Assembly Floor Action:Credit Cards: Rejected on a...

Assembly Floor Action:

Credit Cards: Rejected on a 29-39 vote a bill (AB 2) by Assemblyman Rusty Areias (D-Los Banos) to limit the interest rate that could be charged on bank credit cards. The bill proposed a rate no more than 8 percentage points above the six-month U.S. Treasury bill rate, now 6.14%. The author received permission for reconsideration, but there probably will be no further action until next year.

Alcohol Warnings: Rejected amendments offered by Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly (D-Sacramento) to require on alcoholic beverage containers a warning to pregnant women not to drink because alcohol can cause birth defects.

Child Care: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 44-34 vote a bill (AB 368) by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) to require employers to grant male and female employees up to four months’ unpaid leave to care for sick children.

AIDS: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 41-34 vote a bill (AB 87) by Assemblyman Art Agnos (D-San Francisco) to set up a 24-member commission to develop a coordinated statewide program to fight AIDS as recommended by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. A $450,000 appropriation for the commission is contained in the 1987-88 state budget.

Highways: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 54-21 vote a bill (AB 671) by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda) to place a $1.5-billion highway construction and improvement revenue bond issue on next year’s June primary election ballot.

Prisons: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 67-0 vote a bill (AB 522) by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) to set up a blue-ribbon commission to explore ways to help solve the prison crowding problem, which could include alternatives to incarceration.

License Plates: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 49-27 vote a bill (AB 1786) by Assemblyman Tom Bates (D-Oakland) to set up a new artistic-design license plate program. The additional $50 fee for the plate would go to help raise money for California Arts Council projects. Senate Floor Action:

Class Size: Passed and sent to the Assembly on a 23-6 vote a bill (SB 436) by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) to provide $75 million in bonuses to school districts that reduce class sizes in English, mathematics, science and social science in grades 9 through 12. The governor has vetoed similar legislation in the past.

AIDS: Passed and sent to the Assembly on a 37-0 vote a bill (SB 1158) by Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia) to authorize the courts to order county health officers to test defendants charged with certain sex crimes for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases under specified conditions. Miscellany

Old News: Citizens For Common Sense, the committee formed during the spring by Gov. George Deukmejian to help further his political career, has issued its premier newsletter, dated July 1. It has a front-page story headlined “Duke Wins Reelection by Landslide Margin.” That’s right, but it happened last Nov. 4.