State Senate Fills Void Caused by Assembly Strife : Legislature: Its stodgy image notwithstanding, the upper house gets the job done while lower house scraps.

It is known variously as the “Geriatric Ward,” the “Responsible House,” the “Senior Chamber,” the “House of Bores” and the “Club.”

Whatever the labels, the California Senate always seems to be trapped in the shadow of its whirlwind equal, the Assembly, known around the Capitol as the “Action House,” the “Sandbox,” and the “Zoo.”

To the chagrin of state senators, the Assembly often gets credit for the accomplishments of both houses. But things appear to be changing, at least for the short term--and perhaps for much longer.

The Senate is filling the vacuum left by the Assembly, paralyzed for two months by an ugly speakership fight between Democrat Willie Brown and Republicans.

Although Brown has reclaimed his title and an uneasy truce prevails, the Assembly remains a very different place than it was before: The powers of the Speaker have been reined in and partisan warfare threatens to break out again at the shift of a single vote.

In contrast, the Senate has been an island of calm and steadiness. The very things that have distinguished the upper house and contributed to its image of stodginess--tradition, collegiality, courtesy, stability and compromise--are now considered the essential elements needed to get things done in the Legislature.

One veteran lobbyist, who usually concentrates on issues in the Assembly, said confusion is so rampant in the lower house that he has turned to the Senate, where he quickly obtained a meeting with a key leader.

As the Assembly wrangled, the Senate activated its budget and other committees weeks earlier than normal, launched its own investigation of Orange County’s bankruptcy, jumped aboard the electronic Internet system and swiftly approved emergency relief bills for flood victims.

Senate Republicans are taking the lead on one of the GOP’s most cherished goals: lifting regulations on business in order to stimulate the California economy. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are leading the charge for more funding for public education, particularly at the college level. They have announced their opposition to Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposal to increase student fees again.

And lobbyists and others say that paralleling the Senate’s rise is the elevated stature of Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward).

“Bill Lockyer is the pivotal person in the Legislature today, no question about it,” said a business lobbyist who has worked in Sacramento for 28 years and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Surprisingly, even Senate Republicans have generally praised Lockyer, a flint-edged partisan. Although skeptical at first, GOP members mostly give him good marks for an even-handed performance during his first 10 months as Senate leader, a quality more pronounced while the Assembly engaged in political combat.

Lockyer has kept his legendary hair-trigger temper in check. Although occasionally tested by confrontational colleagues, he has walked away from what in the past could have exploded into public shouting matches.

“He obviously has put that behind him,” said one lobbyist. “Now we are seeing a fine sign that he has the administrative and political skills that a leader needs.”

The state Senate is much different from three decades ago when a bipartisan clique of powerful senators met regularly over dinner and drinks to decide which bills would live or die in committees the next day.

Gone, too, are the days when one roguish senator reportedly would dispose of bills he did not favor by dumping them off a bridge into the Sacramento River. More recently, a stubborn chairman whose committee approved bills over his opposition would carry them around in his coat pocket rather than report them to the full Senate.

As stable as the Senate is now, however, it too is changing under the weight of term limits, though not as quickly as the Assembly. Senators are now limited to two four-year terms, while Assembly members must move on after serving a maximum of three two-year terms.

“Under Lockyer, the Senate appears to be very stable, careful and going about business as usual. But it has the potential of becoming the same kind of zoo as the Assembly,” warned one lobbyist.

Term limits already have started one trend, prodding some Assembly members to prolong their legislative careers by seeking election to the Senate. And more will follow next year when term limits take full effect in the Assembly.

Senate veterans, long accustomed to the upper house’s clubby atmosphere, see their house slowly being transformed by the new arrivals, whom they see as being ambitious, impatient, aggressive and discordant. The result has been tension between the newcomers and the old guard regardless of party affiliation.

Lockyer appears on firmer ground as leader of the Senate than Brown does as Speaker of the Assembly, where Republicans are ready and eager to pounce on any weakness to capture the speakership and emotions are running high.

Conditions are more tranquil in the Senate, even though Lockyer can count on only 21 Democratic votes, a bare majority of the 40-member chamber. But that margin is usually bolstered by support from the Senate’s two independents.

“He’s got to hold the line and at the same time try to build up his army,” said one veteran lobbyist.

Republicans in the Senate total 16 and are expected to easily increase that to 17 this spring through a special election in Orange County, which could put them within striking range of winning control of the Senate in 1996.

Next year, 20 Senate seats will be up for election. Ten of these will be vacant because incumbents will be forced out by term limits. Of these, five are occupied by powerful veteran Democrats such as Alfred E. Alquist of Santa Clara, Nicholas C. Petris of Oakland and Daniel E. Boatwright of Concord.

Republicans likewise will lose incumbents to term limits next election, including veterans Robert G. Beverly of Long Beach, caucus Chairman Bill Leonard of Big Bear Lake and Newton R. Russell of Glendale. A major fight is expected in San Diego over the seat of independent Sen. Lucy Killea.

Wealthy Sen. Rob Hurtt of Garden Grove, a patron of conservative Republican legislative candidates, said it will be difficult next year for the GOP to win control of the state Senate without a repeat of last year’s national Republican tidal wave. Hurtt calls himself the Senate GOP’s “official unofficial elections chairman.”

“The Democrats are very well organized here in California,” Hurtt said, estimating that Democrats outspent Republicans last year 3-to-1 in Senate races. Hurtt believes that Republicans will take control of the Senate by 1998.

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The State Senate Lineup

Democrat Bill Lockyer, left, is president pro tem of the Senate, the top official of the upper house and leader of the Democratic majority. Republican Ken Maddy, right, is minority leader. Here are the committee chairs in the Senate this year:

COMMITTEE CHAIR Agriculture and Water Resources Jim Costa Appropriations Patrick Johnston Budget and Fiscal Review Alfred Alquist Business and Professions Daniel Boatwright Constitutional Amendments David G. Kelley Criminal Procedure Milton Marks Education Leroy Greene Elections and Reapportionment Richard G. Polanco Energy, Utilities and Communications Steve Peace Finance, Investment and Int’l Trade Lucy Killea Governmental Organization Ralph C. Dills Health and Human Services Diane Watson Housing and Land Use Tom Campbell Industrial Relations Hilda Solis Insurance Herschel Rosenthal Judiciary Charles M. Calderon Local Government William A. Craven Natural Resources and Wildlife Tom Hayden Public Employment and Retirement Teresa Hughes Revenue and Taxation Mike Thompson Rules Bill Lockyer Toxics and Public Safety Managemt Jack O’Connell Transportation Quentin L. Kopp Veterans Affairs Don Rogers

COMMITTEE DISTRICT Agriculture and Water Resources D-Fresno Appropriations D-Stockton Budget and Fiscal Review D-Santa Clara Business and Professions D-Concord Constitutional Amendments R-Idyllwild Criminal Procedure D-San Francisco Education D-Carmichael Elections and Reapportionment D-Los Angeles Energy, Utilities and Communications D-Chula Vista Finance, Investment and Int’l Trade I-San Diego Governmental Organization D-El Segundo Health and Human Services D-Los Angeles Housing and Land Use R-Stanford Industrial Relations D-El Monte Insurance D-Los Angeles Judiciary D-Whittier Local Government R-Oceanside Natural Resources and Wildlife D-Santa Monica Public Employment and Retirement D-Inglewood Revenue and Taxation D-St. Helena Rules D-Hayward Toxics and Public Safety Managemt D-Santa Barbara Transportation I-San Francisco Veterans Affairs R-Tehachapi