Legislature Set for a Frenetic Session Finale

The final weeks of the year for the California Legislature are always filled with motion and chaos, but this year’s end-of-session blitz, which begins today, could be more frenetic than most.

In addition to the usual raft of last-minute legislation, the session’s closing weeks will be enlivened by Gov. Gray Davis’ proposed bailout of Southern California Edison, a controversial notion with significant opposition.

Moreover, the once-a-decade redrawing of state and federal political districts, though not expected to be a battle royal this year, still could add to the political frenzy before Sept. 14, the final day for the Assembly and Senate to pass bills in 2001.

“From Aug. 20 to Sept. 15, I’ve already told my family I’m not coming home,” said Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks). “I was trying to get the Edison issue resolved before the break so we could focus on redistricting.

“[Redistricting] is going to make it more complicated. It’s just going to dominate this calendar. It’s going to take a lot of time.”

Many longtime Capitol denizens assailed last year’s end of session as one of the most disorganized ever, with dozens of bills dying at night’s end. Much of the criticism for the disarray was directed at Hertzberg, who is defensive about the backup and argues that he was trying to see that every bill received the proper scrutiny.

Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, leader of the Assembly’s Republican minority, hopes for a more well-ordered finale this time around.

“Having the house work smoothly does not mean there are not contentious issues,” Cox said. “It’s important to have a commitment to move things along and work in an orderly basis. I expect us to learn from what happened last year.”

The financial rescue of Edison, California’s second-largest utility, figures to linger until the last minute. But the likelihood that legislators will pass a multibillion-dollar government bailout of the company appears increasingly slim.

Supporters had hoped that lawmakers would meet an Aug. 15 deadline for approving the original $2.76-billion deal Davis reached with Edison to help the debt-strapped utility avoid bankruptcy. But it immediately ran into legislative opposition, with critics calling it overly generous to the utility. The proposal no longer exists in its original form.

Trying to meet the deadline, the state Senate and Assembly worked on dueling, toned-down versions of the deal for weeks before their summer recess. But only the Senate passed an alternative, and legislative leaders have thus far failed to come up with a compromise that both houses will support.

Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton (D-San Francisco) said it was highly unlikely that the upper house would support a bill much different from the one it already passed, which would allow the utility to recover only part of its debts.

Burton described the attitude of his colleagues as “take this and pass it the way it is or end up with nothing,” which, he said, is the option that some prefer. The amendments being proposed by the Assembly, he said, “don’t bode well for the issue.”

Nonetheless, Hertzberg said he feels more optimistic than he had that lawmakers will pass a stripped-down Edison deal--as long as Davis gets involved and presses legislators for support.

“If the governor is willing to engage--and he says he is--we have a shot,” Hertzberg said. “But we need his help.”

Important as it is, the Edison rescue could soon take a back seat to redistricting, a much more personal issue for politicians because their legislative careers could depend on it. Using new census data, state lawmakers must approve new political districts for the Assembly, Senate and California members of Congress for the next decade.

Always a divisive, partisan issue, redistricting is usually the last legislation taken up by the majority party--currently Democrats--before the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the session. And immediately afterward, whatever they approve usually ends up in court, challenged by the minority party, Latino empowerment groups or other organizations.

Numerous other issues will require attention before lawmakers adjourn:

* Burton and other leading Democrats vow to approve major improvements in California’s workers’ compensation benefits despite opposition from business groups--one of which placed the legislation on a list of “Top 10 Job Killer Bills” last week. Davis has twice sided with business and vetoed similar bills, but Burton said his new effort would contain the same ideas, calling them “responsible.”

* Business groups also oppose trial lawyer-backed legislation that would bar confidential settlements in product liability lawsuits. Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) are each carrying bills on the issue. Similar legislation has been vetoed or snuffed out in the past, but proponents are using the Firestone tire recall as proof that the settlements are harmful to consumers.

* Efforts to protect customer privacy in the Information Age are drawing opposition from business but strong support from consumer groups. Notable bills include a measure by Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) to curb the growing crime of identity theft by barring the use of Social Security numbers to identify clients and students; and a measure by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) to prevent banks from selling customers’ personal information to third parties.

* Democratic lawmakers hope to place three major bond measures on the ballot: one for education, another for affordable housing, and one to replace the state’s antiquated voting machines to avoid a Florida-like fiasco. The education bond effort, being led by Hertzberg, could be as large as $10 billion, while the housing measure, spearheaded by Burton, is estimated at about $980 million. The voting bond issue would probably be $300 million.

* Republicans and Democrats are upset with Davis for slashing more than $100 million from the state budget for community colleges, and they promise to pass legislation to restore some or all of the funding. Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga suggested that lawmakers may even try to override the governor’s veto with a two-thirds vote, saying he and fellow GOP legislators “will be very, very forceful in our advocacy.” Burton downplayed the likelihood of an override effort but said he also will seek to restore the money.

* Lawmakers led by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) are debating legislation to improve results at low-performing public schools, which have been a vexing problem despite numerous reforms in recent years. Davis set aside $200 million in the budget for whatever the Legislature comes up with.

* Two bills important to Latino immigrant groups and Mexican President Vicente Fox--one by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) to allow noncitizens to obtain driver’s licenses and another by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D-Los Angeles) to allow them in-state tuition rates at California colleges--are expected to again clear the Legislature. Davis vetoed them last year.

*

Times staff writer Carl Ingram contributed to this story.

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