Bill to Ban Happy Hour Gets Setback

There are those inexplicable moments in the Legislature when lobbyists appear to be the only ones aware of what is happening--when votes defy logic and contradict political philosophies and even oratory immediately preceding them.

At times, even the lawmakers appear baffled by it all.

Twice last week, Orange County legislators found themselves in such situations.

Pleasantly for Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), her bill to increase special funding to Orange County school districts for educating poor and bilingual students--a measure she expected to see defeated or amended beyond recognition--advanced past the Assembly Education Committee intact and with little trouble.

But unfortunately for state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), who expected something of a cakewalk for his bill outlawing happy hours and other promotions to sell drinks in bars and restaurants, the surprise was seeing the bill scuttled, at least for now.

“Everything was sort of like motherhood and apple pie until they got ready to call the roll,” Seymour said of the strange, sometimes hostile hearing before the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, where his happy-hours bill was pushed aside.

When the roll was called, Seymour’s bill, which needed six votes to advance, got two. Four members of the committee abstained; two were absent.

The surprising thing about the vote was that the tone of the hearing seemed to favor a happy-hours ban, which 14 other states have enacted.

Almost all the speeches and the questions seemed to be aimed in that direction. And the senators all appeared either put off or amused when the lobbyist for the California Restaurant Assn., the bill’s chief opponent, testified she did not see a correlation between discount drinks and increased consumption.

Some senators openly chuckled.

This week, Seymour said, he is going to ask the committee to consider it again next month. Seymour said he thinks he can count on the support of the two senators who missed last week’s hearing, and he will try to sway at least one of the others who attended.

“It’s not dead,” Seymour said. “The way I count the votes, we should have four. . . . It’s going to be close. “

Supervisorial Candidate Lines Up Influential Help

Orange Mayor Jim Beam, who has made it known he is interested in replacing Orange County Supervisor Ralph Clark, is picking up some heavyweight help in the formative stages of his effort.

Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange), considered by some to be the chief Republican political strategist in the Assembly, and political activist Charlotte Cleary, who has close ties to Gov. George Deukmejian, are co-chairing Beam’s exploratory committee.

Clark has been one of Orange County’s most popular politicians for more than a decade. The silver-haired, folksy Clark has been linked to former fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty, who recently agreed to become a federal government witness after pleading guilty to a variety of corruption charges.

Moriarty allegedly provided prostitutes to several politicians, including Clark, according to authoritative sources, some of whom say they were present on occasions when prostitutes were provided. Clark has denied the allegation.

Beam has said he is convinced that Clark will not seek reelection. Lewis said the strategy of “getting out early” was encouraged by speculation that Clark might not run or might step down early.

Besides giving Beam an opportunity to weigh potential financial support and “line up key endorsements,” the early effort could be a boon if Clark does resign before his term is completed and Deukmejian appoints a successor, Lewis said.

In addition to Beam, Anaheim Mayor Don Roth is the name most frequently mentioned as a likely supervisorial candidate if Clark doesn’t run.

Fabric Care Board an Endangered Agency

The tiny state Board of Fabric Care probably will be among the items discussed this summer when state lawmakers arm wrestle over the priorities of the nation’s most populous state before sending a final budget to the governor.

The agency, which regulates California’s dry cleaning industry, became a conference committee item last week when Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra), who is leading a crusade to abolish the board, convinced the Assembly budget subcommittee to whittle the agency’s budget request to zero.

Earlier, the Senate’s counterpart subcommittee had approved the Fabric Care board’s full $900,000 budget request.

Johnson, angered over the board’s treatment of a constituent, is carrying a bill that would abolish the agency, which he says is useless. Oklahoma is the only other state that regulates dry cleaners.

Even if Johnson’s bill succeeds, the conference committee probably will consider the Fabric Care board, because the agency will need operating funds during the six-month phase-out allowed under Johnson’s bill.

“The real significance was just to help add momentum to what we are trying to do,” said Johnson, who said he was extremely proud of having the agency’s budget whittled to nothing in subcommittee.