O.C. Bats Near .350 in Passing New ’93 Laws

One lawmaker tried to tackle school violence. Another continued to rail against street-corner vending machines carrying X-rated weeklies. A third attempted to make millionaire crooks pay the cost of their own imprisonment. Several took swipes at streamlining the state bureaucracy.

When the lights finally went out earlier this month on the 1993 state legislative year, Orange County’s delegation in Sacramento could look back on a smattering of heady victories and a few precipitous defeats.

It began, in many respects, with Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) being nominated for state schools chief, then suffering a partisan shellacking by Democrats last spring.

It ended with Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) announcing plans to run for state attorney general--and promptly seeing several crime-fighting bills vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson in the final hours last week.

In between, the Orange County delegation managed to push through enough new laws to nearly match the .350 bill-signing batting average racked up this year by the Legislature as a whole. That’s a reasonable accomplishment for an eclectic collection of conservatives who are a distinct minority in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

A look at the legislative high and low points for Orange County’s state lawmakers during 1993:

ASSEMBLYWOMAN DORIS ALLEN (R-Cypress)--Taking up the crusade against campus violence, this former school trustee pushed through a bill designed to nudge districts to regulate gang attire. But several other anti-violence measures got marooned in the Legislature, including a requirement that all classrooms have telephones or walkie-talkies in case of trouble.

Allen’s biggest personal coup was the passage of legislation she helped craft with two Democrats streamlining California’s environmental quality law. The changes should help business by shifting some of the cost to regulatory authorities, simplifying reporting procedures and requiring agencies to process permits concurrently.

ASSEMBLYMAN MICKEY CONROY (R-Orange)--Conroy proved to be the delegation’s workhorse, sponsoring 66 measures. Among the 19 approved were two bills targeted at Orange County. One required the troubled Santa Margarita Water District to elect directors by popular vote to keep big landowners from dominating elections. Another allows Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana to close down Friday afternoons to save $300,000 a year in electricity and other costs.

He also pushed through a trucking industry plan giving law enforcement $1.5 million to battle cargo hijacking. Another allows adoption agencies to get background information on prospective parents to help winnow out convicted child abusers. Conroy also established a bipartisan “on-time” committee that prodded tardy lawmakers to start floor sessions at the scheduled hour.

ASSEMBLYMAN GIL FERGUSON (R-Newport Beach)--Like any former Marine Corps officer, Ferguson isn’t afraid to charge into enemy fire. This year, he had more bills killed in the Legislature than any other Orange County lawmaker. Among them--his vending machine pornography bill, which Ferguson has been pushing for half a dozen years.

Ferguson did get five bills signed, among them tougher prison terms for selling crack cocaine to children. He also got a law requiring private mail-box businesses to better track box renters to stem the growth of “boiler-room” fraud rings. His bill to abolish the South Coast Air Quality Management District was defeated.

ASSEMBLYMAN ROSS JOHNSON (R-Fullerton)--Ever pro-business, Johnson did his part to help free enterprise this year. Of his 13 bills signed into law, a majority are designed to make life easier for business, in particular the insurance industry. Johnson also got several of his ideas on worker’s compensation reform written into other lawmakers’ bills.

Local government also got a boost from Johnson. One new law helps cash-strapped counties by requiring the state to pay the costs of special elections, which are proliferating with the advent of term limits. Johnson also pushed through a bill toughening criminal bail regulations.

ASSEMBLYMAN BILL MORROW (R-Oceanside)--Although a freshman, Morrow didn’t refrain from tackling controversial issues. He wrote a resolution urging President Clinton to ban gays from the military. He tried to pass a bill that would have required schools to document the number of students in the United States illegally. And the attorney-turned-assemblyman proposed a measure to let parents pull their children out of classes where Spanish is spoken.

All those efforts failed. Instead, Morrow found success with several nuts-and-bolts bills, ranging from a restriction on abalone harvesting to an effort to make garage-door openers more kid-safe. Morrow also is pleased with a measure he helped Umberg push through. It tightened the state’s probate laws after revelations that a Laguna Hills attorney arranged to inherit millions from his Leisure World clients, despite a Supreme Court ruling that anything more than a modest gift raised questions of propriety.

ASSEMBLYMAN CURT PRINGLE (R-Garden Grove)--Perhaps Pringle’s greatest accomplishment was behind the scenes. As the GOP whip, he made a good enough impression to be granted a spot as the Assembly’s deputy minority leader and be mentioned in some quarters as heir apparent for the top Republican spot.

Pringle won approval for an “adopt-a-beach” proposal that lets civic groups and business help clean state sands. Another allows motorists with no more than one ticket to renew their license by mail, saving the state an estimated $1 million in DMV staff time.

He made no headway on several bills to curtail the powers of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Pringle promises to work “very aggressively” on the AQMD reforms next year.

ASSEMBLYMAN TOM UMBERG (D-Garden Grove)--Expected to run for attorney general next year, Umberg expanded his resume this year by becoming chairman of the Assembly Toxics Committee. Among his top bills was one designed to speed toxic site cleanup.

He pushed through a measure to cut boiler-room fraud by requiring telemarketing companies to post a $100,000 bond that victims can tap. Another allows school principals to assign graffiti cleanup chores to misbehaving students. He also pushed the probate-reform bill with Morrow.

Umberg’s biggest disappointment was vetoes of bills on drive-by shootings and making rich prison inmates pay their incarceration costs, estimated at more than $20,000 a year.

SEN. MARIAN BERGESON (R-Newport Beach)--Despite the schools chief defeat, Bergeson had another solid year on the legislative field. Twenty of her bills became law, the most of any Orange County lawmaker.

The big victories were renewing the ability of Caltrans to contract out its engineering work, streamlining the state’s environmental permitting process and setting up a $20-million program to help developmentally disabled children.

Bergeson suffered setbacks on a domestic violence bill and her long-sought effort to allow Orange County to contract out more services. She plans to press ahead with both next year, her last in Sacramento: Bergeson is running for Orange County supervisor in 1994.

SEN. WILLIAM A. CRAVEN (R-Oceanside)--With numerous trailer parks dotting his district, which includes a swath of South County, Craven has made mobile homes a big issue. Five of the 11 new laws he authored deal with the communities, including a provision to cap property tax bills in parks newly converted to resident-ownership.

On other fronts, Craven won approval for a special library protection fund financed by taxpayers who contribute via a check-off on their state income-tax forms. Another new law permits developers to form assessment districts to pay for habitat conversion, a tool that should prove useful to South County builders forced to set aside land for the endangered California gnatcatcher.

SEN. ROB HURTT (R-Garden Grove)--The wealthy manufacturer came to the Capitol promising to shake things up after a special election victory last spring. Hurtt, who has joined four other wealthy conservatives to bankroll numerous GOP candidates, is already talking about taking over as Senate Republican leader in January.

Although he got a late start on the legislative year, Hurtt pushed a few bills through. One requires drug dealers to pay for the cleanup of methamphetamine labs. He also pushed through bills that require deeper background checks on police academy candidates and allow military personnel to vote via facsimile machines.

SEN. JOHN R. LEWIS (R-Orange)--Long one of the Legislature’s least active bill writers, figuring it only added to an already bloated government, Lewis of late has been trying to cut government by writing bills. His big target is Southern California’s air quality regulators. But of the four bills Lewis wrote to rein in the AQMD, only one passed--it caps fees the agency collects.

Another successful bill prohibits convicted murderers from tapping good-time credits to get out of prison sooner. Lewis is most proud of a new law to ensure that good drivers aren’t subsidizing the state’s assigned risk plan, which provides insurance to bad motorists. Instead, bad drivers will pay higher rates.

Orange County Law

Halfway through the 1993-94 legislative session, 34% of Orange County lawmakers’ measures have become law. The comparable figure for the entire Legislature is 35%. Many of the 355 measures have been held over as “two-year bills,” eligible for reconsideration next year. And those voted down can be revived as new legislation.

Number Killed in of bills Legislature Lawmaker introduced Number Pct. SENATE Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) 44 3 7% William A. Craven (R-Oceanside)* 20 0 -- Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove)** 17 2 12% John R. Lewis (R-Orange) 24 3 12% ASSEMBLY Doris Allen (R-Cypress) 32 3 9% Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) 66 2 3% Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) 37 5 14% Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton) 30 1 3% Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside)* 34 1 3% Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) 20 1 5% Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) 31 0 -- Total 355 21 6%

Pending Vetoed Lawmaker Number Pct. Number Pct. SENATE Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) 19 43% 2 5% William A. Craven (R-Oceanside)* 9 45% 0 -- Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove)** 11 65% 0 -- John R. Lewis (R-Orange) 11 46% 0 -- ASSEMBLY Doris Allen (R-Cypress) 19 60% 3 9% Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) 45 68% 0 -- Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) 27 72% 0 -- Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton) 15 50% 1 3% Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside)* 22 65% 0 -- Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) 12 60% 0 -- Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) 14 45% 5 16% Total 204 57% 11 3%

Bills now law Lawmaker Number Pct. SENATE Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) 20 45% William A. Craven (R-Oceanside)* 11 55% Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove)** 4 23% John R. Lewis (R-Orange) 10 42% ASSEMBLY Doris Allen (R-Cypress) 7 22% Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) 19 29% Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) 5 14% Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton) 13 44% Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside)* 11 32% Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) 7 35% Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) 12 39% Total 119 34%

* Represents district situated in both southern Orange and northern San Diego counties

** Won special election March 2; others in office for full session

Sources: Legi-Tech and the California Legislature

Researched by ERIC BAILEY / Los Angeles Times