Gun-Control, Urban Sprawl Bills Win OKs

Faced with fierce opposition by business and ambiguous signals from Gov. Gray Davis, legislation aimed at protecting consumers’ financial privacy appeared headed for defeat in the Assembly Thursday, as several moderate Democrats were preparing to join Republicans to kill the bill, at least for this year.

Lawmakers were facing a deadline of midnight tonight to conclude work on more than 200 remaining bills. With time running out, legislators struggled to resolve issues ranging from a rescue of Southern California Edison to secrecy in legal proceedings.

They did pass landmark bills in several areas. Lawmakers approved a measure aimed at limiting urban sprawl unless there is an adequate water supply. They also backed far-reaching gun-control legislation requiring that new handgun owners obtain safety licenses to operate their weapons. Handgun owners could get the licenses only after providing authorities with thumbprints and passing written exams.

The National Rifle Assn. opposed that bill, while handgun-control groups such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence backed the measure, SB 52 by Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena). The Senate approved it 23 to 13. The Assembly approved an identical bill by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco).

“This is not all firearms, just handguns. It’s a safety common-sense bill,” Scott said.

Lawmakers were poised late on Thursday night to refuse passage of one of the year’s most heavily lobbied bills. The bill by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) sought to protect consumers’ financial privacy. Major financial institutions such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch--along with much of the insurance industry--opposed it, arguing that it would hamper their ability to market their products.

The bill, SB 773, sought to grant consumers the right to decide whether credit card companies, investment houses and the rest of the financial services industry could share or sell details about their finances. Companies that violated the provisions would have faced fines of $2,500 per transgression, with a cap of $500,000. Under federal law, consumers have limited rights to control use of their personal financial information.

Several consumer groups and state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer backed the bill.

Davis repeatedly had vowed to sign tough consumer privacy legislation and announced last week that he supported Speier’s bill, even as Speier and the administration continued to negotiate. Speier had said Davis wanted to weaken the legislation by allowing too many types of companies to trade consumer financial information. By Thursday, they had not resolved their differences, prompting the governor’s allies in the Assembly to balk at supporting the measure.

“I have been trying to get in to talk with [Davis] and haven’t been able to,” Speier said Thursday night as the measure awaited debate in the Assembly.

Led by Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced), the governor’s Democratic allies in the Assembly were planning to side with Republicans and block the measure. Cardoza called the bill a “patchwork of exemptions” for various businesses.

Cardoza, who heads a group of moderate Democrats, said he asked Davis about the bill and was told by the governor that he wanted to sign a privacy bill but that Speier’s measure “is just not ready.”

The Senate, meanwhile, gave final approval to legislation by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) requiring that developers of more than 500 homes prove to local officials that there is sufficient water to supply residents of their proposed developments. Large hotels and new businesses employing 1,000 people or more also would have to prove there is sufficient water available for their projects.

Amid warnings of a looming water crisis, Davis appears likely to sign the bill into law.

“It is entirely appropriate to call this a historic agreement,” Kuehl said, noting that some developers dropped their opposition after she agreed to raise the limit on the size of developments that would be affected.

Environmentalists, the California Farm Bureau and other opponents of urban sprawl backed the measure. Several water districts also backed it, although the Assn. of California Water Agencies opposed the measure, SB 221. The Democratic-controlled Senate approved it 25 to 10, with Republicans arguing that it would slow needed home building.

“People are going to be born in California and will actually want to stay here,” said Sen. Ray Haynes (R-Riverside). “Unless we’re committed to blocking off our borders and killing our children, we have to do something about providing a place for them to live.”

Another measure sent to Davis would close a loophole that speculators have used to earn millions by threatening to build on coastal property. The measure is strongly opposed by Hearst Corp. and other real estate interests that have received “certificates of compliance” that allow them to circumvent traditional zoning rules.

The Senate voted 23 to 13 to approve the measure, SB 497 by Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford). Sher said the loophole has been used to gouge public agencies and private foundations that are trying to buy choice land and preserve it. Republicans contended that the bill would place new government regulations on private landowners.

“I think we need to be very concerned about its impact on the small landowner,” said Sen. Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno).

The biggest end-of-session issue remains one that has dogged lawmakers all year: whether and how to help Southern California Edison avert bankruptcy.

The Assembly approved a plan last week that would permit Edison to sell bonds to pay off about $2.9 billion of the $3.9-billion debt it amassed when wholesale energy costs hit record highs last year and earlier this year. The Assembly version also seeks to give the state an option to buy Edison’s transmission lines for $2.4 billion.

Senate Democrats have said the lower house version is too expensive, and are fashioning their own proposal that is expected to offer Edison the ability to sell about $2.5 billion in bonds and give the state an option to buy the transmission lines for $1.2 billion.

In the Assembly plan, businesses about the size of a pizza parlor and larger would have to pay off the bonds in their monthly utility bills. The Senate is expected to require that larger businesses pay the bulk of the cost.

“The question is: Can [the bonds] be financed?” said Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks). “For us as politicians to pull a number out the air is not appropriate. . . . Otherwise, we’ve satisfied ourselves for five minutes, but we haven’t solved the problem.”

Also pending in the final hours of the session was a bill, SB 11 by Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Commerce), that would make it harder for businesses that have been sued to maintain confidentiality about defective products. Trial lawyers were pushing for the measure, while most businesses were opposed.

Additionally, lawmakers were considering extending by several years an extra $1 toll on bridges to help pay a $1.8-billion cost overrun on rebuilding the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. The extra $1 toll was supposed to expire in about eight years, lowering the cost of crossing the bridge to $1.

Lawmakers agreed in 1997 to raise the toll and spend $2.5-billion to reinforce several bridges, including the Bay Bridge, damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In other action:

* The Senate sent to the governor a measure that would set health standards for food served to public school children. SB 19 by Sen. Escutia passed on a 25-13 vote, despite opposition from soft-drink manufacturers and many school districts, where officials worry that the junk food restrictions would cost them money. Opposition faded somewhat after Escutia watered down her measure to apply to only elementary schools.

* The Senate unanimously approved a bill by Assemblywoman Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) requiring that convicted sex offenders inform college campuses where they are enrolled or employed of their criminal history. Sex offenders now must register with local law enforcement authorities. The bill, AB 4, would extend the requirement to sex offenders who are students or employees of the University of California, California State universities and community colleges.

* The Assembly approved legislation that would allow poor prisoners who believe that DNA evidence would set them free to obtain taxpayer-funded legal counsel before the testing.

* The Assembly passed a bill to forgive student loans for doctors who agree to serve in areas with a shortage of medical personnel. SB 760 by Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) passed on a 61-6 vote and awaits final Senate action.

Meanwhile, Houston energy giant Enron Corp., threatened by the state Senate with stiff monetary sanctions, has agreed to submit hundreds of thousands of business documents sought by a Senate committee investigating price gouging in the state’s power market. Enron had gone to court in July to avoid complying with the Senate committee’s subpoena.

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Times staff writers Julie Tamaki and Jenifer Warren contributed to this report.