Assembly GOP Readies Big Legislative Push

Energized by their successful recall of former Speaker Doris Allen, Assembly Republicans on Thursday converged on the desert near Palm Springs to begin crafting a conservative legislative agenda that they are tentatively describing as the “contract with California.”

Playing off the success House Republicans enjoyed last year with their “contract with America,” GOP Assembly members were preparing for a two-day retreat that begins today at which they hope to nail down details of their legislative manifesto to rally support among the state’s voters.

Assemblyman Jim Battin (R-Palm Desert) said the contract will include “stuff Republicans have been talking about for years,” including planks on welfare reform, tax cuts and elimination of government regulation--themes paralleling the controversial House GOP pledge to reform the federal government.

On Thursday, lawmakers also participated in a controversial golfing fund-raiser that included plans for a reception at the home of one of the state’s most prominent gambling industry figures.

With Allen’s ouster, GOP Assembly members believe they will finally be able to use their narrow majority to push major policy initiatives, though many of these proposals are expected to receive a chilly reception in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Assemblyman Phil Hawkins (R-Bellflower) said the GOP “contract” is in rough draft form but the notion behind it is to pledge an overhaul of state government and then have voters “hold us to it.”

Republicans have long vowed to push for a laundry list of laws to help business, often in conflict with established state policies instituted during two decades of Democratic control of the Legislature.

GOP Assembly Leader Curt Pringle of Garden Grove said using the description “contract with California” was a way to frame the proposals for 1996. The final name for the manifesto has yet to be determined.

Battin said it will take another month or so to complete all the planks. But the idea of a pledge to the people of California was born out of the rancorous 1995 Assembly session.

“As much as the public was frustrated with the Legislature, we were just as frustrated,” Battin said. “I didn’t run to get into a big political game.”

“We’re going to move this agenda forward, no matter who is Speaker,” either Pringle or Fresno Republican Brian Setencich, Battin said. “We need something to show the state.”

Hawkins said one of the motivating factors behind the contract is to institute policies that would improve the climate for business in California. He said lawmakers would discuss how “to bring jobs back to California.”

Assemblyman Brooks Firestone (R-Santa Barbara) said that with the departure of Democratic Assemblyman Willie Brown as Speaker, the GOP has accomplished one of its goals.

“The next stage is to present California with a program and policies which will give us a better future, economically and educationally,” Firestone said.

Democrats dismissed the GOP’s policy proposals as mimicking those of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “In the absence of having an original agenda it is a copy of Gingrich’s agenda,” said Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar). “That’s why I call it Newt Light. I’m not sure [we’re] ready for the Gingrich-ization of California. It’s the same old package marketed differently.”

But on Thursday, policy issues took a back seat to fund-raising.

Republicans staged what was billed as the “First Annual Assembly Republican Victory Fund Golf Tournament” and a reception, hosted by R.D. Hubbard, the owner of Hollywood Park racetrack, a major campaign contributor and a leading proponent of increased gambling in California.

Hubbard this year won bipartisan support for a gaming bill approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

About 100 lawmakers, lobbyists and executives played in the event, expected to raise about $150,000 to benefit Assembly Republicans in the 1996 elections. Participants were then invited to a reception at Hubbard’s home “overlooking the 15th tee of the Big Horn Golf Club.”

Even before the lawmakers and lobbyists began teeing off, Hubbard’s participation was drawing fire.

Pringle said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the fund-raiser. There is no tie, he said, between the golf tournament and business at the state Capitol. “This is not where legislation is talked about,” he said.

Ruth Holton, lobbyist for California Common Cause, acknowledged there is nothing illegal about a wealthy benefactor like Hubbard helping the Republicans but maintained that it is emblematic of the corrupting influence of money in politics.

“Holding that fund-raiser,” Holton said, “certainly encourages the Assembly Republican caucus to support R.D. Hubbard’s legislative agenda and Hollywood Park’s legislative agenda and sends the message to the Assembly Republicans: ‘You can count on my support if you support me.’ ”

The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition, warned the Republicans that they are “climbing a slippery slope” by allowing themselves to be courted by Hubbard.

“They are risking an immediate reaction from a portion of their base--the religious right and religious people in general,” he said.

Hubbard could not be reached for comment, but his secretary confirmed he was holding the reception. She declined, however, to confirm reports that Hubbard was picking up the cost of playing a round of golf at the club, which ranges between $50 and $200 per player.

Jeff Flint, Pringle’s chief of staff, said the golf fees would be reported on state-required disclosure statements as an in-kind gift from Hubbard or the golf club. But a club spokeswoman said the golf course had not made such a donation.