trump could be a national Todd Akin if our party doesn’t coalesce behind a single candidate.”

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Assembly GOP leader isn’t on the Trump train just yet

Just six days ago, Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes was the opening act to his preferred presidential pick, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, at the California GOP convention.

Now, with Kasich exiting the race, Mayes is still coming to grips with the prospect of Donald Trump as his party’s presumptive nominee.

“We just have to wait and see,” said Mayes, of Yucca Valley, in an interview. “One thing I have to remind myself is that we are months away from November. We don’t know yet what’s going to happen in the next couple months.”

One unknown, Mayes said, is how Trump’s candidacy will evolve as he tries to appeal beyond the Republican primary electorate.

“I’m hopeful Trump will take on a much more positive tone in general,” Mayes said.

Those unknowns could complicate Mayes’ task to defend several incumbent members of his GOP caucus who are facing spirited challenges from Democrats. He said he’s assessing how Trump at the top of the ticket could affect the dynamic in those contested races.

Instead of relying on Trump’s coattails to propel those members, “we’re going to focus on the individuals,” Mayes said. “Voters vote for people and they don’t vote for party.”

Still, less than 24 hours after Sen. Ted Cruz ended his campaign and effectively cleared the path for Trump to get the nomination, Mayes was still trying to making sense of it all.

“I’ve always believed in our democratic system. I’ve always believed in the wisdom of the electorate,” Mayes said. “And what we’ve gotten to today is Trump is the Republican nominee. It’s just going to take me a little while to wrap my arms around this.”

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Rep. Mark DeSaulnier announces successful chemo treatment for leukemia

Freshman Rep. Mark DeSaulnier announced Thursday afternoon that he has recently completed chemotherapy to treat a common form of leukemia.

The Concord Democrat represents the Richmond and Walnut Creek in the Bay Area.

DeSaulnier was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia last summer, he said in a statement. He referred to it as a chronic disorder that cannot be completely cured.

Thursday’s statement was the first public acknowledgement of his condition.

He said he was assured by his doctors he could continue working while undergoing treatment,

“I have been able to go home every weekend except one, logging over 170,000 miles flown, held 14 town halls, had meetings with thousands of constituents and maintained a 99.1% voting average in my first session of Congress,” DeSaulnier said.

DeSaulnier won the seat in 2014 with 67% of the vote. He serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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Initiative to change California’s legislative rules moves toward November ballot

Almost every bill considered by the Legislature would have to be in print for at least three days under a proposed initiative that’s likely on its way to the Nov. 8 ballot.

Backers of the California Legislature Transparency Act said Thursday that they have collected more than 930,000 voter signatures for their proposal -- far more than are needed, if elections officials certify that enough of them are valid.

The proposal, championed by GOP donor Charles Munger Jr., would also require all legislative hearings to be videorecorded and posted online. And it would erase the existing limits on using video of those hearings, which would mean that clips of legislative meetings could be used in political campaign ads.

“Voters are making it clear that they are fed up with special interest legislation being passed in the middle of the night, without time for input or careful consideration of how new laws impact them,” said former GOP legislator Sam Blakeslee in an emailed statement.

Some of the Legislature’s most impactful work -- from the state budget to bond measures and beyond -- often is passed through bills that were quickly drafted and put up for a vote in the Assembly and Senate. Critics of the proposed initiative argue that political deal-making sometimes requires last minute action, and that the 72-hour mandate is too extreme.

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Mexico’s top diplomat sidesteps Trump questions

Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, met with Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators this week. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León honored her on the Senate floor Thursday morning, and they held a press conference afterward.

Ruiz Massieu talked about the strong links between California’s and Mexico’s economies and the state’s friendliness to Mexican immigrants. But one thing she didn’t want to talk about was presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

She declined to address Trump when asked in English and Spanish about the candidate, including a question about Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the border to be financed by Mexico.

“We do not comment on specific proposals of candidates or pre-candidates of an internal electoral process of other countries,” Ruiz Massieu said.

In her prepared remarks, however, she criticized Trump’s plans without naming him.

“There is nothing more beneficial for any community than to open its doors for hard-working people,” she said. “In the 21st century, the viability of the immigrant dream will not depend on the audacity to construct walls but on the capacity to build bridges.”

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Latino Legislative Caucus steps up attacks on Trump

Donald Trump addresses supporters and reporters in New York on May 3.
((Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) )

The California Latino Legislative Caucus, which is exclusively Democratic, on Thursday denounced presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for “sowing discord” with his volatile comments on the campaign trial.

“Unfortunately, Donald J. Trump’s ascension to becoming the de facto presidential nominee for the Republican Party -- even after his incendiary and offensive remarks about Mexican immigrants, women, disabled people, veterans, communities of color, Muslims and many other groups -- gives us great cause for concern about the direction of where we are going as Americans,” said Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salnias), the caucus chairman.

Alejo added, “Will we be a country defined by hateful and condescending attitudes towards anyone who is different, or can we prove that we are better than this and have mutual concerns about how we move forward together?”

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NRA independent expenditure campaign backs House majority leader

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Union-backed campaign labels San Bernardino lawmaker ‘Chevron Cheryl’

The race in Assembly District 47 is shaping up to be a battle of independent expenditures.

In a union-backed campaign launched today, Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino) has been dubbed “Chevron Cheryl.” The effort includes an online ad, mailers and a mobile billboard featuring Brown’s name above the oil giant’s logo.

“Brown’s record puts the profits of polluters above ensuring clean air and drinking water for the people of our district,” said Hakan Jackson of Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice Action, one of several environmental groups that has criticized Brown.

Brown’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

The campaign, paid for by an independent expenditure committee backed with $100,000 from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is the first indication that progressive interests are willing to spend in the closely watched race.

Brown is facing progressive attorney and fellow Democrat Eloise Reyes, who has criticized Brown for what she says are cozy ties with the oil industry and other interests.

Three weeks ago, Chevron dropped $1 million into a campaign account that is backing Brown. Since then, outside groups, including another committee backed by donations from Chevron, have spent more than $600,000 to support Brown.

The campaign is shaping up to be an expensive one, with more than $2.3 million already reported in donations and independent expenditures. It’s a stunning sum, considering both candidates are expected to advance in the strongly Democratic district and will likely face off in November.

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Assembly blocks bill to expand legal rights for Aliso Canyon neighbors

A bill touted as providing legal protections to neighbors affected by the Aliso Canyon gas leak failed to muster the needed votes in the Assembly on Thursday amid strong opposition from businesses and the California Chamber of Commerce, which labeled it a “job killer.”

The bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) failed on a 28-32 vote — it needed 41 votes to pass. Gatto was given permission to bring it back up in the future if he can get the needed votes.

Gatto’s bill would extend the statute of limitations from two to three years for filing civil actions alleging injury, illness or death caused by exposure to a hazardous material or toxic substance.

The measure also says residents cannot be required to sign a waiver of future claims against a polluter in order to be reimbursed in an environmental disaster. The bill also allows those who sue polluters to be reimbursed for attorney fees.

“This is for the worst of the worst in terms of environmental disasters,” Gatto told his colleagues. “This is a righteous bill.”

However, Republican and moderate Democratic Assembly members voted against the measure after it was expanded beyond applying to Aliso Canyon to apply throughout the state.

“It’s a trial lawyer’s dream bill,” said Assemblyman Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), who predicted it would clog the courts with lawsuits.

A letter circulated by business groups including the Western States Petroleum Assn., the American Chemistry Council and the California Chamber of Commerce called the bill a “job killer.”

“Release clauses are one of the primary incentives for defendants to settle disputes and avoid prolonged, expensive litigation,” the letter said.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) said he liked that the bill could also benefit residents who have suffered lead contamination from the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon.

“Here we have the one opportunity to hold companies accountable,” Santiago said during the floor debate. “We have expanded the bill to apply statewide because it absolutely makes sense.”

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Fate of Gov. Jerry Brown’s parole initiative debated by California Supreme Court

The first real test of a 2014 law that made changes to California’s initiative process is now in the hands of the state’s highest court.

For more than an hour Thursday morning, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to overhaul prisoner parole rules should be allowed to earn a spot on the November ballot.

In February, a Sacramento judge threw out the measure, ruling that Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris should not have allowed late amendments made by Brown.

All sides agree the Supreme Court ruling will have an effect far beyond the governor’s measure. And the justices seemed willing to allow Brown to move forward.

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Mexico officials visiting in Sacramento

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Landlords could prohibit tenants from smoking medical marijuana under bill OKd by Assembly

Landlords in California would be able to prohibit tenants from smoking medical marijuana in rented residences under legislation approved Thursday by the state Assembly.

Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) introduced the measure, citing a UC San Francisco study that suggests that secondhand cannabis smoke results in similar cardiovascular effects as tobacco smoke. California law already allows landlords to bar the smoking of tobacco in rented units.

“Neighbors living in multifamily housing can be exposed to toxic or unwanted secondhand smoke,” Wood told his colleagues. “It’s a nuisance that tenants shouldn’t have to live with.”

Wood said tenants could still take marijuana in liquid, pill or edible form.

Tobacco and marijuana smoke share many harmful chemicals because they both involve burning dried plant material, according to Matthew Springer, professor of medicine in the UCSF Division of Cardiology.

“We are seeing that just a few minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke from tobacco and marijuana have the same negative effect on the ability of arteries to carry enough blood, with marijuana causing a longer-lasting effect than tobacco,” Springer said.

AB 2300 was approved on a 74-0 vote and now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

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A big day for Gov. Jerry Brown’s parole ballot measure

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Hillary Clinton is campaigning and raising cash in California

Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Southern California today ahead of the state’s June 7 primary.

In today’s Essential Politics newsletter, I detailed the six fundraisers Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and members of the campaign team have coming up this month in the Golden State.

The former president was in Los Angeles on Wednesday, taking a subtle jab at Donald Trump over his comments about Muslims while campaigning for his wife at a Koreatown hotel.

Beyond the official appearances, Hillary Clinton will be downtown Thursday to attend an early afternoon fundraiser with Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar. Donors can give $2,700 or raise $10,000 to be a co-host and take a photo with Clinton. Hosts who raise $27,000 can attend a reception with the candidate and become members of the campaign’s Finance Committee, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by The Times.

At roughly the same time, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin will attend a separate downtown Los Angeles afternoon fundraiser hosted by Dr. Asif Mahmood.

Bill Clinton attends an evening fundraiser Friday at the Los Angeles home of Laura and Sanford Michelman.

On May 12, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook and chief digital and technology strategist Teddy Goff will appear for a lunchtime “conversation” at Craig’s in West Hollywood.

On May 13, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin will join Lily Tomlin, Meredith Baxter, Suzanne Westenhoefer and Stephanie Miller at the Santa Monica home of Baxter and Nancy Locke. Contribution levels range from $500 to $10,000 as a co-chair, which comes with the promise of an invitation to “a future event with Hillary or President Bill Clinton.”

Hillary Clinton will attend an early evening event in Los Angeles on May 23 at the home of Bryan Lourd and Bruce Bozzi. Anna Wintour also is listed as a host.

Bill Clinton also is giving the commencement address at Loyola Marymount University this weekend.

In Santa Cruz Friday night, supporters plan a “Pearls and Pantsuit Art March” in honor of Clinton.

“Wearing a pantsuit or blazer is HIGHLY encouraged but if you don’t have one, just bringing yourself if perfect,” organizers wrote.

Clinton spent nearly an hour talking with the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board and two members of the newsroom. She talked about her hopes of having a Democratic Senate if she becomes president and what it’s like to be a woman running against Donald Trump.

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Gov. Brown signs bills to raise smoking age to 21, restrict e-cigarettes

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a pack of bills that will raise the smoking age in California from 18 to 21, and restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in public places.

However, Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed counties to seek voter approval of local tobacco taxes to pay for healthcare expenses for those with tobacco-related illnesses.

“Although California has one of the lowest cigarette tax rates in the nation, I am reluctant to approve this measure in view of all the taxes being proposed for the 2016 ballot,” Brown wrote in his veto message for a bill by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica).

The bills were touted as the “most expansive” effort to control tobacco use in the state in more than a decade and were backed by a coalition of medical groups including the American Heart Assn, American Lung Assn., American Cancer Society and the California Medical Assn.

However, the tobacco industry had threatened to seek a referendum vote to overturn the bills increasings the smoking age and restricting e-cigarettes.

Because the bills raising the smoking age and regulating e-cigarettes were approved during a special session on health care, they will become effective sooner — June 9 — than regular bills.

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Smoking age in California will rise to 21

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No local tobacco taxes, as Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes bill

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New ad from San Bernardino congressional candidate calls opponents ‘dummy politicians’

Republican Sean Flynn, who is running to unseat San Bernardino Rep. Pete Aguilar, released an ad for TV and radio Tuesday to introduce himself to voters in the Inland Empire.

Flynn wasn’t afraid to attack his fellow GOP candidates.

In the ad, he calls Republicans Paul Chabot and former Rep. Joe Baca “dummy politicians who don’t have a clue” and presents himself as an outsider who can fix an ailing economy.

Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Flynn, said the ad buy would run on local TV, cable and radio stations.

Chabot’s campaign fired back, critcizing Flynn as having “zero experience fighting crime and terrorism.” Chabot is a military veteran who narrowly lost a 2014 contest for the then-open San Bernardino congressional seat.

“While Sean was sharpening pencils in the safety of an ivory tower classroom, Paul served in Iraq as a counter-terrorism military officer fighting terrorists,” said Chabot spokesman John Thomas.

Bardella shot back: “Am I missing something or shouldn’t we want our representatives to have an education? Would you allow a doctor to operate on you who doesn’t have a degree in medicine?”

Chabot and Flynn are taking two different tacks as they attempt to oust incumbent Aguilar, the former mayor of Redlands.

Chabot has put fighting terrorism at the center of his campaign in the district, which was hit in December by the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

He is even selling stickers that read “ISIS Hunting Permit” to support his campaign.

Flynn, an associate professor of economics at Scripps College in Claremont, is focusing his campaign message mainly on improving the economy.

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Clinton’s cameo in Los Angeles

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Progressive groups say annual ‘job killer’ list is killing good legislation

A group of progressive organizations is trying to take on the California Chamber of Commerce’s influence at the Capitol.

The groups, which include large labor, environmental and social justice organizations like the Service Employees International Union California, California Labor Federation, Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood, said at a Wednesday press conference that the chamber’s annual “job killer” list of legislation opposed by the business lobby has too much influence over lawmakers’ decisions. The groups’ members said they wanted to present a progressive alternative.

“The simple reason is that as much progress as we have made, we can and must do better,” said Antionette Dozier of the Western Center on Law & Poverty.

The progressive coalition is backing bills that would end juvenile solitary confinement, aim to prevent the sexual harassment of janitorial workers and create a new public retirement plan for private workers. It is also opposing measures that would expand exemptions to the state’s primary environmental law and criminalize the failure to pay public transit fares.

The coalition has posted lists of bills it is supporting and opposing.

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Senate candidate’s ‘mind control slavery’ research and other odd finds in California’s new voter guide

California’s official voter guide for the June 7 primary is out, and there are a few interesting tidbits inside about the U.S. Senate candidates.

Long shot Democratic candidate Massie Monroe of Glendale asks voters to “rise above” the accusations leveled against her because of her research into “mind control slavery.”

“Through my national and international research and political activism, I identified ‘mind control slavery’ by satellite energy technology weapons and social engineering programs that have been in continual development for the past 50 years and facilitated their ‘declassification.’ As a result, I came under heavy sanctions that are ongoing. I request you, the voter, to rise above all untrue accusations that assail my good character and heart.”

Also, two of the top Republicans in the race are MIA. Niether Tom Del Beccaro nor Ron Unz filed statements in the guide. Unz jumped into the race in March, weeks past the Feb. 17 deadline.

But the other top Republican candidate, George “Duf” Sundheim, appears and happily bragged about it when he spoke at last weekend’s California Republican Party convention in Burlingame — implying it was a badge of political legitimacy.

The top two Democrats in the Senate race, state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, also have statements inside.

The voters guide is published by the California secretary of state, and candidates must pay to have a statement included. The cost is $25 a word and submissions are limited to 250 words. So, if you do the math, the price tag for a 250-word statement runs $6,250.

That may explain why only 20 of the 34 Senate candidates on the June 7 ballot filed statements, and why many of those who did kept it short.

“No party preference” candidate Mike Beitiks was concise:

“My platform is narrow. It’s more of a single board, really. Federal legislators are doing nothing to protect us from the threat of climate change. I will not do nothing. I swear on the graves of future Californians that I will not sacrifice our actual climate to our political climate.”

Then there’s no party preference candidate Jason Hanania from San Francisco, whose only statement in the guide is “01100101” — a protest of the campaign finance system and the per-word charge.

“Speaking as an engineer, my Candidate Statement was ‘01100101’. In computer programming, the binary code ‘01100101’ translates to the letter ‘e’, as in e-voting,” Hanania explained on his website.

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Domestic violence hearing for Assemblyman Roger Hernandez postponed

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

A divorce court hearing on allegations of domestic violence made against congressional candidate and state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) was postponed Wednesday until later this month.

A temporary restraining order barring the Democrat from contacting his estranged wife, Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Susan Rubio, remains in place until the next court hearing.

Rubio has alleged that Hernandez, who is challenging Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) in the June 7 primary, repeatedly assaulted and abused her after they were married in June 2013.

In court papers she said Hernandez had a pattern of violent behavior that included “pushing, shoving, hitting and choking” her. She alleged several specific incidents.

Rubio said that after an April 5 divorce hearing, an enraged Hernandez “aggressively” approached her and began shouting in her face.

Rubio’s lawyers planned to call at least five witnesses to testify Wednesday but the hearing was continued because Hernandez retained a new lawyer this week.

The witnesses include Rubio’s sister Blanca Rubio and former Baldwin Park Police Capt. David Reynoso.

Susan Rubio’s lawyer Crystal Boultinghouse said Reynoso responded to one of the alleged incidents. The allegation is that Hernandez grabbed Rubio “out of bed by the arm” and injured her back. In a court decleration, Rubio said the assemblyman took her phone battery to prevent her from calling the police. Eventually, Rubio’s sister and Reynoso arrived and Hernandez was forced to let his wife go to the hospital, Boultinghouse said.

Hernandez attended the hearing but declined to comment through his lawyer Donald Schweitzer, who called the allegations false and accused Rubio of making them up to harm his client’s political career.

Blanca Rubio, who is running for Hernandez’s assembly seat, denied the charges have anything to do with politics.

“I don’t care about my campaign. I care about my sister, she said. “This is about what happens to her and other women. This has nothing to do with anything other than domestic violence.”

Susan Rubio gave a brief statement after the hearing, declining to answer any further questions.

“If I don’t [speak up], what chance do women with less support have?” she said. “If my humiliation can encourage other women to speak up then it’s worth the humiliation that I will continue to go through publicly.”

The next hearing is scheduled for May 25 -- two weeks before the June primary.

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Initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use appears headed for California voters

Supporters of an initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California are scheduled to gather Wednesday in San Francisco to announce they they have collected enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot and to launch a campaign for its passage.

Meanwhile, a coalition including the California Police Chiefs Assn., California Hospital Assn., California Teamsters and Los Angeles Police Protective League kicked off a campaign opposing the initiative Wednesday, arguing, among other things, that it would allow people convicted of dealing large amounts of controlled substances such as heroin, methamphetamine or cocaine to become legal marijuana dealers.

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May the 4th be with you, legislators

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Democrat David Guzman drops out of race against Rep. Tony Cardenas

Democrat David Guzman said Wednesday he has suspended his campaign for the 29th Congressional District seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas, saying he couldn’t mount a viable bid.

Guzman said he realized after meeting with local Democratic clubs that it was a mistake to run for Congress as a first-time candidate with little political experience.

With the California primary less than 35 days away, Guzman’s name will remain on the ballot. On his website, Guzman urged supporters to examine the remaining four candidates.

“I do not want to cheat the candidates that are still officially in the race, therefore, please don’t vote for me because it would not be the right thing to do. Search your hearts and vote for one of the remaining four candidates,” he said in a post on his website.

Cardenas is leading fundraising in the race by a large margin but has spent more than $300,000 on legal fees.

Former Los Angeles City Council member Richard Alarcon is also in the race but is facing perjury and voter fraud charges.

The other two Democrats in the race are Benny Bernal and Joe Shammas.

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Will Loretta Sanchez benefit from Ted Cruz’s demise?

A competitive California presidential primary had all sorts of potential to scramble the other races on June 7. One possible outcome: A surge in Republican turnout could have dashed Senate candidate Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s hopes of making it past the primary and to the general election.

After Sen. Ted Cruz’s departure from the GOP race all but handed Donald Trump his party’s nomination, Sanchez dismissed speculation she might benefit.

There are three top Republican challengers each aiming to perform better than Sanchez to face front-runner Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

But if California Republican voters lose interest now that Trump appears to be the presumptive GOP nominee, that could help Sanchez capture a bigger chunk of the primary vote in a state dominated by Democrats.

“I think we’re going to be good to get through that primary,” said Sanchez (D-Santa Ana). “We’re just going to campaign very hard for the next 35 days.”

Recent opinion polls showed Sanchez in second place, trailing Harris. The congresswoman leads the three top Republicans in the running: Tom Del Beccaro, George “Duf” Sundheim and Ron Unz. Nearly a third of voters polled said they were undecided.

Under California’s “jungle primary,” the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will advance to the November general election, even if they belong to the same party.

Sanchez still believes voter turnout will be high in California because of the excitement about the presidential race.

“I think all of it has really energized people to take a look at this election, so I anticipate that we’ll have a higher primary turnout than most people believe,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez was in Sacramento on Tuesday to receive the endorsement of area veterans, including former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, who served in the Korean War.

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Young California artists and writers visit the White House

President Obama recognized three California Asian American and Pacific Islander artists and storytellers Wednesday at the White House.

The event, part of the White House’s Champions of Change program, included remarks from the first lady’s chief of staff, Tina Tchen, National Endowment for the Arts Chairwoman Jane Chu and several panels focused on the 10 artists who were recognized.

The California artists who were recognized:

Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed, a South Asian political activist and writer from Los Angeles who cohosts the popular #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast.

Jason Fong, a junior at Redondo Union High School who has written extensively on Asian American identity and social media since starting the popular Twitter hashtag #MyAsianAmericanStory after presidential candidate Jeb Bush talked about Chinese “anchor babies.”

Jenny Yang, a Los Angeles-based writer and standup comedian who produces Disoriented Comedy, a mostly female, Asian American standup comedy tour.

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Political tension ramps up at legislative hearing on Newsom’s gun control initiative

Backers of a gun control initiative proposed for the November ballot argued during a legislative forum Tuesday that it is needed to make California safer, while opponents said it will unfairly harm law-abiding gun owners and is primarily aimed at getting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom elected governor.

Newsom turned in 600,000 signatures last week for an initiative that would require background checks for ammunition purchasers, ban large-capacity magazines, make gun thefts a felony and require those convicted of serious crimes to give up their firearms within 14 days.

The Assembly and Senate Public Safety committees held a joint hearing on the proposal Tuesday in anticipation of the measure qualifying.

Craig DeLuz, head of the Firearms Policy Coalition, told lawmakers that most of the provisions in the initiative have been rejected by the Legislature or the governor as “too extreme or unworkable.”

He said the real purpose of the initiative is to get Newsom elected as governor in 2018.

“It’s for one individual to get his name in the paper so he can run for higher office,” DeLuz told the lawmakers.

That drew a rubuke from state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), chair of the Senate panel.

“I do take offense at the personal attacks on the proponents of the intiative,” Hancock said during the hearing.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) responded, saying the initiative is unnecessary.

“I am equally offended that the person who came up with this initiative isn’t here today to address this body,” she said. “That’s incredibly disrespectful.”

Newsom, who has fueded with legislative leaders who are pursuing their own gun control bills, did not attend the hearing, instead participating in a memorial service held for California Highway Patrol officers, a representative said.

Attorneys for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which co-wrote the initiative, told lawmakers it will plug serious loopholes in California’s tough gun laws.

“We believe reasonably that more can and should be done to protect California families and keep lethal weapons out of dangerous hands,” added Ari Freilich, a staff attorney at the center.

The initiative was criticized by Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michele Hanisee, president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys of Los Angeles, who predicted many people will not obey the new laws requiring them to get rid of high-capacity magazines.

The initiative “places additional burdens on an already overburdened court system,” she added.

None of the lawmakers at the hearing commited to endorsing the initiative.

Lawmakers raised questions about the cost of enforcing the initiative, but the Legislative Analyst’s Office said the bulk of costs may be recovered by fees authorized by the measure.

Hancock said she is interested in alternative approaches to addressing gun violence, including a look at improving mental health services.

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Even as tax revenue misses its mark, Democrats see an opening with Gov. Brown on the budget

Gov. Jerry Brown has long warned that the state’s budget bonanza of recent years, fueled by a windfall of income tax revenue, is destined to sputter out — a mantra that’s helped deflect many of his fellow Democrats’ spending demands.

But now, even as April tax revenue missed its mark by $1 billion, there’s a perception at the state Capitol of a slight opening in Brown’s otherwise airtight argument. And it’s one he brought about himself, by embracing the new law boosting California’s minimum wage.

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Silicon Valley congressman gets three donations for legal defense fund, spends $0

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Rep. Michael Honda pulled in donations of $1,750 to help him with his legal defense over an ethics complaint concerning his office’s use of staff time to work on his campaign, the fund’s first report shows.

About a dozen House members have such funds and can use the money to pay for legal services for themselves or any staff member. Honda is in a tough race against fellow Democrat Ro Khanna in the 17th Congressional District .

The fund’s first report, which was due over the weekend, shows the congressman has not spent any of the money he’s raised. Honda’s most recent campaign finance report also indicates that he’s spent nothing on his legal defense.

Donations to the fund are considered gifts under federal law. Unlike campaign contributions, which are capped at $2,700 per individual each election, donors can contribute up to $5,000.

The donations were $250 from Jadine Nielsen of Honolulu, a frequent donor to Honda and other Democratic candidates; $1,000 from JD Strategies Inc., a workforce services company in Sunnyvale, Calif.; and $500 from the Santa Clara location of the Tom N Toms Coffee chain.

Honda’s campaign manager, Michael Beckendorf, said others have donated since March 31, the end of the filing period for the report. He wouldn’t answer questions regarding whether legal services had been performed since the beginning of the year that had not yet been paid for either through the campaign or the legal-expense fund.

The next quarter’s campaign finance report and legal-expense fund report are each due after the primary. Khanna’s campaign has called on Honda to disclose the additional donors now.

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Newsom takes over AT&T Park for gubernatorial fundraiser

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Lawmakers sent new lobbying disclosure bill to Gov. Brown, and regulators want him to veto it

The Assembly’s passage on Monday of new disclosure for government contract lobbying sets the stage for a showdown with Gov. Jerry Brown, whose administration is staunchly opposed to the bill.

AB 1200 expands the definition of lobbying to include activities related to awarding state government contracts. In 2014, an estimated $11 billion in contracts were awarded, but the process currently falls outside the system of disclosure.

“AB 1200 will bring transparency to the state procurement process,” said Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), who introduced the bill last year after working with a group of law students to craft the new rules.

But the bill, supported by government watchdog groups and Secretary of State Alex Padilla, has been opposed by both the governor’s Department of Finance and the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Jodi Remke, chairwoman of the FPPC, wrote in a March 22 letter that the bill would “expand the commission’s mission” beyond oversight of lobbying to influence the writing of new laws.

“We do not believe the commission is the right agency to oversee the procurement process for state contracts,” Remke wrote to Gordon.

The bill passed with a supermajority of votes in both the Assembly and Senate -- a vote threshold that would suggest enough support to override any veto from Brown. But veto overrides are virtually nonexistent in the state Capitol, the last ones coming during Brown’s first term in 1979.

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State senators adjourn in memory of ex-Schwarzenegger advisor Julie Soderlund

Three state senators rose Monday to adjourn the day’s session in honor of Julie Soderlund, a public affairs professional and former aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who died late last week. She was 38.

Soderlund was diagnosed with melanoma nine months ago. She chronicled her battle with the disease through a blog widely shared among Sacramento political and media circles.

“Julie was an amazing person,” said Senate GOP leader Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) in her floor remarks. “She was too young to die.”

Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), who made the motion to adjourn in Soderlund’s memory, remarked that Monday was also National Melanoma Day. And Sen. Ted Gaines (R-Rocklin) praised Soderlund’s “bravery, honesty and even humor” during her cancer treatments.

Schwarzenegger, who joined Soderlund’s friends through the months in taking to social media posts wearing custom T-shirts, on Friday called his former staffer “a jewel.”

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Gov. Jerry Brown: ‘Something strange’ is fueling the rise of Donald Trump

Gov. Jerry Brown called Donald Trump’s presidential campaign “a phenomenon worth examining” on Monday, but took a pass at offering any direct comment about the either the tone or the tenor of Trump’s two-day campaign swing through California.

Brown made the comments during a question-and-answer period after an event on fire prevention awareness at a Cal Fire facility near Sacramento. Asked about Trump’s campaign, the governor labeled it as “something strange.”

“I think people are upset. Wherever you look, there’s a lot of climate of discontent,” he said.

Brown then pivoted to the broader issues that have sparked insurgent presidential campaigns from both major parties, both Trump’s and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’.

“Everyone says they want change and innovation” in society, said Brown. “But when it comes at the pace that it’s coming, it causes anxiety and fear. And there will be people who use that for their campaign fodder.”

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein opposes legalizing Internet poker in California

Just as a bill to legalize internet poker in California appears to be moving forward, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she opposes the measure because she fears it would hurt California’s youth.

The proposal, which was approved last week by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, would allow Native American tribes and card clubs to partner on state-sanctioned Internet sites in exchange for California getting a cut of the take.

Feinstein, in a letter to state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, said Internet gambling sites in other parts of the world have been involved in money laundering and other crimes.

“I urge you to consider the potential widespread harmful implications of online gambling, particularly for young people in California,” the Democratic lawmaker wrote. “It is my strong belief that the bill should not be enacted and that Internet poker should be prohibited in California, beacause of its potential harmful effects.”

Feinstein cited a recent BioMed Central Public Health study that found an increase in online gambling opportunities had a “significant impact on the health of adolescents in Canada, including an assortment of mental and physical ailments.”

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From rising Republican star to Hillary Clinton delegate

Nathan Fletcher
(John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

California Democrats picked delegates to the party’s national convention in Philadelphia over the weekend and at least one Hillary Clinton supporter’s name will sound familiar to people in Sacramento.

That would be Nathan Fletcher, the former GOP assemblyman from San Diego who for years was touted as major player in the future of the Republican Party in California.

But while running for San Diego mayor in 2012, he left the GOP and became unaffiliated with a party. A year later, Fletcher switched to the Democratic Party and unsuccessfully ran for San Diego mayor a second time.

Fletcher has been a vocal supporter for Clinton at some time, including volunteering for her campaign in Nevada before the state’s caucus in February.

“I’m honored to have been elected as a delegate,” Fletcher said. “I have been working hard to help the Clinton campaign since she announced and will continue to do all I can. I know she will be a great president.”

Fletcher’s trip to Philadelphia to back Clinton at the July convention won’t be his first brush with Democratic politics at the highest level. In September, he went to the White House to meet with President Obama in support of the Iran nuclear agreement.

This post was updated at 1 p.m. with a quotation from Fletcher.

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Fallen officers remembered at Capitol ceremony

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Gov. Jerry Brown fires back at Florida governor’s business-poaching visit

Gov. Jerry Brown welcomed Florida’s governor to the Golden State on Monday with a zinger of a reaction to the fact that the trip is designed to lure businesses to pack up and move east.

Brown’s letter to Gov. Rick Scott was billed as a plea for the Florida Republican to get engaged on the issue of climate change. But he also made it clear that he sees nothing wrong with California’s economic health these days.

“Rick,” wrote Brown, “a fact you’d like to ignore: California is the 7th largest economic power in the world. We’re competing with nations like Brazil and France, not states like Florida.”

Scott’s office didn’t have an immediate comment on the letter, and the Florida governor said in a Times interview that he thinks California’s move to enact a $15 an hour minimum wage will help him persuade some businesses to leave. Scott’s team also bought radio airtime recently on an ad encouraging business owners to give Florida a look.

For his part, Brown goes on in the Monday morning letter to warn Scott that the effects of climate change on Florida could be severe. And he sent along a copy of a recent report that makes the same point.

“So, while you’re enjoying a stroll on one of California’s beautiful beaches this week, don’t stick your head in the sand,” writes Brown. “Take a few minutes to read the rest of this report. There’s no time to waste.”

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Podcast: That sleepy Senate race

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