Assemblyman’s Stop Sign Makes Lobbyists Do a U-Turn

Hundreds of new bills were tossed into the legislative hopper this week to beat a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday for legislation to be considered this year. Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, used a new tactic to keep the bills he is introducing to a manageable number.

A prominent sign displayed on the front door of Isenberg’s sixth-floor Capitol office proclaimed: “Lobbyists Stop! I am not interested in introducing a lot of bills. . . . I won’t introduce your spot bill.”

(Spot bills are skeleton measures that first propose only minor technical changes but later are amended to include pages of substantive changes.)

“Sounds downright unfriendly to me,” sniffed one lobbyist as he headed for the elevator to find a more receptive author to introduce one of his client’s pet pieces of legislation. ASSEMBLY Floor Action

Operation Desert Storm: Passed and sent to the Senate by a 60-0 vote a resolution (AJR 23) by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) commending President Bush, the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and America’s allies for contributions to the liberation of Kuwait.

Holocaust Week: Passed and sent to the Senate on a voice vote a resolution (ACR 11) by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) designating the week of April 7-14 as California Holocaust Memorial Week. Committee Action

Rabbit Testing: The Public Safety Committee approved a bill (AB 110) by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) to prohibit cosmetic and household cleaner manufacturers from using rabbit tests to determine if their products will irritate human eyes or skin. A 5-2 vote sent the bill to the Ways and Means Committee. Bill Introductions

Child Support: AB 1394 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco) would prohibit people who are behind in their child support payments from obtaining a driver’s license or registering a motor vehicle. It also calls for the suspension of professional licenses issued to such people by the state.

Death Penalty: AB 1294 by Assemblyman John Burton (D-San Francisco) would abolish the death penalty in California.

Fast Foods: AB 1275 by Speier would require all fast-food outlets to list the nutritional value of all items on their menus.

Candidates’ Income: AB 1075 by Assemblyman Steve Clute (D-Riverside) would require candidates for elective state and local offices to disclose income received during the previous year in addition to their investments and real property.

Campaign Contributions: AB 1068 by Clute would increase the per-day fine from $10 to $100 for the late filing of campaign contribution disclosure reports.

Personnel Files: AB 1150 by Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D-Carson) would give employees the right to request and receive a complete copy of their personnel files for a fee, upon a 10-day notice to employers.

Licensing Boards: AB 1271 by Speier would prohibit members of state licensing boards and regulatory boards from accepting gifts from anyone subject to their jurisdiction.

Leaf Blowers: AB 926 by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) would ban the sale of noisy leaf blowers in California.

AIDS Discrimination: AB 1286 by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) would prohibit employment or housing discrimination against people who test HIV-positive. SENATE

Bill Introductions

Ticket Scalping: SB 712 by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) would make it a misdemeanor to sell tickets to a box office event for more than the box office price. The penalty would be up to one year in the county jail or a fine up to $5,000, or both.

Initiatives: SB 734 by President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) would require the listing of major contributors in support or opposition to proposed initiatives in the voter ballot pamphlet.

More Initiatives: SB 661 by Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) would require the attorney general’s ballot pamphlet summary of proposed initiatives to report the fiscal impact on private businesses. Capital Fact

California lost nearly 200,000 acres of farm- and wildlands to urban development in the four-year period ending in 1988, and the rate of loss increases yearly, according to the state Department of Conservation.