California Family Minute

September 12, 2011

Focus Shifts to Governor

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

After marathon sessions, plentiful fundraising events, intrigue, and power grabs, the Assembly and the Senate are dark. Legislators finished their business in the wee hours of Saturday morning and returned home. There will be no more bill votes until the new year, when they return to Sacramento for the second year of the 2011-2012 session. 

As usual, legislators pushed through last-minute bills – often creating totally new bills through amendments – resulting in new proposals passed with a minimum of public debate and scrutiny. One bold Democratic power grab, SB 202 (Hancock, D-Oakland), first saw light of day last Thursday in gut-and-amend changes to a bill that would have increased the filing fee for offering an initiative. Now on the governor’s desk, SB 202 masquerades as government reform, but actually weakens the people’s power of the initiative in favor of Democrats and special interests, especially unions. This measure would mandate that initiatives could only be placed on November general election ballots, which traditionally sees increased turnout favorable to Democrats and their allies. 

Now the focus shifts to Governor Jerry Brown, who has until October 9 to sign, veto, or allow legislation to become law without any action on his part. With Democrats firmly in control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office, Democrat allies are salivating at the thought of weakening the power of the initiative (which tends to tilt conservative) and expand the power of unions, government, and special interest rights.

Additionally, a flood of bills currently tracked by CFC has now made it to the governor’s desk. For the most part, these bills promote the homosexual lifestyle and circumvent parental authority. You can contact the governor or find more information about any of the bills on his desk using CFC’s convenient online legislative action. (Page down to 2011-12 Bills Signed by the Governor.) 

On the Governor’s Desk
AB 9 (Ammiano, D-San Francisco) Pupil Rights: Bullying
Passed Assembly Education Committee 7-3
Passed Assembly Appropriations Committee as amended 12-5
Passed Assembly 52-26
Passed Senate Education Committee 7-2
Passed Senate Appropriations Committee (suspense file) 6-3
Passed Senate 24-14; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 53-26; to governor