This Week Inside The Capitol (1/25/2010)
January 25, 2010
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This Week Inside the Capitol is a weekly e-mail update of bills monitored by California Family Council. This Week is intended as a brief synopsis to alert you about which bills are being heard and when. CFC’s complete legislative analyses about these and other bills can be found at www.californiafamily.org.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California legislative leaders spent last week in Washington, DC, meeting with congressional leaders, including Assembly Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration, with the goal of securing approximately $7 billion in federal funds to help close California’s projected $21 billion deficit. While the meetings have been characterized as very productive, with 36 other states also facing budget deficits a $7 billion “bailout” for California appears unlikely. Failure of the governor and legislators to secure federal relief will only make finding a budget resolution more difficult.
This week, Governor Schwarzenegger and legislators will begin the laborious process of closing the budget deficit by attempting to find at least $2.7 billion in immediate “cash solutions.” While in Washington, the governor and legislators received a letter from State Controller John Chiang warning that failure to find cash solutions by April could result in the state’s inability to pay its own bills. According to Chiang, “…analysis of the governor’s recently released revenue and expenditures estimates shows that the state’s cash position for the remainder of the current fiscal year will be weak. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, such as a spike in expenditures or precipitous decline in revenues, $2.7 billion in cash solutions are necessary to avoid a cash shortage in the current fiscal year," Chiang wrote.
The legislature will continue to be embroiled in budget negotiations and hearings over the next several weeks. In the meantime, both houses of the Legislature – Assembly and Senate – will be working steadily to approve 2009 bills before Friday’s “house of origin” deadline. Legislation introduced in 2009 that is not approved by the “house of origin” (the legislative house in which the bill was introduced) deadline will become an inactive (or dead) bill. After the deadline, no action can be taken on inactive bills.
You can stay up to date on the latest Capitol activities by following CFC on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. All can be found on our CFC Web site.
Results From Last Week
Week of January 19, 2010
On the Assembly Floor
AB 939 – Family Law Access to Justice Act: Relating to Divorce (Judiciary Committee)
Passed, 71-0
ACA 5 – Initiatives: State General Obligation Bonds (Calderon, C., D-Montebello)
Vote Not Taken
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
Vote Not Taken
On the Senate Floor
AB 7 – Political Reform Act of 1974: Use of Children’s Images in Political Advertisement (Krekorian, D- Burbank)
Vote Not Taken
SB 657 – Human Trafficking (Steinberg, D-Sacramento)
Vote Not Taken
SCA 5 – State Budget: Two-Thirds Vote Exemption for General Fund Appropriations (Hancock, D-Berkeley)
Vote Not Taken
SCA 16 – Initiatives: Indirect Initiative: Legislative Review (DeSaulnier, D-Concord)
Vote Not Taken
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Senate Appropriations Committee – 11:00 a.m.
SB 134 – Juveniles: Communication with children (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
Placed on Suspense
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Assembly Appropriations Committee – Upon Adjournment of Session
AB 12 – Fostering Connections to Success Act (Beall, D-San Jose)
Passed, 13-4
AB 220 – Public Education Facilities Bond Act (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills)
Passed, 16-0
AB 391 – Pupil Assessment: STAR Program (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
Passed, 12-0
AB 535 – Elder Death Review Teams: Information requests (Ammiano, D-San Francisco)
Placed on Suspense
AB 633 – Inmates and Wards: Sexual Orientation Classification (Ammiano, D-San Francisco)
Passed, 14-2
AB 743 – Foster Care: Sibling Placement (Portantino, D-La Canada)
Passed, 13-0
AB 973 – Minors: Temporary Custody (Strickland, A., R-Moorpark) SUPPORT
Passed, 17-0
AB 976 – Public Schools: Alternative Education (Arambula, I-Fresno)
Placed on Suspense
Committee Hearings
Week of January 25, 2010
Week of January 25, 2010
On the Assembly Floor
AB 939 – Family Law Access to Justice Act: Relating to Divorce (Judiciary Committee)
ACA 5 – Initiatives: State General Obligation Bonds (Calderon, C., D-Montebello)
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
On the Senate Floor
AB 7 – Political Reform Act of 1974: Use of Children’s Images in Political Advertisement (Krekorian, D- Burbank)
SB 438 – Charter Schools: Freedom of Speech and the Press (Yee, D-San Francisco)
SB 657 – Human Trafficking (Steinberg, D-Sacramento)
SCA 5 – State Budget: Two-Thirds Vote Exemption for General Fund Appropriations (Hancock, D-Berkeley)
SCA 16 – Initiatives: Indirect Initiative: Legislative Review (DeSaulnier, D-Concord)
*Note: Not all bills reflect a CFC position. Others are included for informational purposes.
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Visit California Family Council’s Web site for more information about these and other bills.
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