United Front Key to GOP Hopes for a New Era

It was halftime in the two-year legislative calendar and the favored Republican team was gathered for a locker-room-style lecture after bungling almost every opportunity it had since winning a majority of state Assembly seats in the 1994 election.

As they arrived at Gov. Pete Wilson’s office the morning of Jan. 3 this year, newspapers were already predicting that the GOP was headed for another year of the same rancor because some members continued to defy their caucus.

Wilson started by trying to cut the tension. He recalled a joke he once heard Ronald Reagan tell in situations like this. Then, as he later put it, “I . . . gave them a little historical perspective,” spinning a tale about the benefits of party loyalty that he learned while serving as an Assemblyman under the Republican Party’s Great Communicator.

Reagan’s memory apparently made the Republican hearts beat a little faster that morning. The following day, the GOP caucus elected its first speaker in 25 years--Curt Pringle of Garden Grove, who promptly hung Reagan’s official state portrait outside the Assembly’s main entrance.

And last week--after a one-year delay--the Assembly mimicked its federal counterpart in the euphoric days after House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s election, passing in marathon sessions a truckload of Republican bills that had been routinely scuttled by Democrats in years past.

The conservative tone of their legislative mission was reflected in bills that would significantly relax concealed weapons laws, offer no-fault auto insurance, limit welfare eligibility, cut corporate taxes, deny recognition of same-sex marriages and provide National Guard troops for enforcement of the international border.

The bills are now headed to the state Senate, where a slim Democratic majority is expected to block most of them. But nonetheless, Sacramento Republicans today are savoring the giddy intoxication that follows a long-elusive legislative victory.

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Suddenly, they are talking bravely not only about this year’s elections, but about a GOP era lasting through 2002 and locked in by reapportionment--just as they say it was for the Democrats. United by success, they downplay the divisive problems like abortion, egos and conflicting ideologies that left them stalled just months ago.

“This is the beginning of a new dawn,” Senate Republican Leader Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) boasted this week. “The realization of the team effort is just beginning to be seen now that we have results.”

Pringle was nostalgic, recalling the frustrations of last year when two Republicans--Orange County’s Doris Allen and Fresno’s Brian Setencich--dashed GOP hopes of controlling the Assembly by winning the speaker’s office on the strength of Democratic votes.

“Last year was the rockiest roller coaster ride of any of our lives . . . and I think every member of the caucus was emotionally drained.”

In reality, the changes that made the week’s barrage of Republican legislation possible were slight. The GOP basically gained one more vote for the election of a speaker than it had been able to wrest from its caucus in the past year.

But the biggest change is the political posture of a caucus that looked last year to be paralyzed by internal squabbles and is now able to portray itself as the vanguard of an historic Republican juggernaut.

The narrow margin between the two extremes, however, is certain to keep GOP leaders uncomfortable throughout the year. The Republican caucus spans a wide range on the political spectrum and several members have been outspoken in the past about internal differences.

And while Wilson played the role of mediator recently, he has often been a source of division.

Others have repeatedly threatened to open rifts about abortion and budget decisions.

So most observers expect the Republican solidarity will be tested to determine if it has bonded in the thrill of victory or whether it is a coalition of independent minds that will scatter when the decisions become more difficult.

Privately, Republicans say their members must first decide on their goals for this year. Do they intend to carefully build a foundation for the future or must they seize this opportunity and push hard for fundamental change?

Hurtt, for example, said he would like to see substantial changes in the way California prepares its budget. He said he is unhappy that so much of the state’s money is automatically spent on education. He wishes the state would rely less on bonded debt to pay for infrastructure improvements and more on its general fund.

Meanwhile, a group of at least 10 Republican legislators who oppose abortion rights has begun regular meetings to discuss budget changes. Some members have insisted that public funding for abortions be removed from the budget while others--like the governor--say it is a legal requirement that the courts will provide if the Legislature does not.

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Once again, Republican leaders have warned that a battle over abortion could sink their hopes for a strong election while proponents of the change believe their reelection depends on taking action.

Wilson and GOP leaders in the Assembly have counseled their colleagues to keep their eyes on the election. There are many important GOP issues that have widespread support that could be jeopardized if individual lawmakers stray from the majority.

In his talk with Republicans last month, Wilson said he encouraged legislators to vote their feelings in private caucus meetings, but then bow to the majority on the floor of the Legislature. He also spoke as the voice of experience.

“I told them a story about Ronald Reagan’s welfare reform bill,” the governor said in a recent interview with The Times. “And about the difference in being the majority and the minority--not in terms of what parking spot or what office you get or how much staff, but in terms of your ability to effect change.”

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Assembly-Approved Bills

Here is a selection of bills approved by the Assembly in recent weeks in what the GOP is calling the “Republican revolution.” In many cases, the bills reached the Assembly floor for the first time in years after being bottled up when Democrats controlled the lower house. The measures now go to the Democrat-controlled state Senate, where most will face opposition.

CRIME

* AB 638, by Assemblyman William J. “Pete” Knight (R-Palmdale): Requires local law enforcement officials to grant concealed handgun permits to most adults.

* AB 892, by Assemblyman James E. Rogan (R-Glendale): Requires that judges add 20 years to the sentences of felons who use a gun and injure a victim in a crime.

* AB 297, by Knight: Prevents illegal immigrants who fraudulently register to vote from using their voter notification cards as identification to receive Medi-Cal and other government benefits.

* AB 139, by Assemblyman Larry Bowler (R-Elk Grove): Adds up to 10 years in jail for stealing a gun or possessing a stolen gun.

TAXES

* AB 249, by Assemblyman Steve Baldwin (R-El Cajon): Reduces the corporate tax rate from 9.3% to 7.5%.

* AB 916, by Assemblyman Jim Cunneen (R-Cupertino): Limits state taxes on the foreign income of domestic corporations.

* AB 1057, by Assemblyman Bernie Richter (R-Chico): Creates a tax break for timber companies who export raw logs cut in California and ship them overseas for processing.

WELFARE

* AB 1322, by Assemblyman Phil Hawkins (R-Bellflower): Limits welfare for families to no more than two years.

* AB 528, by Assemblyman Brian Setencich (R-Fresno): Eliminates welfare for people who are disabled because of alcoholism or drug use.

* AB 9, by Assemblyman Jan Goldsmith (R-Poway): Permits counties to cut or abolish general assistance payments, considered the last legal way for poor people, generally men, to obtain money.

WORKPLACE

* AB 398, by Assemblyman Fred Aguiar (R-Chino): Repeals state law requiring employers to pay overtime to nonunion workers who put in more than eight hours in a workday.

* AB 1249, by Assemblyman George House (R-Hughson): Reduces the statute of limitationson worker health claims relating to asbestos.

* AB 1474, by Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove): Requires an injured worker seeking workers’ compensation medical treatment to see an employer- selected doctor for one year, rather than the current 30 days.

* AB 894, by Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian (R-Carlsbad): Increases from 90 days to 180 days the time within which an employer may reject a workers’ compensation claim in cases involving cumulative injuries and occupational diseases.

LIABILITY

* AB 1601, by Assemblyman Charles S. Poochigian (R-Fresno): Reduces liability of manufacturers of prescription drugs and medical devices in cases of injuries caused by their products.

* AB 410, by Assemblyman Jim Battin (R-Palm Desert): Limits evidence in product liability cases.

* AB 1862, by Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside): Limits the awarding of punitive damages to three times the amount of economic loss; bill also shifts the power to award punitive damages from the jury to the judge.

* AB 1730, by Morrow: Establishes a 10-year statute of limitations on product liability actions.

* AB 607, by Assemblyman Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga): Creates a no-fault auto insurance system that covers injuries and lost wages up to $50,000 and does not allow people to sue over car accidents.

OTHER

* AB 1982, by Knight: Does not allow California to recognize same-sex marriages sanctioned by other states.

* AB 244, by Morrow: Repeals the state’s motorcycle helmet law.

* AB 10, by Assemblyman Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena): Requires people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship.

* AB 357, by Hoge: Calls for the deployment of the California National Guard at the California-Mexico border.

* AB 1385, by Assemblyman Tom Woods (R-Shasta): Exempts commercial logging from the California Environmental Quality Act.