Republicans, Rebel Democrats Deal Brown Rule Another Blow

Assembly Republicans and the rebel Democratic “Gang of Five” joined forces Monday to kill Speaker Willie Brown’s proposal to create a joint legislative committee on revamping tort laws.

The defeat was interpreted as another blow to the authority of Brown (D-San Francisco), who has been engaged in a running power struggle since the first of the year with both the five dissidents inside his own party and the GOP members of the Assembly.

The proposed committee would have studied the need for revising statutes relating to civil liability and insurance, including the amount of damages to be paid or collected in case of death, injury or property destruction.

A major bill to revamp torts, which focused on other areas, was passed by the Legislature last year and signed by Gov. George Deukmejian. That bill authorized creation of a joint committee to continue looking at the overall subject.

The new law made it more difficult to sue businesses and doctors for civil wrongdoing, made manufacturers no longer liable for damages caused by products that ordinary consumers know to be unsafe, and redefined malice to make it harder to collect punitive damages.

Assembly opponents of the joint committee said they feared that the panel could be used as a vehicle to kill badly needed bills to regulate and reduce insurance premiums. Brown is viewed as a friend of the trial lawyers, who have a substantial financial stake in litigating suits against insurance companies and thus would be hurt by limiting damages.

“We don’t want to buy a pig in a poke,” Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) said. “We don’t want it (the committee) to be the deathbed of good insurance reform legislation. You can’t bring down insurance rates without some sort of tort reform, and the public wants those rates to go down.”

‘Public Relations Effort’

Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista), a member of the dissident “gang of five,” said the proposed committee was “all part of a continuing public relations effort to try to obscure the fact that the Legislature is not dealing with the insurance issue.”

Brown’s resolution went down to defeat on a 36-9 vote, with 41 yes votes required for approval. All 36 yes votes were cast by Democrats. The five Democratic “gang” members--Assemblymen Rusty Areias (D-Los Banos), Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra), Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres) and Gerald R. Eaves (D-Rialto)--and four Republicans voted no. Thirty-two more GOP members and two Democrats declined to vote either way.

The Speaker had no comment concerning the loss of his resolution. His press secretary, Susan Jetton, said Brown has no plans to seek reconsideration of the measure.

Opponents also noted that the Assembly previously had scheduled a rare “committee of the whole” session of the entire house to discuss automobile insurance rates. The session is to be held after the Easter vacation recess.

Increased auto insurance rates previously sparked half a dozen proposed November ballot initiatives designed to force the industry to reduce premiums.

“A committee of the whole allows us all to debate the issue rather than have it pigeonholed in a committee,” Nolan said.