This Week Inside The Capitol (7/6/2009)
July 6, 2009
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This WeekInside 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.
Last week, most legislative hearings were postponed or canceled as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature attempted to resolve the state’s then-$24.3 billion deficit before July 1 – the start of the new fiscal year. After prolonged Floor debate, political pressuring, and closed-door negotiations, the new fiscal year began without necessary budget fixes in place. As a result, an additional $2 billion was added to the deficit, and State Controller John Chiang began issuing IOUs. Democrat leaders had hoped to secure additional time to resolve the budget by approving several “stop-gap” measures, but with opposition from Governor Schwarzenegger and Senate Republicans those efforts failed.
With the state now facing a $26.3 billion deficit, the governor and legislative leaders met regularly over the holiday weekend attempting to find resolution. Governor Schwarzenegger has remained resolute that he will not support “piecemeal” approaches that do not solve the whole deficit, nor will he raise taxes, and the democrat leaders have been forced to take tax increases off the table. However, Sunday’s meetings brought no solutions. Rather, increased frustration mounted as the governor continued his demand for governmental reform.
This week is the deadline for policy committees to report non-fiscal bills – bills that have no cost to the state – to the Assembly and Senate floors. Measures that have not been approved by policy committees this week will not be acted upon before January of 2010. As such, legislators and committees will be relentlessly working to move legislative bills along.
As reported last week, Senator Mark Leno authors several bills of greatest concern to California families. Senate Bills (SB) 543 and 572 are currently on the Assembly Floor and SB 54 will be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Each measure fails to consider the consequences placed on all Californians in order to placate a specific special interest group.
SB 543 undermines the authority of parents and places children at risk by permitting children as young as 12 to receive mental health services without the parents consent or knowledge. The measure specifically places children at risk by excluding valuable medical information and history that may only be known by parents.
SB 572, the Harvey Milk bill, encourages schools to sacrifice invaluable 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. While the measure is objectionable during the best of times, when schools are being asked to reduce the school year by five days, such a measure is unconscionable.
Finally, SB 54 continues efforts to undermine the institution of marriage. SB 54 would allow any same-gender marriage performed out-of-state prior to November 5, 2008, to be valid and recognized in California. Because of Proposition 8’s passage, Article 1, Section 7.5 of the California Constitution specifically states that only marriage between a man and a woman will be recognized by the State of California. However, homosexual activists continue their efforts to undermine the law and the will of the people.
Join the California Family Council in opposing these measures. Please contact your Assembly members and ask them to vote “NO” on SB 43, SB 543, and SB 572. 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, Myspace and Twitter. Both can be found on our new and improved Web site.
RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
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)
Vote Not Taken
SB 572 – Harvey Milk Day: Official Designation (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
On the Senate Floor
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
Vote Not Taken
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 29, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AB 167 – High School Graduation: Foster Children (Adams, R-Hesperia) SUPPORT
Placed on Suspense File
SCA 10 – Statewide Initiative Measure: Legislative Amendment (Ducheny, D-San Diego)
Placed on Suspense File OPPOSE
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
Passed, 7-3
SB 782 – Residential Tenancies: Domestic Violence (Yee, D-San Francisco)
Hearing Postponed
Assembly Public Safety Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SB 668 – Sex Offenders (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta)
Passed, 7-0
SB 669 – Sexually Violent Predators (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta)
Passed, 7-0
Senate Public Safety Committee – 9:30 a.m.
AB 17 – Human Trafficking (Swanson, D-Oakland) SUPPORT
Hearing Postponed
AB 988 – Human Trafficking: Training Content (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills)
Hearing Postponed
Senate Judiciary Committee – 1:00 p.m.
AB 428 – Criminal History Records: Adoption (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
Hearing Postponed
Assembly Human Services Committee – 1:30 p.m.
SB 118 – Child Welfare Services: Incarcerated Parents (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
Passed, 7-0
SB 597 – Child Welfare Services: Foster Care and Adoption (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge)
Passed, 7-0
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Senate Education Committee – 9:00 a.m.
AB 1510 – Public Schools: Parental Access (Eng, D-Monterey Park) SUPPORT
Passed, 8-0
Senate Health Committee – 1:30 p.m.
AB 1397 – HIV-Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Hearing Postponed
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of July 6, 2009
Week of July 6, 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
SB 668 – Sex Offenders (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta) SUPPORT
SB 669 – Sexually Violent Predators (Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta) SUPPORT
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
AB 1510 – Public Schools: Parental Access (Eng, D-Monterey Park) SUPPORT
Monday, July 6, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 9:00 a.m.
SCA 14 – Initiative Measure: Funding Source (Ducheny, D-San Diego)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Senate Judiciary Committee – 1:00 p.m.
AB 82 – Dependent Children: Psychotropic Medications (Evans, D-Santa Rosa)
AB 375 – Child Custody: Child Sexual Abuse (Nielsen, R-Gerber)
AB 428 – Criminal History Records: Adoption (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
AB 612 – Custody and Visitation: Nonscientific Theories (Beall, D-San Jose)
AB 1325 – Tribal Customary Adoptions (Cook, R-Yucca Valley)
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee – 1:30 p.m.
ACA 5 – Initiatives: State General Obligation Bonds (Calderon C, D-Montebello)
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
Assembly Education Committee – 1:30 p.m.
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)
Senate Health Committee – 1:30 p.m.
AB 1397 – HIV-Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Thursday, July 9. 2009
Assembly Judiciary Committee – Upon Adjournment of Session
SB 54 – Out-of-state Same-gender Marriages (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 782 – Residential Tenancies: Domestic Violence (Yee, D-San Francisco)
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of 13, 2009
Week of 13, 2009
No Hearings Currently Scheduled
*Note: Not all bills reflect a CFC position. Others are included for informational purposes.
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