Governor Will attend a luncheon in Los...

Governor Will attend a luncheon in Los Angeles with Korean community leaders today.

Assembly Committee Action: Discrimination: The Revenue and Taxation Committee approved a bill (AB 16) by Assemblyman Johan Klehs (D-Castro Valley) to prohibit state income tax breaks for private clubs that discriminate in either membership or use of facilities on the basis of race, sex, age or religion. A 6-4 vote sent the bill to the Ways and Means Committee for more screening.

Bill Introductions: Banking: AB 2521 by Assemblyman Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) would revise state banking laws, some of which have not been rewritten in three decades. Johnston, the chairman of the Finance and Insurance Committee, does not intend to move the bill this year. But hearings on it will be held in conjunction with the Senate Banking and Commerce Committee. The draft is 500-plus pages long.

Prayer: ACR 62 by Assemblyman Tim Leslie (R-Carmichael) would recognize the first Thursday of May each year as the “National Day of Prayer.”

Senate Floor Action: UC Regents: Confirmed on a 34-0 vote the gubernatorial appointment of Jacques S. Yeager of Riverside to the University of California Board of Regents.

Committee Action: Telephone Calls: The Governmental Organization Committee approved a bill (SB 10) by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) to require state agencies to answer incoming telephone calls within 10 rings during regular business hours unless they are understaffed. A 7-0 vote sent the bill to the Appropriations Committee for more scrutiny. The governor vetoed a similar measure last year.

Junk Fax Advertisements: The Business and Professions Committee approved a bill (SB 487) by Sen. Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco) to make it a misdemeanor crime to send unsolicited advertising material to facsimile machine receivers. A 7-2 vote sent the bill to the Appropriations Committee.

Miscellany Fat and Cholesterol: Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco) urged the Legislature to approve bills to require labels of prepackaged foods to show fat and cholesterol levels, set up nutrition guidelines for school lunches and require all fast foods containing lard, tropical oils and beef tallow to be prominently labeled indicating that they contain these ingredients. “Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in our country today,” Speier said. “Yet we do not require our foods to be labeled with the information necessary for people to monitor their own diets.”