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They're Back: Legislators Return to Sacramento


They’re Back: Legislators Return to Sacramento
In 2009, the Legislature found its members mired in bitter disputes as it attempted to close a $60 billion budget deficit, address the state’s water crisis, and reduce the inmate population in California prisons. The Legislature’s inability to work together to find viable solutions forced Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to convene seven different emergency sessions to address the myriad problems facing the state. Regrettably, the upcoming 2010 legislative session appears to be a continuation of last year’s ineffectiveness despite legislative and gubernatorial efforts.
During the recent legislative recess, the Legislative Analyst Office reported that the budget approved in July did not solve the state’s budgetary problems. California’s projected deficit over the next 18 months is $20.7 billion, including a $6.3 billion deficit in 2009-10 and a $14.4 billion deficit in 2010-2011. After making targeted program cuts, raising taxes, shifting moneys, and using budgetary gimmicks in 2009, finding new solutions will become even more arduous because the state could potentially lose several pending court battles challenging the constitutionality of cost-saving budget remedies, such as the implementation of mandatory furloughs.
Decisions regarding the budget will also determine the legacy of the new Speaker of the Assembly and Caucus leader, Assemblyman John Perez (D-Los Angeles) who replaced Karen Bass. While homosexual special interest groups are quick to praise Perez as the first homosexual Speaker of the Assembly, his ability to work effectively with the minority party and the governor to address the state’s fiscal, pension, and water crises will determine if such praises are deserving.
Because last year’s budget crisis signaled doom for many of the pending bills, legislative committees are now hastily reviewing two-year bills (those bills introduced in 2009, which must pass their “house of origin” before the January 31, 2010 deadline; bills which tend to be more controversial or have encountered unanticipated opposition and require greater deliberation). However, like last year, the budget will inevitably determine the viability of the majority of legislation being considered.
While legislators are feverishly attempting to pass their 2009 legislation, January also starts the season for new bill introductions. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced in his Wednesday morning State of the State address that the immediate focus of the Legislature will be the passage of the “Race to the Top” legislation—legislation which will remove barriers to California’s eligibility to compete for a portion of the $4.32 billion in federal “Race to the Top” funds (monies allocated to states to help improve the nation’s underperforming schools,)
Already, the Assembly narrowly approved several controversial “Race to the Top” reform bills, which now move to the state Senate for consideration and then to the governor’s desk for final approval. The main elements of the bills would do the following:
  1. Provide penalty options for consistently underperforming schools that include: school closure, conversion to a charter school, replace the principal and up to 50% of the school staff, or replace the principal and offer operational changes that include merit pay.
  2. Allow parents, at up to 75 failing schools throughout the state, to trigger the previously mentioned penalty options by collecting signatures from more than half of the students’ parents.
  3. Allow students at 1,000 of the worst performing schools to enroll in other school districts.
Education special-interest groups and the teachers union’s opposition to the reform measures remain fierce, resulting in an uncertain future in the Senate. Nonetheless, Senate leaders and Governor Schwarzenegger will continue to negotiate over the next few days in an effort to find a resolution. 
The continued efforts of the governor and legislative leaders to find solutions to the state’s prison overcrowding problem will present Speaker Perez and legislators with more challenges. After last year’s Appeals Court refusal to approve the Schwarzenegger plan to reduce California’s prison population, the governor and legislators will return to the negotiation table to search for a compromise solution. However, overcoming Democrat and union opposition to Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to use private prisons to house inmates may prove to be a difficult task.
Further, despite passage of a water bond in the previous session, water remains a top concern of the Legislature and state. The court’s restriction of California’s water flow has resulted in thousands of fallowed acres and reduced water for most Southern California cities. The ensuing water shortage has wreaked havoc on California’s economy, in an already depressed market. As tensions rise among local governments, water agencies, property owners and agricultural interests, water supply and management will become the second top priority of the Legislature after the budget. The ability of the new Speaker and legislators to address these very contentious issues will help determine the success or failure of the new legislative session.
Once again, 2010 will present the Legislature with great challenges and opportunities. Continued budget deficits, prison overcrowding, and water remain critical issues the Legislature must tackle. With the Legislature’s approval ratings at historic lows, there is great opportunity for California’s elected representatives to improve their image and the state by actually solving problems.  
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