Lawmakers Uphold Custom With Long Spring Vacation

It’s a tradition that’s easy to live with. Again this year, members of the Legislature will take a longer Easter break than most working folks. The state bill mill will grind to a halt at noon Thursday when the Assembly and Senate recess until April 16.

Up to half of the legislative staffers also are expected to take some time off while their bosses are absent from the Capitol, according to Assembly Chief Clerk R. Brian Kidney and Senate Secretary Darryl R. White.

There are a sprinkling of special committee hearings scheduled to be held throughout the state, however. These include a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on financial oversight of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Ontario on Monday. ASSEMBLY Floor Action

Prison Labor: Defeated on a 32-8 vote a motion to withdraw from committee a constitutional amendment (ACA 11) by Assemblyman William Baker (R-Danville) and backed by Gov. George Deukmejian to require some prisoners to work for private business to help pay their keep. Forty-one yes votes were required for approval. The governor already has received the green light to begin gathering voter signatures for a November ballot initiative to allow implementation of the plan, which is opposed by organized labor. Committee Action

Disposable Diapers: The Natural Resources Committee sent to between-sessions study a bill (AB 2582) by Assemblyman Norm Waters (D-Plymouth) to require disposable diapers sold in California after 1994 to be biodegradable. The author said the law is needed to prevent state landfills from bursting at the seams. An estimated 4 million diapers are tossed away each year in California. SENATE Committee Action

Oil Spill Cleanups: The Governmental Organization Committee approved a bill (SB 2040) by Sen. Barry Keene (D-Benicia) to establish a state-administered oil spill cleanup fund to be financed by a tax on oil unloaded at California ports. An 8-0 vote sent the bill to the Judiciary Committee. Similar legislation is pending in the Assembly.

Capital Fact

So far this year, there have been 4,364 bills introduced in the Assembly and 1,173 in the Senate.