This Week Inside The Capitol (6/29/2009)
June 29, 2009
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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.
According to State Controller John Chiang, if the State does not solve its $24 billion deficit, he will be forced to issue IOUs to state vendors, social service providers and students. Over the weekend, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders met extensively to address the deficit and potential issuing of IOUs. Regrettably, the parties could not come to an agreement, which led to Sunday evening actions. Last night, the State Assembly approved the Democrat budget remedy plan. The Democrat plan, which previously received no support from Republicans, removed the urgency clause and therefore required only a majority vote for approval. Despite strident debate and flaring emotions, the Democrat-controlled Assembly approved their plan and sent it to the Senate for approval.
As expected, the Democrat majority-vote budget was approved by the Senate earlier today. However, it will not prevent Controller Chiang from issuing IOUs and sending the state’s credit rating further into a free-fall – costing citizens billions of dollars. The failure of the Legislature to find common ground and approve a consensus budget plan with bi-partisan support will prevent any solutions from taking effect in a timely manner. Without consensus and a two-thirds vote of the Legislature approving a budget plan, the proposed budget remedies can not take effect until 90 days after the governor’s signature.
According to a statement from the Governor this morning, he stated, "[he] will veto any majority vote tax increase bill that punishes taxpayers for Sacramento's failure to live within its means." The governor further stated, "The Legislature will have a difficult time explaining to Californians why they are running floor drills the day before our budget deadline. We do not have time for any more floor drills or partial solutions. It's time for the Legislature to send me a budget that solves our entire deficit without raising taxes."
With the Governor unwilling to approve the Democrat budget plan, legislative leaders will return to the negotiations table and members will return to discussions regarding legislative bills. The Assembly will be considering two pieces of controversial legislation authored by Senator Leno, Senate Bills (SB) 543 and 572. SB 543 is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill specifically undermines parental authority by allowing children as young as 12 to receive mental health treatment without the knowledge or consent of a parent.
SB 572, the Harvey Milk bill, is currently on the Assembly floor. The measure would encourage schools to sacrifice instructional time in order to commemorate the life of Harvey Milk, a homosexual San Francisco County Supervisor who was murdered after ten months in office. Sunday night, the Assembly passed a measure that permits school districts to cut up to 5 school days from their academic calendar, and the passage of SB 572 encourages the further curtailing of academic programs in favor of promoting special interests. Please contact your Assembly members and ask them to vote “NO” on SB 572 and SB 543. To find your elected representative, please visit our Legislative Action Center on the CFC web site.
You can stay updated on the latest Capitol activities by following CFC on Facebook and Twitter. Both can be found on our new and improved Web site.
RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
Week of June 22, 2009
Week of June 22, 2009
On the Assembly Floor
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District - Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
Vote Not Taken
On the Senate Floor
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
Vote Not Taken
AB 81 – Interscholastic Athletics: Pupils in Foster Care (Strickland, A. R-Moorpark) SUPPORT
Passed, 40-0
AB 796 – Pupil Attendance: Civic (Political) Engagement Activities (Carter, D-Rialto)
Vote Not Taken
AB 1185 – Birth Certificates: New Issuance - Venue, Gender Change (Lieu, D-Torrance) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
Monday, June 22, 2009
Assembly Transportation Committee – 1:30 p.m.
SB 60 – Vehicles: Driver’s Licenses (Cedillo, D-Los Angeles)
Hearing Canceled
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Assembly Judiciary Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 39 – Personal Liability Immunity: Disaster Service Workers (Good Samaritan Bill) (Benoit, R-Palm Desert) SUPPORT
Passed, 10-0
Assembly Public Safety Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 557 – Human Trafficking: Property Seizures (Yee, D-San Francisco)
Passed, 7-0
Senate Judiciary Committee – 1:00 p.m.
AB 1143 – Marriage Name (Ma, D-San Francisco)
Passed, 5-0
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee – 1:30 p.m.
ACA 13 – Initiatives: Legislative Ability to Amend an Initiative (Calderon, D-West Covina)
Passed, 5-2
ACA 14 – Initiatives: Limits Number of Initiatives (Calderon, D-West Covina)
Vote Not Taken
SB 34 – Petitions: Compensation for Signatures (Corbett, D-Oakland)
Hearing Canceled
Senate Human Services Committee – 1:30 p.m.
AB 154 – Adoption Assistance: Federal Law (Evans, D-Santa Rosa) SUPPORT
Passed, 5-0
AB 770 – Indian Tribes: Adoption and Foster Care Programs (Torres, D-Pomona) SUPPORT
Passed, 5-0
Wednesday, June 23, 2009
Senate Education Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AB 1510 – Public Schools: Parental Access (Eng, D-Monterey Park) SUPPORT
Hearing Postponed
Senate Health Committee – 1:30 p.m.
AB 1045 – AIDS and HIV Reporting (Perez, D-Los Angeles)
Passed, 11-0
AB 1317 – Fertility: Egg Donation Advertisement (Block, D-San Diego) SUPPORT
Passed, 8-2
AB 1397 – HIV-Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Hearing Postponed
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of June 29, 2009
Week of June 29, 2009
On the Assembly Floor
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
SB 572 – Harvey Milk Day: Official Designation (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
On the Senate Floor
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
AB 796 – Pupil Attendance: Civic (Political) Engagement Activities (Carter, D-Rialto)
AB 1185 – Birth Certificates: New Issuance - Venue, Gender Change (Lieu, D-Torrance) OPPOSE
Monday, June 29, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AB 167 – High School Graduation: Foster Children (Adams, R-Hesperia) SUPPORT
SCA 10 – Statewide Initiative Measure: Legislative Amendment (Ducheny, D-San Diego)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Assembly Judiciary Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 543 – Minors Mental Health Treatment: Without Parental Consent (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 782 – Residential Tenancies: Domestic Violence (Yee, D-San Francisco)
Assembly Public Safety Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 668 – Sex Offenders (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta)
SB 669 – Sexually Violent Predators (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta)
Senate Public Safety Committee – 9:30 a.m.
AB 17 – Human Trafficking (Swanson, D-Oakland) SUPPORT
AB 988 – Human Trafficking: Training Content (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills)
Senate Judiciary Committee – 1:00 p.m.
AB 428 – Criminal History Records: Adoption (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
Assembly Human Services Committee – 1:30 p.m.
SB 118 – Child Welfare Services: Incarcerated Parents (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
SB 597 – Child Welfare Services: Foster Care and Adoption (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
AB 1510 – Public Schools: Parental Access (Eng, D-Monterey Park) SUPPORT
Senate Health Committee – 1:30 p.m.
AB 1397 – HIV-Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of July 6,, 2009
Week of July 6,, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AB 1393 – Foster Youth: Priority Housing (Skinner, D- Berkeley)
SCA 14 – Initiative Measure: Funding Source (Ducheny, D-San Diego)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Senate Judiciary Committee – 1:00 p.m.
AB 375 – Child Custody: Child Sexual Abuse (Nielsen, R-Gerber)
AB 1325 – Tribal Customary Adoptions (Cook, R-Yucca Valley)
Assembly Health Committee – 1:30 p.m.
SB 761 – Health Manpower Pilot Projects (Aanestad, R-Grass Valley)
Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments – 1:30 p.m.
AB 6 – Initiatives: Paid Circulators (Saldana, D-San Diego)
AB 436 – Elections: Initiatives (Saldana, D-San Diego)
AB 1068 – Petitions: Signature Gathering (Saldana, D-San Diego) OPPOSE
SCA 16 – Initiatives: Indirect Initiatives (DeSaulnier, D-Concord) OPPOSE
SCR 3 – Constitutional Convention (DeSaulnier, D-Concord)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
SB 223 – History-Social Sciences Curriculum: Financial Literacy (Wyland, R-Solana Beach)
SB 471 – Stem Cell and Biotechnology Workforce Development (Romero, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
SB 552 – Schools: Health Education (Padilla, D-Pacoima)
*Note: Not all bills reflect a CFC position. Others are included for informational purposes.
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