O.C. Legislators, for Once, Can Go With Flow

Orange County’s state lawmakers have had a knack for going their own way, struggling in vain against the political tide in a Democrat-dominated Legislature. But this year the currents may be shifting.

On issues ranging from crime to illegal immigration to streamlining the bureaucracy, members of the county delegation say they believe that some of the conservative ideas they’ve loyally espoused for years may finally be embraced beneath the Capitol dome.

With the state budget once again facing the possibility of a major deficit, Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) is optimistic that lawmakers will take major steps to revamp the bloated bureaucracy and slash costs. Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) hopes the state’s fiscal woes will augment her long-running effort to enable county governments to farm out more jobs to the private sector.

Republican Assemblymen Mickey Conroy of Orange and Bill Morrow, whose district includes a large swath of South County, sense that public ire over illegal immigration could help some of their proposals gain acceptance. And Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) feels that widespread concern over crime will boost his plan to sentence young offenders to terms in a militaristic, 1990s version of the reform school.

“Public pressure on crime has clearly developed such a head of steam that those who don’t want to be on board the train are at least wanting to get off the tracks,” said Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton), one of several lawmakers pushing a “three strikes and you’re out” measure to ensure that habitual criminals get life behind bars.

Aside from crime, the Orange County delegation’s often-espoused rhetoric about curtailing government spending and streamlining the bureaucracy could also meet with more success than ever before, some Capitol insiders believe.

One Sacramento lobbyist noted that the Legislature seems intent this year on eliminating several “redundant” state agencies altogether, an idea championed for several years by Orange County conservatives. “They could have a lot of success this year,” said the lobbyist, who asked not to be identified.

“We took baby steps last year,” said Joe Yocca, top Capitol aide for state Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove). “We feel this Legislature can continue that momentum and produce more reforms.”

Whether any of the measures win approval could depend to a degree on the caprices of electoral politics. This year, all but two members of the Orange County delegation will face reelection.

“The year will be extremely political,” Ferguson predicted. “It will be reflected in every bill and certainly the budget.”

Even Bergeson, whose Senate seat is safe until 1996, is planning a campaign this year: She wants to return to Orange County as a county supervisor. In the meantime, Capitol insiders expect Ferguson and Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) to cross swords as they eye the Senate seat Bergeson would vacate.

The delegation’s lone Democrat, Assemblyman Tom Umberg of Garden Grove, probably will be playing politics at the statewide level. As an expected candidate for state attorney general, Umberg is pushing a plethora of public safety bills to help cement him as one of the Democratic Party’s top crime fighters.

Others, meanwhile, are tackling heady new responsibilities within the Republican Party. Hurtt has assumed the top post on the Senate Republican election committee, putting him in a pivotal position to steer funds to Republican candidates in 1994 races.

Pringle, meanwhile, is the Assembly’s new assistant GOP leader and will be a point man in upcoming budget negotiations.

Debate over the $55.4-billion spending plan Gov. Wilson proposed Friday, which includes a $3-billion deficit the governor hopes to cover with federal funds, could set the tone for the year.

After the debacle of a 63-day budget stalemate in 1992, the Legislature worked together last year to pass a spending blueprint nearly on time. That bipartisan spirit spilled over into a variety of other issues, including workers compensation reform and a variety of other pro-business measures.

“Politicians have short memories, but I think everyone in the Capitol can remember back to 1992,” Umberg said. “That was an embarrassment for everyone.”

Johnson, however, predicts that Republican-blessed budgetary reforms designed to dramatically alter the size and shape of government will probably be put off once again. “I don’t think the will is there,” he said. “This year will be be the same old thing--rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”

On the home front, several lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that would directly benefit voters in Orange County. Bergeson’s bill to contract out more county government jobs, an idea that has repeatedly been thwarted by labor unions, could gain new momentum as she scales back the plan to a pilot project, with Orange County one of about half a dozen jurisdictions affected.

Bergeson is also amending a bill to include legislation that would give Orange County and other Southland areas ravaged by the fall firestorms tax relief from the state. Ferguson plans to carry a similar bill.

Johnson, meanwhile, is making a statement on the fires in another way, by proposing tough new penalties for arsonists, an idea that was embraced by Gov. Pete Wilson in his State of the State address last week.

Morrow is using a recent scandal at the Santa Margarita Water District to propel legislation that would limit gifts and perks for all elected local government officials to $250 a year. The district’s two top managers retired after reports by The Times of excessive spending and gift-taking sparked a criminal investigation of them.

Umberg will carry a bill left over from last year that would stiffen gift-reporting requirements for officials of special districts like the Santa Margarita water district.

As with most of the rest of the Legislature, crime is the Orange County contingent’s top priority.

Johnson and Umberg each are carrying “three-strikes” anti-crime measures. Umberg also plans to push anew for legislation vetoed by Wilson last year that would have required wealthy prison inmates to pay the costs of their incarceration.

Ferguson’s reform school proposal would send juveniles convicted of a third serious offense to a “boot-camp environment” where they would be required to complete high school and train for a job.

Another Ferguson proposal would help law enforcement officials keep better track of registered sex offenders.

Allen’s big effort will be for improved school safety. She will sponsor three bills, including one to require immediate expulsion for any student found on campus with a weapon, another to make schools “gun-free zones” and a third to toughen laws against trespassing on campuses.

Bergeson, meanwhile, plans to press ahead with a domestic violence bill that stalled last year in committee.

Morrow wants legislation allowing school boards to expel students who publicly profess membership in a street gang, an idea sure to cause fireworks with civil libertarians. To reduce court costs, Morrow intends to introduce a bill lowering the number of jurors needed in a criminal trial from the current dozen to 10 or 8. Finally, the assemblyman will push a measure designed to speed the execution of death-row inmates by ensuring that they are more quickly assigned attorneys to handle their appeals.

Because tougher sentencing requirements are expected to flood the state’s prisons with more inmates, Hurtt wants to focus on cutting costs in the penal system. He plans to introduce a bill that would make prisoners work, much as they do in Texas, where inmates tend cattle, grow vegetables and harvest cotton, providing the system with most of the raw materials it needs for food and clothing.

Several lawmakers also intend to tackle aspects of illegal immigration. Umberg is carrying a bill that would impose state sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Conroy has three immigration bills that remain from last year, among them legislation prohibiting illegal immigrants from attending colleges.

Morrow plans to introduce bills that would attempt to measure the impact of illegal immigrants on health, welfare, law enforcement and higher education, giving the state more ammunition in its fight with the federal government for reimbursement of the cost of supplying those services to undocumented immigrants.

Regulatory reform will also be a focus of the delegation. State Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange), Johnson and Pringle will continue their efforts to strip power from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the tough regional agency they contend is hurting business.

Hurtt, owner of a Garden Grove manufacturing plant, wants to help free enterprise by easing business taxes. Morrow also proposes eliminating corporate taxes. Bergeson is championing the creation of a state “infrastructure bank” that would help finance the roads, bridges and sewers that allow for business expansion.

Bergeson also plans a bill to ease teacher credential requirements for laid-off workers, particularly those from the aerospace industry. Allen wants to help business by continuing her efforts to streamline the California Environmental Quality Act.

On the education front, Lewis would allow schools to save money by contracting out janitorial services, cafeteria work and other jobs not associated with the classroom. He reasons that more money would then be available for classroom instruction.

Another Lewis bill would make it easier for districts to create “charter schools,” which would be free of many state educational requirements, allowing educators “to design curriculum better suited to local needs,” Lewis said.