O.C. Lawmakers Offer Up Their Share of Bills : Legislature: Proposals from delegates in Sacramento range from reining in doctors who assist in suicides to helping ease regulatory burdens on business to denying life-term prisoners conjugal visits.

One lawmaker wants to rein in Dr. Death. Another hopes to ensure that convicted murderers cannot spend the night with their spouses. Several want to cut the power of Southern California’s mighty air pollution regulators, while others hope to make life tougher for illegal immigrants.

It’s time to embark on another wild and woolly legislative year with the Orange County delegation in Sacramento. Once again, the county’s contingent has introduced its share of bills, ranging from the sublime to the insignificant.

Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) has a bill that would pull the medical license of Jack Kevorkian or any other physician who helps a person commit suicide.

The delegation’s lone Democrat, Assemblyman Tom Umberg of Garden Grove, is riding herd on a variety of law enforcement bills--including one to ban conjugal visits for inmates serving life sentences.

Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange) is pushing a bill that would require all tenured faculty at University of California campuses to teach at least two classes a quarter.

Freshman Sen. Rob Hurtt has proposed legislation to ensure that English is the only language spoken in the workplace if an employer so desires.

In all, the county delegation has introduced more than 330 bills, about 9% of the 3,582 measures the Legislature will hem and haw over during the 1993-94 session. Many of the bills are simple nuts-and-bolts stuff that tinkers with the law or fulfills the wishes of special interests large and small.

Amid the “fluff” bills are a few bold ideological strokes, some novel ideas and a smattering of proposals that could dramatically change the way of life and how business is conducted in the Golden State.

In general, the legislation reflects the character of the delegation--staunchly pro-business, avidly eager to see regulations slashed, opposed to illegal immigration and bullishly anti-crime.

But if history is any indicator, only a small percentage of those bills will successfully wend their way through the legislative maze and into the law books. It’s a simple matter of political reality: The Orange County delegation is almost entirely composed of conservative Republicans, and their proposals consistently run headlong into the ideals of Democrats who hold sway in Sacramento.

“It’s not just difficult for Orange County legislators. It’s difficult for all Republicans up and down the state,” Lewis lamented. “With solid Democrat majorities in both houses, it’s very difficult to get something of substance, something you truly believe in, enacted into law.”

Here is the top legislation carried by Orange County lawmakers:

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress): In her decade in the Assembly, Allen has become something of a expert on the state’s environmental statutes. Among the 30 bills she has this year is a broad slate of legislation to overhaul and streamline the state’s environmental protection laws.

Allen is also taking steps to curb campus violence with legislation to toughen penalties for crimes around schools and a measure to permit districts to adopt dress codes to eliminate gang attire.

In addition, she is carrying several measures that would make life tough for illegal immigrants. One bill would require proof of legal U.S. residency to get a driver’s license.

Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach): The question with Bergeson these days is whether she will survive the interrogation of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and the Democrats to become the state’s new schools chief.

In the meantime, Bergeson is pushing 44 bills. One would set up a board to administer $2 billion in voter-approved bonds for cities to buy parks, open space, schools, sewer plants and other infrastructure projects.

Others seek to reform the state’s workers’ compensation program by adopting a $2,500 fine for frivolous claims and setting a stricter burden of proof on employees who contend they suffered a psychiatric injury on the job.

Bergeson is also sponsoring bills that toughen penalties for domestic violence and establish the state’s Environmental Protection Agency as a “one-stop shopping center” for businesses to get permits.

Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R--Orange): With 62 bills, Conroy has assumed the role of Assembly workhorse. One would toughen the penalties for carjacking; another seeks to ease the burden on business by putting a two-year moratorium on any new state regulations. Conroy also has a bill that would prohibit additional tax assessments on businesses forced to acquire new equipment to meet air quality laws.

The father of two adopted children, Conroy has another bill that would open up Justice Department files to adoption agencies eager to determine if a prospective parent has any record of child abuse.

Conroy’s most controversial bills may be several that deal with illegal immigrants. The most provocative would make it a state crime for them to come to California, thus drawing local police into an area of law now reserved for the U.S. Border Patrol.

Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach): Long a champion of “wedge bills” that come back to haunt Democrats around election time, Ferguson is at it again. His 34 bills include a measure that would permit cities to ban coin-operated newspaper vending machines that distribute X-rated fare.

Another measure that is sure to rile state lawmakers--who are still adjusting to the state’s new term-limits law--would require members of the Legislature to forfeit their seats within 30 days of filing to run for another elected office.

Ferguson also has bills that seek to make Southern California’s air pollution regulatory agency more accountable to elected leaders. He is sponsoring welfare-reform legislation that includes a provision giving teen parents $50 a month if they attend school.

Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove): The delegation’s newest member was sworn in just last week after a convincing special election victory, but he already has legislation on tap that lives up to his campaign promise to be a different sort of lawmaker.

Aside from his bill pushing for English as the only language in the workplace, the Garden Grove manufacturing firm owner has a measure that would allow non-union employees to work at a union-controlled company. Another bill sure to draw fire from unions would permit the state government to contract out jobs ranging from clerical to janitorial services.

A bill he is carrying for Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren would require convicted drug dealers to pay for the cleanup of drug labs. Hurtt also plans to introduce business-friendly legislation unveiling a variety of tax credits and a measure calling for the abolishment of the state’s Air Quality Management Districts.

Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange): During his years in the Assembly, Lewis was reluctant to push much legislation, reasoning that it did not have a chance to get past the Democrat majority. But he has become more aggressive since coming to the Senate.

This year, Lewis is carrying 23 bills, among them a slate of measures designed to shackle the Southland’s air pollution chieftains. Other legislation would free owners of small businesses from the constraints of providing worker safety training. A bill designed to keep business in California would give firms that expand by 25 or more employees a $7,500 tax credit per additional worker.

Lewis also has a measure that seeks to ease the stain of graffiti by taking away the driver’s license of youths caught in the act and requiring their parents to take part in the cleanup.

Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton): Like his Orange County peers, Johnson has an array of bills that attempt to ease the effect of regulatory agencies on business.

One would require air regulators to obtain their funding through the state budget process, thereby giving the Legislature more oversight. Another would require toxics, pesticide and water control agencies to deposit money from fines into the state’s general fund to avoid any temptation to fatten their coffers by overzealously enforcing regulations.

Johnson, who is sponsoring 27 bills in all, also has a broad-based workers’ compensation reform measure that would attack problems such as stress claims.

In addition, the assemblyman has a campaign finance reform bill that would prohibit candidates from transferring money to each other and impose contribution limits of $1,000 for an individual and $2,500 for political action committees.

Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside): The freshman Republican, whose district includes a large swath of south Orange County, has turned heads with a resolution calling on the federal government to maintain its ban on homosexuals in the military. But he will likely spend much of his time this year as the Republican caucus’ point man on legal reform.

Morrow’s stable of 30 bills includes a measure that would allow parents to remove their children from a class if it is not taught entirely in the English language. Another would require school districts to determine how many pupils are illegal immigrants and report the findings to immigration officials.

He also has a bill that would prohibit people convicted of welfare fraud from receiving government assistance for five years. A measure that should raise eyebrows among state lawmakers would require the governor and members of the Legislature to step down and face a special election if the state budget is not approved on time.

Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove): Aside from handling the duties of Assembly Republican whip, Pringle is shepherding 17 bills.

Chief among them is a slate of legislation bashing Southern California’s AQMD, including a bill that would require the Legislature to ratify most decisions by the air quality board. Another would scuttle the air quality district’s requirement that businesses reduce the number of car trips by workers.

Other bills would allow more privatization of concessions at parks, require that the state reimburse counties for the cost of collecting money from welfare cheaters, and allow local fire districts to hire out their services to the California Department of Forestry.

Pringle also has a bill he estimates would save the state $1 million annually by expanding the pool of people who can renew their driver’s license through the mail and allowing first-time drivers to take a behind-the-wheel test at a private driving school.

Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove): He may feel lonely as Orange County’s only Democrat in Sacramento, but Umberg enjoys the fruits of being a member of the party that controls both houses. As a result, many of his bills should fare better than those of Republicans in the county delegation.

A former Justice Department attorney, Umberg is pushing several law-and-order bills, including one that would make a drive-by murderer eligible for the death penalty. Another would require people convicted of drug crimes to plead guilty before going into a treatment program; if they failed the program, their sentence would then kick in.

Umberg also has an anti-gang measure that would require parents to pay up to $50 for police to transport their children home if they are violating curfews.

In an effort to keep firms from fleeing the state because of regulatory burdens, Umberg has a bill that would create the post of a government advocate to help businesses maneuver through the maze of permit and policy requirements.