S&Ls; Gave $513,000 to Assemblyman Bane in ‘80s : Fund raising: That was more than any other state legislator received from the industry, for which he is a longtime champion.

Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Van Nuys), a longtime champion of the savings and loan industry, received $513,000 in campaign contributions from thrifts--more than any other state legislator in the 1980s, according to a survey released Thursday by two public-interest groups.

In all, the survey said, savings and loans in the last decade contributed $4.1 million to state lawmakers, including at least $216,000 to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), $214,000 to Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and $154,000 to former Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale).

The survey, called “Clearance Sale of the Decade: The Role of California’s Elected Officials in the Savings and Loan Scandal,” was released at press conferences here and in Los Angeles by the public advocacy group California Common Cause, and by Public Citizen, a consumer group formed by Ralph Nader.

Common Cause officials singled out bills by Bane and Nolan as having fueled “the radical deregulation” of the savings and loan industry and helped heighten the current thrift crisis in California.

Bane said that there was no connection between the campaign contributions and his efforts on behalf of the thrift industry. “I shared that money with most of the Democrats in California who ran for office or who were financially unable to finance their campaigns,” Bane said.

Nolan could not be reached for comment.

Ruth Holton, a Common Cause lobbyist, said the survey shows their legislation “opened up the floodgates for anyone to run a savings and loan.” She cited the savings and loan contributions as one reason the public should support Proposition 131, the Nov. 6 ballot initiative that would limit legislative terms and establish partial public financing of campaigns.

Nolan’s bill, which became law in 1982, was a sweeping overhaul of the industry that lifted restrictions on the percentage of a savings and loans’ assets that could be invested in a single venture.

In the early 1980s, Bane, chairman of the Assembly Rules Committee, also successfully pushed legislation to remove some state anti-fraud provisions for savings and loans.

Common Cause said the measure helped deregulate the savings and loan industry. But Bane, a former executive of a savings and loan trade association, dismissed the criticism, saying his measure merely recodified existing statutes.

Dave K. Milton, lobbyist for the California League of Savings Institutions, called the assertions made by Common Cause ridiculous. He said the blame for the savings and loan crisis lies in changes enacted in Washington, not Sacramento.