Legislators Use Last 3 Weeks of Session to Fill Their Coffers

State lawmakers, looking ahead to the fall elections, are actively twisting lobbyists’ arms for campaign contributions as they begin the crucial final three weeks of the 1986 legislative session.

As many as 11 political fund-raising events are being scheduled on one night during a period when legislators will be casting deciding votes on key bills in the Assembly and Senate.

One lobbyist, who declined to be identified, provided The Times with a copy of his August fund-raising invitation calendar, showing that if he attended each dinner and cocktail party, it would cost his clients $23,999.

In all, at least 44 fund-raisers have been scheduled so far for the last three weeks of the legislative session.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “And if you don’t participate, it’s bound to adversely affect your client’s interest at do-or-die time.”

This veteran lobbyist noted that his secretary ran out of space on his appointments calendar for the evening of Aug. 19 because of the 11 competing invitations.

Asked if he would attend most of the fund-raisers to which he has been invited, the lobbyist replied: “No, I’ve been to $150,000 worth of them already this year. I will probably go to one-third of them.

“This is the final shot at the lobbyists on their home turf while much of their major legislation is still pending.

“Some of these (invitations) are the third or fourth or fifth time that these same people have (held) fund-raisers this year.”

One of those people is Assemblyman Louis J. Papan (D-Millbrae), chairman of the Assembly Rules Committee, who is seeking election to the state Senate. Papan will hold a $1,000-per-plate dinner tonight at Frank Fat’s, a popular capital meeting place that features gourmet Chinese food and steaks. It is his third Sacramento fund-raiser of the year.

Papan bristled at any hint that there was a correlation between the timing of his latest fund-raiser and his votes on legislation.

“That’s not the case with me,” he said. “I don’t operate that way. I never have and I never will. And I resent any inference that I do.”

Papan also complained about the increasing cost of legislative campaigns. Papan called on newspapers and television stations to give candidates a major price break on advertising “because the (political) process is important to everyone.”

In an effort to attract attention in the fund-raising competition, lawmakers often turn to gimmick invitations.

For example, a $500 invitation to an Aug. 20 event read: “Sena-tuh Bill Campbell, the fine gentleman from Southern California, requests that ya’ll come sit a spell at his Plantation Party, lobby of the Old Senator Hotel Office Building. Mint julep time, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ya’ll come, ya hear?”

Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights), a large, jovial man who is known for his quick wit, is the Republican nominee for state controller at the Nov. 4 election.

Campbell, who estimates that he will need to raise $1.5 million to campaign this fall, also scoffed at any relationship between fund-raisers and votes.

“Votes have nothing to do with it,” he said. “The fact is that we will soon be out of session. The general election is crucial and there is a time squeeze.”

A lobbyist would have to think long and hard before turning down an invitation from “the Senate Leadership” to attend a $1,000 cocktail party at Sacramento’s exclusive Sutter Club on Aug. 18.

The “leadership” includes Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles); Sen. Daniel E. Boatwright (D-Concord), chairman of the money-handling Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-San Jose), chairman of the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

They have a lot to say about which bills pass and which bills don’t during the last-minute crunch.

‘Commanding Officer’

In still another effort in the fund-raising wars, Assemblyman Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield), who is running for state Senate, sent out invitations identifying himself as “Commanding Officer of the RAF--Republican Air Force.”

There’s also a picture of Snoopy, the “Peanuts” cartoon character dressed in pilot’s togs atop his doghouse, to help persuade lobbyists to shell out $500 for a “dawn patrol” breakfast at McKenna’s Bar & Grill in Sacramento on Aug. 27.

And Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) is planning a $1,000-per-person “beach party” complete with sand pails and little shovels Aug. 20 at Eilish’s restaurant a few blocks from the Capitol.

Meanwhile, a legislative campaign finance reform bill sponsored by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) is one of the key measures awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor. Brown currently does not have sufficient votes for passage.

In brief, the bill would limit campaign contributions and expenditures, ban donations during non-election years, outlaw the transfer of political funds from one legislator to another, and implement partial public financing by California taxpayers.

An initiative to place limits on campaign contributions and expenditures also recently failed to qualify for the November ballot.