Legislators to Move on Education, Crime, Drunk Driving

‘Tis the season when Christmas lists give way to legislative wish lists. And, by the looks of it, Valley-area legislators have amply filled theirs with bills.

Improving education, keeping criminals behind bars longer, punishing cagey drunk drivers who beat the system, helping some of society’s underdogs and plugging all sorts of loopholes are among the goals Valley-area legislators will carry with them to Sacramento when the legislative session begins on Monday.

Most of their proposals address statewide problems, but there are some that would interest only the locals. Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), for instance, wants to preserve Little League ball fields in Northridge. They are on land being sold by the Los Angeles Community College District to finance the construction of a permanent home in Sylmar for Mission College.

Another local bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Sherman Oaks), seeks to extend the life of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for four more years. And Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) will be looking for a permanent home for one of his pet projects, the San Fernando Valley Fair.

The coming session also will bring with it new committee assignments for some Valley legislators, and possibly some new chairmanships.

In the Assembly, Katz, with mixed feelings, is in the running for the top spot on the Transportation Committee. The third-term incumbent said the assignment would make more demands on his time as he tries to pursue his legislative priorities. But he says the Valley, with its tangled traffic problems, “could use a strong advocate to make sure it gets its fair share of the money.”

Robbins is considered a contender for the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee, or at least part of the committee, which may be getting a face lift. Political observers speculate that the panel could be divided into two or more specialized committees dealing only with criminal issues, for instance, or civil issues.

Although not saying whether he would accept the judiciary post, Robbins said he will not leave his chairmanship of the Insurance, Claims and Corporations Committee.

Already, Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) has been appointed a minority whip by newly elected Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale). In that capacity, McClintock will keep the Republican caucus apprised of the latest political machinations and will help steer through the legislative process bills the caucus feels strongly about.

McClintock predicted a productive session because the bickering that tainted the working relationship between the two parties during the last session “seems to be under control.”

He attributed the truce, in part, to voters having killed the divisive reapportionment initiative and to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). Brown, he said, is more comfortably ensconced in his position and less likely to make life miserable for Republicans.

Included in the Valley legislative packages are bills that failed during the last session. These include strengthening of nursing home regulation and funding of asbestos removal.

Among the legislators determined to succeed this time around is Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge), who wants to submit a bill that provides a twist to an old one that sought Valley secession from the Los Angeles Unified School District. She said her bill, which is still being formulated, would limit the size of all school districts, including the one in Los Angeles. It is conceivable that the Valley would have more than one district of its own, she said.

Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana) also is reviving an issue buried last year: reapportionment. Bane would like the task of reapportionment transferred from the Legislature to a commission elected by the voters. Any person holding elected or appointed public office would be barred from sitting on the commission.

Bane said he thought the public would be more likely to trust a commission it elects.

And then there is a bill introduced by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Woodland Hills) to address the problems created when all these bills arrive en masse: waste, duplication and expense.

During the last two-year session, legislators introduced 6,500 bills, 1,000 more than in the 1979-1980 session. A Hart aide said one study found that more than 20% of the bills, after assignment to a committee, are never heard from again. With some exceptions, Hart’s legislation would limit the number of bills a senator or assemblyman could file to 60 and 45, respectively.

Crime is a popular issue with legislators once again. Sen. Ed Davis (R-Canoga Park) and Assemblymen Davis, Katz and McClintock are among those planning to introduce bills aimed at making it tougher on criminals.

Katz’s bill would increase the time inmates spend behind bars by revamping the state’s good-time policy. Prisoners now get a day knocked off their sentences for each day they work. Consequently, a prisoner sentenced to 20 years conceivably could leave prison after 10 years. The bill would keep that inmate in jail at least 15 years.

Under Katz’s bill, an inmate would have to work three days to get one day taken off the sentence. In addition, prisoners convicted of serious crimes would have to serve half their sentences before accumulating good time.

The bill, Katz said, is “designed to put the teeth back in the sentencing laws.”

Anti-Drug Proposal

Gray Davis would like to see mandatory prison sentences for drug dealers who use children to carry or sell cocaine or methamphetamines. The penal code already has provisions for such a sentence when an adult transports other dangerous narcotics in a baby’s diaper or a child’s balloon, so this would close a loophole, Davis said.

McClintock’s bill, which died in committee last session, would tack on an additional five years to the sentence of anyone who kills a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman.

Drunk drivers are another popular target for politicians this year.

Katz said he would like to close a loophole many drunk drivers are using when stopped on the road. Today, someone who refuses to take the breath test will lose his license for six months, but the likelihood of getting convicted of drunk driving without the test is remote, Katz said. His bill, which is endorsed by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, would make a refusal to take the test a criminal misdemeanor.

La Follette wants to cut the time during which a convicted drunk driver can enroll in a driver education class as a condition of parole. She said judges are concerned that drivers are waiting to enroll until the end of the 120 days they now are allowed. Her bill would require a driver to enroll within 24 hours after conviction.

Valley legislators also will introduce many education bills.

Ed Davis expects to introduce legislation addressing the problems of the state’s community college system. One of his concerns is their funding formula.

The first Senate bill filed for this session deals with education and comes from Robbins. He wants the state to reimburse the Los Angeles Unified School District and five other districts for expenses they incurred operating voluntary desegregation plans during 1982 and 1983. The state owes these urban districts $31 million, of which Los Angeles’ share is $10 million, Robbins said.

Robbins said he hopes to have the bill passed by February because some districts will have to cut back on programs if they do not receive their money early in the spring semester.

McClintock plans to reintroduce a package of education bills that, he said, would return power to local school districts. One bill would prohibit teachers from going on strike in California. Another would restrict the issues that could be addressed through collective bargaining, eliminating such policy matters as the calendar year and curriculum.

Helping the defenseless is also a popular cause for Valley legislators.

Gray Davis will pick up where he left off by reintroducing bills aimed at helping nursing-home patients, and students and teachers in asbestos-laden schools. He once again is asking for a higher fine schedule for the operators of bad nursing homes and is seeking to broaden public access to hearings held when nursing homes contest fines.

Public Confidence Sought

Opening such hearings, he said, “would permit the public to have more confidence in the way the Health Department administers fines against the nursing home industry.”

Robbins will introduce a bill providing for installation of special telephone equipment in legislative offices so deaf constituents can better communicate with their representatives.

La Follette said she would like to provide funds to the 93 centers around California for victims of domestic violence, and seed money for the creation of shelters. Most of the centers are small and supported by private sources.

“Even in the San Fernando Valley I know the need is tremendous,” La Follette said, noting that 6 million women a year are abused around the country. “We’re not even beginning to fill the need.”

Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), who saw three of her child-support bills signed into law last year, says she will continue pursuing the issue. One of the bills she plans to introduce will address the problem of the increasing number of birth certificates that do not contain the name of the child’s father. This “causes problems if the child goes on welfare,” Wright said.

Tomorrow: Goals for 1985 among Valley representatives on the Los Angeles City Council.