Quake Bill Calls for Houses to Be Bolted to Foundations

As an earthquake safety measure beginning Jan. 1, 1997, legislation introduced in the Assembly would require wood frame houses to be bolted to their foundations at the time they are sold.

Assemblyman Dominic Cortese (D-San Jose) said his bill (AB 200) is exactly the type of measure that falls under Gov. Pete Wilson’s inaugural speech theme of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

“This bill would go a long way toward saving both lives and property in the next big earthquake,” Cortese said. “I believe the new governor will see the benefits of fixing homes before they break, rather than after.”

Former Gov. George Deukmejian vetoed a similar Cortese bill sent to his desk by the Legislature last year.

GOVERNOR

* Will attend a San Diego inaugural celebration on Friday evening.

ASSEMBLY

Bill Introductions

* Kidnaping: AB 197 by Assemblyman Bill Jones (R-Fresno) would make kidnaping to commit a sexual offense a felony punishable by life imprisonment without possibility of parole. It was introduced at the request of Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.

* Recycling: AB 193 by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-La Mesa) would require recycling bins for aluminum cans and glass bottles to be located at public airports so flight attendants can recycle waste after airplanes land.

* Worker Safety: AB 198 by Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-Long Beach) would require the Division of Labor Statistics to include in its 1992 annual report an analysis of the frequency of injuries to oil refinery and chemical plant workers compared to other industrial occupational categories.

* Pornography: AB 184 by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) would prohibit the sale of explicit sexual material from sidewalk vending machines accessible to children.

SENATE

Bill Introductions

* Hit and Run: SB 143 by Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose) would increase penalties for leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which death or serious injury occur. The new penalty would at be least two years in state prison and a $1,000 fine.

* Reapportionment: SCA 7 by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) would set up an “Independent Citizens Board to Assure Redistricting Fairness” to hold public hearings and review plans for the reapportionment of state legislative and congressional districts based on federal census figures.

* Drugs: SB 136 by Sen. William Leonard (R-Big Bear) would require a six-month suspension of the driver’s license of anyone 21 or older who is convicted of a drug violation.

Miscellany

* Conservative Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) and six of his lower house colleagues have urged Gov. Pete Wilson not to raise taxes and to impose a state spending freeze for 1991-92 to permit a reevaluation of state spending priorities. McClintock is a member of a newly formed “no-tax-increase” task force headed by Lewis K. Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee. They told a Capitol press conference that they liked what the governor said in his inaugural address about wanting to spend money to prevent problems rather than remedy them. But the task force intends to keep a close eye on what happens next. McClintock also said state government’s share of Californians’ personal income has jumped from 4.7% in 1962 to 8.7% today “because of decades of waste and mismanagement.”

* The secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency from the Deukmejian Administration, Clifford L. Allenby, has been named senior vice president for governmental affairs for the California Building Industry Assn., which is another way of saying chief lobbyist. Allenby, 54, also served as a high-level official in the Department of Finance under two governors as an adviser on tax, fiscal and economic policy matters. The California Building Industry Assn. is the state and local representative for 7,000 new home and commercial/industrial builders.

Capital Fact

Since 1849, the state of California has had six capital cities--Monterey, San Jose, Vallejo, Benicia, San Francisco and Sacramento.