CalWatchdog Morning Read – April 25

25 Apr, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

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DV allegations don’t knock chairman off perch, Moody’s down on CA, GOP money dries up, trouble for BART, debate tonight for five of 34 Senate candidates.

Good morning! Happy Monday.

It looks like the lawmaker who is currently under a temporary restraining order from his wife will not face any immediate repercussions in the Assembly, Speaker Anthony Rendon told CalWatchdog on Friday.

Last week, the two chairwomen of the Women’s Legislative Caucus asked Asm. Roger Hernández, D-West Covina, to step down from his Labor and Employment Committee chairmanship and his other committee assignments while the issue with his wife is being worked out.

Hernández refused. And Rendon, a Paramount Democrat, said he’s going to wait and see what happens: “If the allegations are more fully validated, I will be prepared to take further action.”

Hernández has been accused of wrongdoing before. And Senate Democratic leadership found itself in similar situations a few years ago. CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

Sharp criticism over BART’s management and budget practices could imperil the transit system’s pending $3.5 billion bond to “upgrade the system’s aging infrastructure and rail cars,” writes CalWatchdog.

Moody’s, the major credit-rating agency, panned California as the least able big state to endure a recession, writes The Sacramento Bee’s Dan Walters. Texas was number 1. The CA rating is largely dependent on the the state’s reliance on income taxes, which are highly volatile.

After shelling out big bucks mostly to candidates no longer in the race, California’s GOP donors are closing their checkbooks to Republican presidential candidates, the Los Angeles Times reports.

With 34 candidates running for one U.S. Senate seat, voters should read the ballot instructions very carefully, the Los Angeles Times reports. And if you’re looking to learn more about the front-runner candidates, KCRA 3 and the San Francisco Chronicle are hosting a Senate debate Monday night.