Robbins Tops Lawmakers With 119 Bills Introduced

State Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) introduced more bills than any other state lawmaker in the 1985-86 legislative session, according to data made public this week by a Sacramento legislative information service.

Robbins introduced 119 bills, one more than Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), according to the firm, Legi-Tech. The average number of bills introduced per lawmaker was 58.

Teri Burns, legislative aide to Robbins, attributed the number of bills partly to the senator’s chairmanship of the Insurance, Claims and Compensation Committee, which has handled much legislation pertaining to the continuing liability insurance crisis. Burns said that, as chairman of the committee, Robbins, a senator for 13 years, was asked to sponsor many bills.

Among Robbins’ bills that became law was one providing a sales tax exemption for the mail-order printing industry. The law, which is intended to make California more attractive to the printing firms, was aimed in particular at inducing a Wisconsin firm to locate a $150-million printing plant in Pacoima. The firm has not announced its decision.

Of the 119 Robbins bills, 51 (43%) became law and 10 (8%) were passed by the Legislature but later vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian, according to Legi-Tech.

Rosenthal, who represents part of the Valley, is chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee.

Ken Mandler, Legi-Tech’s president, said the number of bills introduced is less a barometer of a lawmaker’s effectiveness than the number of those that become law. For the average senator, 47% of the bills introduced became law and 7% were vetoed by the governor.

Some lawmakers, including Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), have proposed a ceiling on the number of bills legislators could introduce, seeking to discourage the introduction of bills considered wasteful of lawmakers’ time because they have little chance of passage.