The Rep. Dan Lungren Campaign Mailbag Begins to Runneth over

The Sierra Club Independent Action committee has spent $625,000 through September against Rep. Dan Lungren, a Gold River Republican. The once-a-decade redrawing of legislative lines make Lungren’s seat less safe for the GOP. Democrats and their allies are taking a shot.

Click on the headline to see one of three mailers to date paid for by the Sierra Club claiming Lungren is beholden to the oil industry.    Read more »

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Some Facts Worth Remembering About California’s Budget

This is the fourth straight year California’s books have carried a deficit.

The Golden State ended its fiscal year June 30, 2012 $3.6 billion in the hole, the Legislative Analyst said in an updated report on the state’s budget issued after Gov. Jerry Brown completed action on the 776 bills lawmakers sent him after they adjourned for the year on August 31.    Read more »

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California’s Children Still Only Have Two Parents

Among Gov. Jerry Brown’s vetoes during September was a bill that would have allowed California children to have more than two legal parents. 

Backers of the bill – SB 1476 by Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat – said it fixed a quirk in the law that prevents a previous custodial or biological parent from taking care of a child if the two current parents are incapable.    Read more »

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Jerry Brown Not Saying “No” To New Laws As Much as Other Modern Governors

Among the many useful activities conducted on behalf of the people of California by the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance is its annual report, How Often Do Governors Say No?

Some more than others is the short answer.

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a lower percentage of bills in 2012 – 12 percent — than the 14 percent he vetoed in 2011, the committee determined.    Read more »

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No More Counseling for Minors Aimed at Changing Them From Homosexual to Heterosexual

California is the first state in the nation to ban minors from receiving what’s known as conversion or reparative therapy, which is aimed at converting homosexuals to heterosexuals.

The bill — SB 1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, a Torrance Democrat — received plenty of media attention after President Obama’s statement in May that same-sex couples should be able to marry.    Read more »

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With Enough Private Donations, a Statue of Ronald Reagan Will Grace the State Capitol

If private donors pony up, there will be a statue of President – and former California Governor – Ronald Reagan in the “new” section of the state Capitol.

(The “new” section is the East Annex, completed 60 years ago.)

Under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown – Reagan’s successor  as California’s chief executive — the statue’s design, placement and upkeep will be paid for by the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation, created last year to help celebrate the actor-turned-politician’s 100th birthday.    Read more »

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Gov. Brown Nips Absentee Florists in the Bud

It will be harder for florists to misrepresent the location of their business under legislation signed September 27 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Four previous bills in 13 years had attempted to prevent call centers, potentially located hundreds or thousands of miles away, from using a local city or neighborhood in their name and duping consumers into believing they are patronizing a “local” florist.    Read more »

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Employers Prohibited from Demanding Access to Social Media Pages of Job Applicants and Employees

Employers can’t demand user names or passwords to access the social media of employees or job applicants under legislation signed September 27 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The measure is a rare area of agreement for labor unions and employers winning support from the California Labor Federation and the California Chamber of Commerce, which saw the bill as clarifying a murky aspect of employee law.    Read more »

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“Playing the Beer Card” — Brews and Voter Turnout

Here are two articles, forwarded by a subscriber, that could represent the definitive analysis of the politics of beer. Both are reported by the National Journal. The first is “What Your Beer Says About Your Politics.” The second describes how the World’s Most Interesting Man went partisan.

(As the second article suggests, “Stay nonpartisan, my friends.”    Read more »

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Historical State Capitol Commission Now Responsible for the Whole Capitol

The Historic State Capitol Commission now officially has purview over the Capitol’s East Annex and the park surround ding the Capitol under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Previously, the commission, created in 1981, was charged with reviewing restoration and maintenance of the original Capitol building completed in 1874.

The measure clarifies that the commission is re4sponsible for advising the state on policies relating to the entire Capitol building and its grounds bound by 10th, L, 15th and N Streets.    Read more »

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