Democrats’ Legislation Is Thriving

In recent days, California lawmakers have passed hundreds of bills that touch on everything from the way gun owners store firearms to improving the safety of amusement park rides.

At the halfway point in this year’s legislative session, the big winners appear to be organized labor, gun control activists, children of the working poor and health care patients.

Even if the majority Democrats, buoyed by having Democrat Gray Davis as governor, get only a portion of what they want signed into law, they are certain to view the session as one of the most productive in years, particularly for their allies in organized labor.

But a big question mark in the coming weeks is Davis himself, a moderate who has reached out to the Republican-dominated business community and promised to keep the California economy energized and growing.

Indeed, as lawmakers refine their legislation, both labor and business are looking for support from Davis.

“There is still a lot of work to do after 16 years of abuse and neglect by previous [Republican] administrations,” said Sharon Cornu, spokeswoman for the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, a major backer of Democratic campaigns.

Likewise, business is counting on Davis to slam on the brakes to slow down what the California Chamber of Commerce calls “job killer bills” being advanced by Democratic lawmakers on behalf of organized labor.

“We feel confident that the governor will take an active role in trying to find a tempered solution to some of these problems,” said Jack M. Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers Assn., a major employer organization.

Sen. Hilda Solis (D-La Puente), a top labor ally and chairwoman of the Senate Industrial Relations Committee, acknowledged that many Democrats also recognize that “we have to slow the pace down a bit . . . and be very cautious not to alienate business.”

Michael Bustamante, the governor’s spokesman, sounded a similar note. He said Davis has made it clear that “business, government and labor must work together. It cannot be one or the other.”

Still, with the governor now engaged in state budget negotiations, many major bills that cleared their own houses last week and were sent to the other chamber will not get his full attention for weeks.

The scramble to meet Friday’s deadline for moving bills left many lobbyists dizzy as the Assembly met into the wee hours. “There was so much legislation flying out of there, we’re not sure what they’ve done to us,” said one insurance industry advocate.

But some patterns have emerged.

In the past few weeks, labor has run up a string of wins, including Assembly passage of a bill requiring payment of overtime after an eight-hour workday and Senate approval of legislation to substantially increase unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits.

Labor scored another victory when the lower house approved a measure, AB 1127, by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) aimed at improving workplace safety by imposing heavier fines and stiffer penalties against offending employers.

Democrats complain that under Republican governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, enforcement of safety standards had steadily eroded. But Republican critics scoffed at that suggestion and said businesses will flee the state if labor’s full agenda prevails as law.

Meanwhile, consumer and patient advocates boasted that they had another segment of the business community on the run--health maintenance organizations.

Over stiff Republican opposition, the Senate narrowly approved a bill, SB 21, by Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) that would allow privately employed workers to sue their managed care companies for injuries suffered as a result of delayed or denied care.

Backers of the bill argued that without the leverage of a lawsuit on their side, patients have no effective weapon against cost-cutting abuses by HMOs.

At the same time, Democrats in both houses pushed through approval of competing bills that would expand the state’s fledgling Healthy Families program to include hundreds of thousands of children whose low-income, working parents cannot afford health insurance.

The tragedy of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado led to a rash of gun legislation, much of it passed in the name of protecting children. But it is unclear whether emotion in the wake of the killings would continue to fuel even more gun restrictions.

Wilson had vetoed several anti-gun bills in years past, but Democrats are confident that Davis will look on them much more favorably.

Among the high-profile measures was a bill approved by the Senate that would toughen restrictions on high-capacity, semiautomatic assault guns. And the Assembly approved legislation requiring trigger locks or other child safety device on guns sold in California starting in 2002.

The safety of children at big theme parks also prompted much legislative scrutiny.

On the second anniversary of a teenager’s death at a Bay Area water park, the Assembly voted to regulate rides at big theme parks such as Disneyland and Magic Mountain. California is now one of 12 states that does not regulate rides at permanent amusement parks.

Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) noted that much of the session so far has dealt with issues directly affecting children--ranging from a special session on public school reform to programs to expand health care for low-income children.

The speaker conceded that the ambitious Democratic agenda will not make it unscathed through the entire legislative session, which ends Sept. 10.

“When you sponsor a bill initially,” he said, “it reflects the world the way you want it to be. Then, as it goes through the process you . . . scale back the bill to reflect the world the way it is.”