This Week Inside The Capitol (8/31/2009)
August 31 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.
With two weeks remaining before the Legislature adjourns for the year, tensions will rise as elected members attempt to address several pressing matters, pushing for resolve. First on their agenda is disagreement over the $1.2 billion in cuts to the Department of Corrections. Previously, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrat leaders had agreed to a controversial plan to reduce the Corrections budget by permitting the early release of 27,000 inmates, changing specific felonies to misdemeanors, and creating a new sentencing commission. Despite agreement among Democrat leaders, the majority of the Assembly members were opposed to all or part of the Senate-approved plan. After failing to garner the necessary votes, Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-Baldwin Vista) the Speaker of the Assembly, adjourned session and began efforts to modify the proposed plan in order to receive the needed support. Today, the Assembly will vote on a modified plan that Democrat leaders believe accomplishes their goal.
However, two special elections scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) may complicate the Assembly’s plans due to missing Democrat members. Currently, Assembly Democrats are short one member resulting from the recent departure of Assemblyman Curran Price (D-Inglewood) who was elected to the State Senate. Tomorrow, voters will elect Curran’s replacement to the 51st Assembly seat.
A vote on Tuesday will also determine who will become the next Congressperson to represent Contra Costa residents in Washington, D.C. Two state legislators, Senator Mark DeSaulnier and Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, are vying to replace Ellen Tauscher, who recently joined the Obama Administration. With a very close race that includes California Lt. Governor John Garamendi, candidates will likely remain in their districts to campaign for votes.
While the Assembly’s leadership attempts to corral the necessary votes for the modified budget, legislators from both the Assembly and Senate will also continue to focus on California’s water crisis. After several weeks of hearings, a water conference committee will convene this week. The committee’s goal is to negotiate a workable plan that remedies California’s decreasing water supply and storage, while restoring specific Central Valley eco-systems.
The Legislature is finally preparing to vote on several measures of great concern to California’s families that remain on the Assembly Floor. The following bills, authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), continue his efforts to undermine traditional marriage and parental authority.
SB 54 would allow out-of-state, same-gender marriages that were performed before November 5, 2008 to be legally recognized in California. If passed, Leno’s measure would give same-sex marriage a stronger stance in California by permitting more couples to be recognized in California law. This is precisely Leno’s objective, attempting to carve away at the constitutional strength of traditional marriage.
SB 543 wrongly permits children as young as 12 to receive mental health treatment and counseling without the consent or knowledge of their parents. This measure undermines local school district control and the authority of parents in the raising of their own children. Just last week, the Modesto School District Board of Directors reinforced its commitment to the role of parents by disallowing a child’s medical treatment without the consent of a parent.
SB 572 would sacrifice important time in public school classrooms in order to conduct “commemorative exercises” in honor of Harvey Milk, the first known openly homosexual politician.
In addition, the Assembly is scheduled to vote on the following three resolutions that urge Congress and the President to approve legislation that undermines the family and encourages policy change which places American lives at risk:
AJR 13 (Ammiano, D-San Francisco) seeks to remove current safety barriers that remove high-risk patients from being eligible to donate blood. The resolution requests the President of the United States to encourage the Secretary of Health to adopt policies that would repeal the FDA policy that prohibits blood donations by men who have sex with other men.
AJR 15 (DeLeon, D-Los Angeles) encourages Congress to pass and the President to sign the United American Family Act, which would require the United States to permit legal immigration status to same-sex partners.
Last, AJR 19 (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills) calls upon Congress and the President to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which federally defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows individual states the freedom to define and recognize marriage according to their preference.
Please continue your efforts to prevent passage of these measures by contacting your Assembly member and the Governor, asking them to vote “NO”. To find your elected representative, visit our Legislative Action Center on the CFC Web site.
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 new and improved Web site.
Results From Last Week
Week of August 24, 2009
On the Assembly Floor
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
Vote Not Taken
SB 54 – Out-of-state Same-sex marriages (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
SB 543 – Minors: Mental Health Treatment without Parental Consent (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
SB 557 – Human Trafficking: Property Nuisances (Yee, D-San Francisco) SUPPORT
Vote Not Taken
SB 572 – Harvey Milk Day: Official Designation (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
SB 680 – School Attendance: Interdistrict transfers (Romero, D-Los Angeles) SUPPORT
Vote Not Taken
On the Senate Floor
AB 6 – Initiatives: Paid Circulators (Saldana, D-San Diego)
Vote Not Taken
AB 7 – Political Reform Act of 1974: Use of Children Images in Political Advertisement (Krekorian, D- Burbank)
Vote Not Taken
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
Vote Not Taken
AB 154 – Adoption Assistance: Federal Law (Evans, D-Santa Rosa)
Vote Not Taken
AB 428 – Adoption: Criminal History Records (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
Vote Not Taken
AB 595 – Placement of Children: Criminal Background Checks (Adams, R-Hesperia)
Passed, 35-0
AB 665 – State Adoption Services: Investment
Vote Not Taken
AB 796 – Pupil Attendance: Civic (Political) Engagement Activities (Carter, D-Rialto) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
AB 988 – Human Trafficking: Training Content (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills)
Vote Not Taken
AB 941 – Adoption (Assembly Judiciary Committee) SUPPORT
Vote Not Taken
AB 1068 – Petitions: Signature Gathering (Saldana, D-San Diego) OPPOSE
Passed, 23-15
AB 1185 – Birth Certificates: New Issuance - Venue, Gender Change (Lieu, D-Torrance) OPPOSE
Vote Not Taken
AB 1317 – Egg Donation: Advertisements (Block, D-San Diego) SUPPORT
Vote Not Taken
AB 1397 – Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
Vote Not Taken
SB 635 – Marriage License: Fee for Domestic Violence Programs (Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa)
Vote Not Taken
Monday, August 24, 2009
Senate Appropriations Committee – 10:00 a.m.
AB 17 – Human Trafficking (Swanson, D-Oakland) SUPPORT
Passed, 6-0
AB 1325 – Tribal Customary Adoption (Cook, R-Yucca Valley) SUPPORT
Passed, 13-0
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee – 10:00 a.m.
SCA 5 – State Budget: two-third vote exemption for General Fund Appropriations (Hancock, D-Berkeley)
Passed, 3-2
SCR 3 – Constitutional Convention (DeSaulnier, D-Concord)
Hearing Canceled
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Assembly Appropriations Committee – Upon Call of the Chair
ACA 13 – Initiatives: Legislative Amendment Process (Hernandez, D-West Covina) OPPOSE
Passed, 13-5
SB 118 – Incarcerated Parents (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
Passed, 17-0
SB 158 – Health Coverage: Human Papillomavirus Vaccination (Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa)
Passed, 12-5
SB 471 – California Stem Cell and Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act (Romero, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
Passed, 12-5
SB 597 – Child Welfare Services: Foster Care Services and Adoption Assistance (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
Passed, 17-0
Upcoming Committee Hearings
Week of August 31, 2009
Week of August 31, 2009
On the Assembly Floor
ACA 10 – Taxation: Education Finance District: Majority Vote Taxation (Torlakson, D-Antioch)
ACA 13 – Initiatives: Legislative Amendment Process (Hernandez, D-West Covina) OPPOSE
AJR 13 – Blood Donations by Homosexual, Bisexual and transgender males (Ammiano, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
AB 15 – The United Americans Family Act (De Leon, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
AJR 19 – Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) Repeal (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills) OPPOSE
SB 34 – Petitions: Compensation for Signatures (Corbett, D-San Leandro)
SB 54 – Out-of-state Same-sex marriages (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 118 – Incarcerated Parents (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
SB 158 – Health Coverage: Human Papillomavirus Vaccination (Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa)
SB 471 – California Stem Cell and Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act (Romero, D-Los Angeles) OPPOSE
SB 543 – Minors: Mental Health Treatment without Parental Consent (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 557 – Human Trafficking: Property Nuisances (Yee, D-San Francisco) SUPPORT
SB 572 – Harvey Milk Day: Official Designation (Leno, D-San Francisco) OPPOSE
SB 680 – School Attendance: Interdistrict transfers (Romero, D-Los Angeles) SUPPORT
On the Senate Floor
AB 6 – Initiatives: Paid Circulators (Saldana, D-San Diego)
AB 7 – Political Reform Act of 1974: Use of Children Images in Political Advertisement (Krekorian, D- Burbank)
AB 17 – Human Trafficking (Swanson, D-Oakland) SUPPORT
AB 73 – Marriage Licenses: Fee for Domestic Violence (Hayashi, D-Castro Valley)
AB 154 – Adoption Assistance: Federal Law (Evans, D-Santa Rosa)
AB 428 – Adoption: Criminal History Records (Fletcher, R-San Diego) SUPPORT
AB 436 – Elections: Initiatives (Saldana, D-San Diego)
SB 597 – Child Welfare Services: Foster Care Services and Adoption Assistance (Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge) SUPPORT
AB 665 – State Adoption Services: Investment
AB 796 – Pupil Attendance: Civic (Political) Engagement Activities (Carter, D-Rialto) OPPOSE
AB 941 – Adoption (Assembly Judiciary Committee) SUPPORT
AB 988 – Human Trafficking: Training Content (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills) SUPPORT
AB 1185 – Birth Certificates: New Issuance - Venue, Gender Change (Lieu, D-Torrance) OPPOSE
AB 1317 – Egg Donation: Advertisements (Block, D-San Diego) SUPPORT
AB 1325 – Tribal Customary Adoption (Cook, R-Yucca Valley) SUPPORT
AB 1397 – Infected Sperm Donation (Hill, D-San Mateo)
SB 635 – Marriage License: Fee for Domestic Violence Programs (Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa)
SCA 5 – State Budget: two-thirds vote exemption for General Fund Appropriations (Hancock, D-Berkeley)
There are no committee hearings currently scheduled for the Week of August 31.
*Note: Not all bills reflect a CFC position. Others are included for informational purposes.
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