This Week Inside The Capitol

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

While the Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown navigate uncharted budget territory, the legislative calendar countdown continues this month. Much of the budget situation is fluid, with Gov. Brown vowing to “move heaven and earth” to secure the four Republican votes needed to place tax extensions on the ballot, and Controller John Chiang promising to decide early this week whether the budget the legislative Democrat majority passed (vetoed by the governor in a rare move) meets the balanced-budget threshold for legislators to continue to receive their paychecks.

All fiscal bills (involving new spending) must pass out of policy or subject-matter committees by July 8. A scheduled month-long summer recess July 15-August 14 may or may not occur depending on the budget situation. Fiscal committees must pass bills by August 26, and the full Assembly or Senate has until September 9 to move legislation on to the governor, who then has a month to sign, veto, or allow measures to pass into law without his signature.

Several key pro-homosexual bills – including SB 48 (GLBT History) – are scheduled for hearings this week. To express your opinion on any of the following, visit CFC’s legislative action center and click on the specific bill. A specific action alert – with messaging ideas and talking points – for SB 48 is online. (Note: due to the constraints of our system, two identical alerts – one each for half of the 11 committee members – have been created. To contact the entire committee use both the first and second versions.)

AB 12 (Swanson, D-Oakland) Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation
Passed Assembly Public Safety Committee 7-0
Passed Assembly 78-0
Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 7-0
Senate floor; may be voted upon any time