CalWatchdog Morning Read – September 1

• Cap-and-trade spending deal reached
• Legislators honor fellow member accused of domestic violence
• Wins and losses from legislative session
• Hope for the Delta Smelt?
• Censorship at the county fair
• PUC deal DOA in Senate

Good morning. Welcome to the first day of September and the morning after the last day of legislative session. While the last day was tamer than some years past, the whole thing didn’t slip by without some big actions.

For example, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators reached an agreement on Wednesday on what to do with around a billion dollars of cap-and-trade revenue.

The deal was announced earlier in the day and was approved by dinner after a longstanding battle between legislative leadership, who had a long list of ways to spend the money, and Brown, who had yet to give his blessing.

“California’s combating climate change on all fronts and this plan gets us the most bang for the buck,” Brown said in a statement when the deal was announced. “It directs hundreds of millions where it’s needed most – to help disadvantaged communities, curb dangerous super pollutants and cut petroleum use – while saving some for the future.” 

The spending plan comes at an interesting time for the cap-and-trade program, as the last two quarterly auctions have fallen flat, greatly missing revenue targets, and the program itself faces legal challenges as opponents argue it’s an illegal tax.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• Legislators paid awkward tribute to one of their brethren who is under a restraining order for allegedly beating his wife, with one noting how “proud” she was of his ability to walk through the backlash. CalWatchdog has more.
• The Los Angeles Times puts a cap on the two-year session with the biggest wins and losses.
• “Offering a ray of hope in the struggle to save a tiny fish enmeshed in California’s water disputes, state officials say they have found a way to move around river water to produce more food for hungry or starving Delta smelt,” writes The San Jose Mercury News. 
• “Controversy around displaying the confederate flag has hit Fresno where an artist says he’s being unfairly banned from showing a painting at the county fair,” according to Capital Public Radio.
• “Legislation to overhaul California’s public utilities regulator stalled in the final hours of the legislative session as its backer said the Senate Republican leader blocked a vote,” writes The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature: 

• Gone ’til December. It’s all politics now, writes The Sacramento Bee. 

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

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