A group of moderate California Republicans that wants the party to rebrand itself as both pro-business and pro-environment and show a willingness to work with Democrats on some issues is back in the news this week. Led by Assemblyman Chad Mayes (pictured), R-Yucca Valley, and supported by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the New Way California group announced the launching of a website devoted to transforming the state GOP.

“There isn’t an overnight fix,” former Assembly GOP Leader Kristin Olsen of Modesto, a New Way board member, told the Sacramento Bee. “This is a slow journey that requires us to get out into communities.”

New Way officials cited the recent news that the GOP had fallen to third in state political registration behind Democrats and decline-to-state voters as evidence of the need for a new approach.

But Mayes, Olsen and their allies may have an even more uphill challenge than they think. A prototypical “New Way California” deal that Mayes cut last year when he was Assembly GOP leader arguably hasn’t yielded any dividends. He helped Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown round up eight Republican state lawmakers so an extension of the state’s cap-and-trade program until 2030 could receive the two-thirds support it needed – in keeping with Mayes’ thesis about the party needing to alter its direction.

But Mayes’ move triggered a firestorm among Republican activists who cited a state Legislative Analyst’s Office letter from March 2017 forecasting that cap-and-trade could lead to a 63-cents-per-gallon increase in gas prices by 2021. He was deposed as Assembly GOP leader within weeks after cutting the deal with Brown.

Meanwhile, the big concession Mayes secured in return for lining up Republican votes for cap-and-trade flopped with voters. That concession: the Legislature’s vote to place what would become Proposition 70 on the June 5 primary election ballot. The complex measure could have given state GOP lawmakers a chance to kill new funding for the embattled state bullet-train project in 2024 by requiring that the use of cap-and-trade pollution emission fees be approved with two-thirds votes of both the Assembly and the Senate.

Gov. Brown joined the state Chamber of Commerce in backing the ballot measure. But after it was savaged by other Democrats as a stealth effort to protect polluters, Proposition 70 lost 65 percent to 35 percent.

Recall showed anger over approval of higher fuel taxes

Further undercutting Mayes’ push for a rebranded GOP was another June 5 development: the recall of state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, by a 59 percent to 41 percent landslide. The recall effort was triggered by Newman’s vote last year for a 10-year, $52 billion increase in vehicle fuel taxes and fees to fund road and transit projects and improvements.

This is widely seen by political analysts as evidence that the California Republicans’ most traditional policy position – a sharp opposition to higher taxes – continues to be potent.

This is also evident in the ease with which a Republican-led effort to repeal the tax hikes gathered enough signatures to make the November ballot.

Some Democrats depict the campaign as benefitting from a coincidental rise in gasoline prices during signature gathering in the winter and spring. But Republicans point to a recent poll showing a majority of state voters are ready to scrap the tax hike and say Californians are as inclined as ever to oppose higher taxes that affect everyone – as opposed to Proposition 55, the successful 2016 ballot measure that renewed “temporary” income tax hikes on the very wealthy.

O.C. congresswoman running for top post in the House

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Let’s dig in with some news from Washington: Congresswoman Mimi Walters is preparing a run for a high-ranking spot in House Republican leadership, the Irvine Republican confirmed on Monday.

The House Republican chair position is not yet vacant, but with Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers reportedly close to being selected to head the Interior Department in the Trump administration, Walters is locking up support for the #4 spot.

Walters lauded McMorris Rodgers’ “tireless” work on behalf of both her constituents and fellow Republicans, confirmed her own intentions to run for the post if and when it becomes available and said she’d already been seeking support.

“I am humbled by the support I have received in preliminary conversations, and I look forward to speaking with all the members of our Conference,” Walters said.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• Water: “California’s beleaguered farmers had their hopes for a better 2017 rekindled as landmark water legislation delayed for years finally passed Congress. But the political cost to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a key supporter, has been high, with outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer digging in her heels against the bill and pushing for White House opposition. The strife has underscored the difficulty California Democrats have had in smoothing over internal disagreements over core policy issues that have risen to the surface of contention after years of all but one-party rule in the state.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• Another Republican woman on the rise: “The California Republican Party has picked Kristin Olsen, a former assemblywoman from Modesto, to be its vice chair.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• More bills coming: “Just minutes after taking the oath of office last week, new and returning members of the California Assembly received an early holiday gift, one that no lawmakers in Sacramento have been given for more than two decades. They’ll be able to write more bills, an extra allotment totaling as many as 800 new pieces of legislation that could circulate through the state Capitol before the next election in 2018.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• Women: “At the start of a new legislative season, the number of female elected officials in the state Capitol has dropped to 27 of a total of 120, down from a peak of 37 in 2006. That’s a sharp contrast to Los Angeles County, where the Board of Supervisors, representing the nation’s most populous county, recently installed its first female “supermajority” in history. And just days after four women took their place on the five-member board, the body began tackling a number of key women’s issues.” Politico has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone till January.

Gov. Brown:

• In Coronado at 9:30 a.m. From event announcement: “Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. will join regional leaders from around the world tomorrow in Coronado to launch the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, which will work to protect coastal communities and economies from the effects of rising ocean acidity.”

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Women make up more than half of California’s population, but only about one-fourth of the Legislature. 

And in November, that’s unlikely to change too much, according to a CalWatchdog analysis.

While an October surprise, outside factor or just particularly good or bad campaigning could change the course of race that appears to be a sure thing, primary results, incumbency advantages, voting trends and partisan makeup of a district can be useful in making educated guesses.

Currently, out of 120 legislative seats, there are 30 held by women — an additional seat is vacant now, having been held by the late Republican Senator Sharon Runner, who died unexpectedly earlier this month.   

There could be as many as 49 women in the Legislature next year, but it is likely that they’ll hover around the same amount as this year.  

In the Senate, women could have as few as five seats and as many as 13 — realistically, the number will likely be around eight to 10 seats. In the Assembly, women will occupy at least six seats and as many as 36, but that number will likely be somewhere between 15 and 24 seats. 

What we know for sure

Republican Senators Jean Fuller, Janet Nguyen, Pat Bates and Democratic Senators Connie Leyva and Holly Mitchell are not up for re-election and will definitely be returning next year, as the Senate is on staggered four-year terms.

In the Assembly, every seat is up for re-election every two years, although five seats will definitely stay occupied by women — either because the incumbent is running unopposed (or facing a write-in challenge) or because the incumbents are facing another woman in the general election. Those five seats are held by: Democrats Cheryl Brown, Cristina Garcia and Autumn Burke and Republicans Catharine Baker and Young Kim. 

Because of either term limits or the seat being vacated by an incumbent running for another position, eight seats held by women will be replaced by men as no women advanced from the primary in these races. Those are the seats currently held by Republican Assemblywomen Beth Gaines, Kristin Olsen, Shannon Grove and Ling Ling Chang and one Democrat, Toni Atkins, as well as two Democratic senators, Carol Liu and Fran Pavley.

Runner’s Senate seat will also be filled by a man.

There is only one definite pickup: An Assembly seat held by termed-out Democrat Luis Alejo.  

Seats where we likely know the outcome

Again, nothing is guaranteed until the final votes are tallied, but these nine seats are safe bets.

While the Assembly seat of Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins will be filled with a man as mentioned above, the San Diego Democrat is expected to offset that loss by filling a seat being vacated by a man in the Senate. 

Because of the advantages of incumbency, district voting trends and favorable lopsided primary results, these eight female legislators will likely keep their seats: In the Senate, it’s Democrats Hannah-Beth Jackson (the current chair of the Women’s Caucus) and Cathleen Galgiani, and in the Assembly, it’s Democrats Jacqui Irwin, Susan Talamantes Eggman, Shirley Weber and Lorena Gonzalez with Republicans Melissa Melendez and Marie Waldron.

One female incumbent in trouble 

The only incumbent woman who is on very shaky ground is Democrat Patty Lopez. Lopez finished second in the primary, down 17.2 percentage points to the man she surprisingly knocked out of office in 2014, fellow Democrat Raul Bocanegra.

Best pickup chances

In the race to replace Sen. Mark Leno, who is termed out, Jane Kim led the primary against fellow Democrat Scott Wiener 45.3 percent to 45.1 percent. It’s obviously a close race, but it is a good chance for a woman to pick up a seat.

In a less competitive race, Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry finished first in the primary against Republican Charlie Schaupp in a heavily Democratic district to replace Assemblyman Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who is running for Senate.

Democrat S. Monique Limón finished the primary with a formidable lead against Edward Fuller, who claims no party preference, 65.9 percent t0 34.1 percent. If elected, Limón would replace Democratic Assemblyman Das Williams. 

In the race to replace termed-out, Democratic Assemblyman Roger Hernandez — who is currently under a three-year restraining order for alleged domestic violence — Blanca Rubio appears likely to win. Rubio, a Democrat, will face Republican Cory Ellenson in a heavily-Democratic district.

Two wildcards 

Two seats where women have decent chances to pickup seats, although the odds are slightly tipped against them, are the Senate races to replace termed-out Republican Bob Huff and incumbent Democrat Jim Beall.

Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang saw an opening in the Huff race and decided to vacate her Assembly seat after only one term. However, she finished the primary with only 44 percent, with two Democrats splitting the 56 percent majority. 

Beall is being challenged by Assemblywoman Nora Campos, a fellow Democrat. Beall narrowly missed a majority in the primary, topping Campos by 22.5 percentage points. Campos is considered the business-friendly candidate, so she’ll have to use that to draw upon Republican support to top Beall.

Toss ups

There are approximately 11 races that look as though they could go either way, with four being vacated by termed-out women. Another four are against male incumbents: Republicans Marc Steinorth, Eric Linder and Travis Allen and Democrat Miguel Santiago.  

Looking for October surprises

And there are 11 other races where women are challenging male incumbents, although these races do not appear as though they’ll be too competitive. 

This opens a new front in Silicon Valley’s push for a much bigger tech emphasis in California’s public schools. The Golden State is one of the 25 states that don’t require passing a computer science class to get a high school degree, resisting a national trend.

Sunday’s San Jose Mercury-News has details:

It’s the backbone of Silicon Valley’s world-changing tech industry, but — like journalism and geography — computer science is considered just another high school elective by the University of California.

 

Now, a powerful coalition of technology leaders, state politicians and high school teachers has taken aim at the university’s influential set of high school courses required for admission, pressuring UC to count computer science as advanced math, alongside calculus and statistics.

 

They say elevating computer science would encourage more California high schools to offer it — and more students to sign up … .

 

“My kids learn how the Internet works from the ground up; they learn how to program. It’s mathematical thinking,” said Karen Hardy, a computer science teacher at Wilcox High in Santa Clara.

 

Like many others, Hardy believes UC’s stance is holding back California schools. “I feel like we’re in the Dark Ages,” she said.

Gender, racial disparities cited in who takes classes

The Los Angeles Times’ coverage of Newsom’s letter emphasized …

… concern about the gender and racial gap of those taking courses and pursuing computer science as a profession.

 

According to data cited in the letter, fewer than 9,000 California high school students took the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam in 2015. Of those students, only about 2,300 were girls, less than 1,000 were Latinos and about 150 were black.

 

According to state data, meanwhile, salaries for computing jobs are high — averaging an annual $105,622 — but the number of graduates in the field are not expected to meet workforce demands.

But it’s not just schools in poor communities or rural areas that aren’t providing access to computer science. According to Re/Code, fewer than 5 percent of high school students in San Francisco took computer science in the 2014-15 school year, with a lack of classes seen as why.

Here’s a partial list of the executives who co-signed the letter with Newsom: Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, Sequoia Capital Chairman Michael Moritz, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!.

Other signatories included California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, superintendent-president of Long Beach City College, and Republican Assembly Leader Kristin Olsen.

Newsom is a member of the UC Board of Regents as part of his duties as lieutenant governor.

On Tuesday, the 28 Republican members of the lower house selected Assemblyman Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley as their next leader. The caucus did not release the specific tally for the caucus vote nor indicate any other candidates for the leadership post.

“I am fortunate to inherit a Caucus that is united in its commitment to fiscal responsibility and meeting the needs of a 21st Century economy,” Mayes said in a press release following the announcement. “For California to thrive, legislative leaders must provide solutions that offer a pathway to prosperity. Too often politicians take actions that limit opportunity in the very communities they claim to serve.”

He added, “I look forward to working with our Caucus to make California a better place to call home.”

Mayes, who was elected to the state Assembly in 2014, will take over for current GOP leader Kristin Olsen when the Legislature reconvenes on January 4, 2016.

Second consecutive GOP leader to reject anti-tax pledge

Mayes said that he intends to carry on Olsen’s philosophy and approach to the post.

“I am humbled by my colleagues’ confidence in my ability to lead the Caucus,” Mayes said. “I plan to build upon Kristin’s vision of bringing the Caucus and its supporting operations into the 21st Century. She has worked tirelessly to position our Caucus and its members for maximum success.”

Since taking over as minority leader, Olsen has embraced a more moderate approach and rejected the anti-tax rhetoric that is considered orthodoxy to traditional conservative Republicans. In 2012, Olsen publicly criticized the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a promise by elected officials to oppose higher taxes.

“The problem with the no-tax pledge is that entrenched special interests interpret what is or is not a violation of the pledge in order to serve their own agendas – and sometimes their interpretations defy logic,” Olsen wrote in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece before taking over as leader. “To grow the Republican Party, we have to get away from relying solely on ‘No’ messages. We are better than that, and Californians deserve and desire solution-focused leadership that will help bring legislative Democrats over to our side on the need for lower taxes and substantive reforms.”

As a candidate for State Assembly, Mayes similarly rejected the anti-tax pledge. Mayes told the Desert Sun last year that “he’s not the kind of Republican who is out to blow up government … and said he declined to sign the taxpayer protection pledge.”

Mayes brings experience from more than a decade serving at the local government level. He was first elected to the Yucca Valley Town Council in 2002 and was twice re-elected. During his time on the town council, Mayes served as president of the Desert Mountain Division of the League of California Cities.

He also worked as a political staff member at the county-level, serving as chief of staff to San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford.

Olsen’s tenure as leader

Olsen earned praise from her colleagues for her tenure as leader.

“Kristin may have been a transitional leader in terms of time, but she has been transformative in her impact on Caucus operations,” said Assembly Republican Caucus Chair Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita. “Her changes set a pathway to Republican relevancy and she worked to lay the foundation for a Republican majority in the near future. Thanks to Kristin, our Caucus is united, focused, and motivated.”

Olsen, who is termed out of the state Assembly next year, welcomed the leadership transition and said she’s proud of her accomplishments, which included a major staff shake-up as part of an effort of “modernizing caucus operations.”

“My goal as Assembly Republican leader has been to unite our caucus and advance core principles that resonate with Californians and will revitalize our state: good jobs, great schools, and a more transparent, effective, and citizen-driven government,” Olsen said. “I am pleased that we have been able to accomplish this while modernizing our Caucus operations, hiring top-notch staff, and becoming pro-active and solution-focused.”

Mayes will have company learning the ropes as a new Republican leader. Last week, the Senate Republican Caucus announced that Sen. Jean Fuller of Bakersfield had unseated Sen. Bob Huff as Republican Senate leader.

Huff is running for an open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to replace longtime Supervisor Mike Antonovich. Other candidates for that seat include gang prosecutor Elan Carr, Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander and Kathryn Barger, Antonovich’s chief of staff.

Asm. Ling Ling Chang

Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, has announced her campaign to replace termed-out State Senator Bob Huff.

Chang’s campaign for the 29th State Senate district sets up a showdown with former Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang for a seat that Democrats see as an opportunity to reclaim their supermajority in the upper house. Her campaign came at the urging of the Senate Republican Caucus, which sees the former mayor of Diamond Bar as the strongest candidate to replace the termed-out Senate Republican leader.

On Friday morning, the Republican Assemblywoman, who has been on the job for less than six months, announced her campaign with endorsements from Huff, Rep. Ed Royce and Asm. Young Kim. With a united front behind a top-tier candidate, Republicans hope to take the 29th Senate seat off the table in 2016.

Chang: Self-Described Tech Geek

In just her first term in the State Assembly, Chang has quickly risen to the top of the freshman class. A powerhouse fundraiser, Chang raised more than $632,000 for her 2014 Assembly campaign.

That fundraising prowess helped her land a spot on Asm. GOP leader Kristin Olsen’s leadership team as Republican Whip. In addition to serving as Vice Chair of the powerful Assembly Rules Committee, Chang holds key spots on the Appropriations Committee, Business & Professions Committee and the Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee.

Senator Bob Huff

Her current district includes substantial portions of the 29th Senate district. Prior to representing the 55th Assembly District, she served on the Diamond Bar City Council and Walnut Valley Water District Board of Directors.

“My mom didn’t understand why a young girl would be so obsessed with computers, so she would try and prohibit me from going online. I found my way around it until my mom started removing the keyboard,” Chang told the Sacramento Bee earlier this year. “Now she completely regrets it. Technology, to me, it’s like second nature. I can actually work something without having to read the user manual.”

The self-described “tech geek” has endeared herself to her colleagues by being a team player. In advance of the 2014 general election, she contributed more than $60,000 to party committees and legislative targets, including colleagues Kim, David Hadley, Tom Lackey, Marc Steinorth, Catharine Baker and Eric Linder. However, she’s also stumbled in her first few months in the state legislature, backing a plan to bring back redevelopment that is strongly criticized by property rights advocates.

Shaw expected to withdraw from the race

Chang’s candidacy changes the dynamics of the race and likely brings to an end the short-lived candidacy of fellow Republican Tim Shaw, who currently works as an aide to Huff. A La Habra City Councilman, Shaw has struggled to raise money since announcing his campaign in February. He had yet to file a campaign finance report, according to the state’s financial disclosure database.

As a result of Shaw’s perceived weaknesses, Democrats recruited former Irvine mayor Sukhee Kang to run for the seat. During his final term as mayor of Irvine, Kang won praise from liberal Democrats for his plan to ban single-use plastic bags. That’s helped him secure early backing from prominent statewide Democrats, including Senate Pr­­esident Pro Tem Kevin de León and former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

Kang’s candidacy has its own baggage. Namely, he only recently packed his bags and moved into the district. He’s also weighed down by the ongoing audit of the Orange County Great Park. According to OC Weekly, while on the Irvine city council, in an alliance with former councilman Larry Agran and councilwoman Beth Krom, “Sukhee Kang diverted more than $174,000 per month in park funds to three political operatives — George Urch, Chris Townsend and Arnold Forde — allegedly performing ‘public relations’ for a government park that still hasn’t been built — and then shrugged their collective shoulders about why there was no money left for the noble endeavor.”

In 2012, Kang unsuccessfully challenged Rep. John Campbell for the 45th Congressional District. A first-generation Korean immigrant, Kang hoped to appeal to the district’s more than 89,000 Asian American voters in a uphill race against Shaw, a white Republican.

As the first Taiwanese-born woman to serve in the state Assembly, Chang undercuts the Democrat’s campaign strategy. According to voter registration statistics from Political Data, Inc., there are approximately 10,000 more registered voters with Chinese surnames than Korean surnames. Voters in the 29th Senate district have requested nearly twice as many Chinese language ballots than Korean ballots.

Kang’s campaign adviser Garry South seemed unfazed by Chang’s announcement. “See ya in a presidential year!” he said, welcoming the news.

Republicans hold a 3.5 percent edge in voter registration, with 37.3 percent of all registered voters in the district, according to AroundtheCapitol.com. The district’s high overall registration rate makes it difficult for Democrats to invest in a registration program to close that gap. The GOP has 15,000 more voters than Democrats. Orange County makes up more than 70 percent of the 29th State Senate district, which also includes portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. In 2012, Huff retained the seat with 55.1 percent of the vote, after spending minimal funds on his reelection campaign.

Under the state’s revised term limits law, Chang is eligible to serve two terms in the State Senate as well as one additional term in the State Assembly.

Assembly Bill 2, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, would give local governments the power to create new entities that would have the same legal authority as redevelopment agencies. These new Community Revitalization Investment Authorities would have the power to issue bonds, award sweetheart deals to businesses and “acquire and transfer property subject to eminent domain,” according to the legislative analysis of the bill.

Property rights advocates warn that the bill’s language contains no restrictions on eminent domain and could resurrect the abuses made possible by the Supreme Court’s controversial Kelo decision.

“It brings back the right of governments to exercise eminent domain against some private parties in order to resell their property to other private parties,” cautioned Howard Ahmanson, Jr., a property rights advocate and founder of Fieldstead and Company. “Only new and wealthy suburbs would be potentially spared from ‘redevelopment,’ the lower middle class and poor would not.”

12 Assembly Republicans back redevelopment, unrestricted eminent domain

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. New London that government agencies have the power to seize property for economic development. The decision was widely criticized across the political spectrum and inspired states to pass tougher laws limiting governments’ eminent domain powers. Here in California, the momentum for property rights reached its zenith in 2011, when Gov. Jerry Brown pushed through a plan to end redevelopment as part of his plan to balance the state budget.

Now a decade since Kelo, the horror stories of small businesses being seized to make way for strip malls and condo complexes have faded from public memory. During the state Assembly’s floor debate on the bill, not a single member – Republican or Democrat – spoke in opposition to the bill, which passed by a 63-13 vote.

Surprisingly, a dozen Assembly Republican lawmakers, including Assembly GOP leader Kristin Olsen, joined the Democratic majority in backing the bill. Olsen’s office refused to comment on the bill or explain how the bill fit with the Republican Caucus’ position on property rights. One GOP lawmaker defended her vote by arguing that redevelopment agencies are an important tool for economic development.

“I ran for Assembly to help create jobs,” said Assemblywoman Young Kim, R-Fullerton. “RDAs give us another tool to do just that while turning around poor and disadvantaged areas.”

Redevelopment focused in areas with high unemployment, crime

Under the bill, a Community Revitalization Investment Authority could be created by a city, county or special district if certain conditions are met. The first requirement is that the area have an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide median. Additionally, three of the following four conditions must be met:

• Unemployment that is at least 3 percent higher than the statewide median unemployment rate;
• A crime rate that is 5 percet higher than the statewide median crime rate;
• Deteriorated or inadequate infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, water supply, sewer treatment or processing, and parks;
• Deteriorated commercial or residential structures.

“It’s redevelopment with a kinder, gentler twist,” explains Steven Greenhut, the state’s foremost expert on eminent domain and author of the book, Abuse of Power: How the Government Misuses Eminent Domain. “If AB2 passes, agencies will take property by eminent domain and use public dollars to fund private projects. Localities will run up debt without a vote of the public. As always, the plans of residents will give way to the edicts of the planners.”

There’s overwhelming evidence that redevelopment agencies harm small businesses, while failing in their mission to stimulate economies. That’s most evident in the landmark Kelo case, where a Connecticut town offered a corporate welfare package to the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc.

“While Ms. Kelo and her neighbors lost their homes, the city and the state spent some $78 million to bulldoze private property for high-end condos and other ‘desirable’ elements,” the Wall Street Journal observed in 2009. “Instead, the wrecked and condemned neighborhood still stands vacant, without any of the touted tax benefits or job creation.”

Those abuses extended to California’s application of redevelopment, property rights advocates say.

“California has rightly earned the reputation as one of the nation’s largest abusers of eminent domain, given that Redevelopment Agencies routinely abused their power of eminent domain to seize homes, small businesses and places of worship for private development,” wrote the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights, the state’s leading property rights group. “Time and time again, these obscure agencies diverted taxpayer dollars from core government programs to finance professional sports arenas, luxury hotels, golf courses and strip malls.”

Alejo: Bill needed to help disadvantaged communities

Nevertheless, supporters of AB2 say that blighted areas are a problem that demand government action.

“There are many areas in the state where the streets are broken and old water and sewer pipes lurk below,” Alejo said of his legislation. “In these areas, businesses do not open up shop. This leads to high unemployment, high crime rates and a hopeless community. This bill will work to tackle issues facing our state’s most disadvantaged communities.”

Several GOP lawmakers that opposed the bill dispute Alejo’s arguments.

“Private property rights are a foundational principle declared by our founding fathers,” said Asm. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, who opposed the bill. “Eminent domain is used by the government to trample on private property rights and as an individual property owner, there are legal protections in place to prevent government encroachment.”

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, one of only 13 members to oppose the bill, said that she understands her colleagues interest in redevelopment, but can’t back legislation that undermines property rights.

“Stripping away property rights in the name of economic development isn’t the answer,” said Melendez, a former member of the Lake Elsinore City Council. “I think it has become more fashionable to allow the government to take over instead of allowing the free market to do so.”

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was mocked for saying about the Affordable Care Act, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it away from the fog of the controversy.” But that type of legislating-in-the-dark is too often the norm in California, according to Assembly Republican Leader-Elect Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto.

“You may remember in 2011 when the education bill trailer language was passed. And we actually received the language of the bill 15 minutes after the vote,” Olsen reminded the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation. “That’s just unacceptable. How can we possibly be expected to make wise decisions if we don’t have an opportunity to review the language?”

Olsen appeared before the committee on May 7 to introduce Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1, which is designed to increase transparency in the legislative process. The bill, according to the committee’s legislative analysis:

• Prohibits either house from passing a bill unless it has been made available in print and on the internet for 72 hours prior to the vote.
• Provides an exception for urgency bills related to a declared emergency, as specified in the Constitution.
• Allows bills to be heard by committees after the contents of the bill have been available on the internet for 15 days.”

Relegated to suspense file

ACA1 is Olsen’s fourth legislative attempt to increase transparency. But the bill has met the same fate as her three previous efforts, which were relegated to the committee’s suspense file, never to be voted on and dying at the end of the legislative session. Olsen made her best case for the bill in her remarks to the committee:

“This bill will allow legislators to thoroughly analyze measures before voting. It will end the midnight votes on last-minute, backroom deals, and it will bring greater transparency to the lawmaking process. It would also allow stakeholders’ time to voice their concerns or support.

“I would remind all of us that this bill doesn’t require anything that isn’t already required of cities, counties, special districts, school boards, etc. Simply put, Californians should be given the opportunity to review all bills before they are voted on. As legislators we should be given adequate time to analyze a bill in order to make a sound decision.

“In 2011, 48 bills were completely rewritten in the final weeks of the session. Of those bills, 22 made it to the governor’s desk. He signed all but three of them. In 2011, 36 percent of the approved bills passed through the full process. And yet, bills that were gutted and amended and rushed through the process passed at a higher rate of 46 percent.

“In 2011, SB202, a bill that changed the initiative process, was gutted and amended on September 8 and was voted on the very next day after a 13-minute hearing that was scheduled only two hours before the hearing took place. The very next day, SB202 passed the Senate and was sent to the governor. All of this happened in a 48-hour period. People did not have the time to engage, to analyze the bill. We really didn’t know what we were voting on in terms of the details.

“Examples like SB202 send a bad message to the public and contribute to cynical attitudes toward the Legislature. It’s really not a partisan issue. As Republicans and Democrats, we would do a great job working together to increase trust in government by simply allowing bills to be in print for 72 hours.”

Olsen cited a recent poll by the Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that showed 89 percent support for a 72-hour wait period before voting on legislation.

Legislature should play by same rules as local governments

California’s cities agree that state government should play by the same transparency rules that local governments must follow, said Dan Carrigg, legislative director for the League of California Cities. He told the committee:

“It bewilders [city officials] when they observe or hear about proposals in the Legislature that can move very quickly without the transparency that you expect of them through your laws such as the Brown Act and other things that apply to us.

“A couple years ago a number of cities were severely harmed by the passage of SB89. That bill took away vehicle license fees from cities. There had been special allocations that helped cities with annexations as well as new incorporations. The law that established those special allocations went through the Legislature in a very deliberative process. It was crafted, refined, amended.

“The bill that took it away without a public hearing probably went through the building in about six hours. So those that were affected by the law never had a chance to, one, even know about it, and two, be able to even talk to the legislators and make sure the legislators knew what the full impacts were. So that’s why our membership feels that having an in-print rule would improve the process.”

Time needed for in-depth look

Also urging passage of ACA1 was Nicolas Heidorn, representing Common Cause. “As legislators we think you’re asked to do something which is challenging if not impossible,” he said. “Which is when a major policy revision is dropped in your lap at the last minute, to ask you to vote on this without having had the time to really look in depth at the bill.

“We also think that the Legislature does itself a disservice when there isn’t the time for public input to look at the bill and provide you with recommendations and thoughts, which can help act as a safeguard to prevent errors in legislation or unintended consequences. This bill is important to stop special interests from inserting at the last minute provisions that might harm the public interest that the Legislature and public don’t have time to analyze and catch.”

Heidorn pointed out that other states have implemented similar transparency provisions in their legislative process. “Michigan for over a century has had a five-day print rule,” he said. “Hawaii has a two-day print rule. Florida has a 72-hour print rule for appropriation rules. So we think there’s ample evidence in other states that the process can work.”

Thurmond raises concerns

No witnesses spoke in opposition to the bill. But concerns were raised by one committee member, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, D-Richmond. “I’m torn because I really value the goals of transparency,” he said. “Like many [in the Legislature], I come from local government. The Brown Act was something that was imbedded into my kind of being about how we make the public informed about anything that might be voted on. I support the goals of transparency.

“I’m also a person who loves always having some flexibility for situations that might arise that we cannot anticipate, and would be concerned about government’s ability to have those flexibilities to do business that meets the needs of the people. The drought package was a perfect example of our ability to act, recognizing that so much of what was in that package is going to take start-up time and ramp-up time. And that because there are communities with no water and because there are communities that have even just one year’s supply, we need as much ramp up time to move.”

Olsen responded, “We do have the exception in there if the governor declares a state of emergency we can certainly act within less than three days. The drought would be a great example where he could and has declared a state of emergency.

“But even in the package of bills this year, nothing would have been harmed had we voted on the drought relief package on Thursday instead of Monday. And as evidence of that I would point to the fact that the drought relief package we passed a year ago, most of the funds still have not been allocated and spent. So there’s nothing so urgent that three days couldn’t accommodate the need to be able to still pass that very important and critical piece of legislation.”

Committee Chair Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, began the hearing by announcing that “Budget Sub 6 was created in 2011 to consider changes to the budget process and bills related to the budget that were proposed by members. All non-committee bills referred to Budget Committee are heard in Sub 6 and referred to suspense automatically without a vote similar to the way it’s done in Appropriations.”

Olsen pleads for ‘true representative government’

After Weber sent ACA1 to the suspense file without a vote, Olsen made a plea for its passage this time around. “The public deserves full disclosure and timely and accurate information from their elected officials about how their taxes are spent, just as we require of all municipal governments,” she said. “Only then can we claim to have a true representative government where people have the ability to voice their opinion on all issues. Our constituents deserve better from us.

“And at the very least they deserve a vote on this measure. In 2013 I had ACA4, and that was the third version. This is now the fourth time I’ve introduced this. ACA4 came to this committee, it was placed on suspense, it never got an up-or-down vote. My question is, when does the suspense file get voted on? In Appropriations Committee, in Rev[enue] and Tax Committee there’s always a hearing where the suspense file gets voted on. And I think ACA1 deserves the opportunity to actually receive a vote. I would appreciate being noticed when this budget committee plans to take up that suspense file for votes on each of the bills.”

Weber did not respond to Olsen’s request, saying simply, “Thank you,” then moved onto the next agenda item.

Olsen expressed her frustration in a press release on her website:

“While I appreciate the discussion we had about legislative transparency, today’s hearing was really just talk. I am disappointed that my Democratic colleagues did not allow an up-or-down vote on my bill. Year after year, efforts to shed more light on lawmaking are shelved by the majority party without a vote. This adds to the cynicism of Californians who feel shut out of their government.

“Too much of what goes on in Sacramento happens in the middle of the night, when the public isn’t watching. This is not healthy for our democracy. It’s time to modernize the legislative process and end the back-room thinking that dominates too much of what goes on at the State Capitol. By making legislation available online at least 72 hours before a vote, the public can engage in the process and make their voices heard.”

Napolitano orchestrated the UC Regents’ approval last fall of a five-year, 28 percent tuition hike — conditioned on whether UC got more money in the 2015-16 budget. She also took steps toward limiting enrollment at all but two UC campuses.

In response, Brown, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and several lawmakers said UC should get its house in order before it demands more money. They cited the sharp growth in administrators on the UC payroll and UC’s resistance to a state law meant to force the public university system to more specifically explain its spending practices.

Conclusions of ‘committee of two’ not disclosed

This blowback led Napolitano to form a “committee of two” with the governor to review UC’s books. Napolitano and Brown never reported back to regents or the media with their findings. But in the revised budget released last week, the UC president appeared to get much of what she sought after agreeing to suspend tuition hikes for at least two years.

This is from the San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage:

To win the tuition freezes, Brown agreed to contribute to UC’s pension obligations, paying out $436 million over the next three years. The money would come from the voter-approved Proposition 2, the rainy-day fund, and could be used only for the pension debt. UC has been asking the state for years to help, as it does for California State University.

“This is not free money. They are paying down debt which will put them in a stronger position,” Brown said. “It’s not available for adding new professors or raising salaries or anything they want to do. It’s to stabilize their finances going forward.” …

Under the agreement, the state would increase UC’s approximately $3 billion state allocation by 4 percent each year, starting at $119.5 million in the fall … .

UC would receive an additional $507.3 million to its base budget through 2018-19, with the potential of the state Legislature increasing that in the coming weeks.

UC’s known concessions to governor

Napolitano only made two concessions to Brown besides the tuition freeze, based on what’s now known, at least.

She agreed to add more online classes to make it easier for students to complete required courses and graduate within four years.

And, as the Chronicle reported, she agreed to a new pension scale for new hires:

Brown’s administration said UC also agreed to give new employees hired after July 2016 a choice of a defined benefit plan pension capped at $117,000 a year or a defined contribution plan. The defined benefit plan cap is the same as currently imposed by the state for employees hired after 2013. UC currently has a much higher cap of $265,000.

The low-key denouement to the fight wasn’t what many in Sacramento had expected earlier this year, when a showdown over not just UC’s budget, but its culture, seemed likely.

In a February op-ed, Atkins and Assembly Minority Leader Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, expressed strong interest in bringing “zero-based budgeting” to UC. That reflected the widespread belief within the Capitol that the sort of extensive belt-tightening seen in much of state government during the 2007-2012 revenue crunch never happened in a university system that resisted transparency.

Despite a resurgence in California’s fiscal fortunes, including tax receipts some $2 billion in excess of estimates, “analysts are warning that California could be headed for more fiscal headaches as soon as next year,” the Wall Street Journal observed. “The state is constitutionally required to spend more on public education as revenue increases. This year’s revenue will establish a spending base for next year, meaning it could be harder for the state to balance its budget if the state’s income declines.”

Brown has made his reputation as governor holding the line on spending against steady pressure from his left. But Brown’s own favorite projects, including California’s high-speed rail plan, received his unwavering support, even drawing money away from expenditures favored by activists.

A selective windfall

Now, Brown has chosen to walk the budget tightrope in a way that will encourage his more profligate allies. Beneficiaries of Brown’s revised budget were set to include poorer Californians, unlawful immigrants and college students, as the San Jose Mercury News reported:

“With billions in better-than-expected revenue, Brown unveiled a $115.3 billion general fund spending plan that creates the state’s first-ever ‘earned income tax credit’ and would pay for Medi-Cal for some immigrants living in the state illegally.”

Brown’s revision also slipped in the results of a long-belabored deal with UC President Janet Napolitano, “who had demanded tens of millions of dollars more for her system to stave off 5 percent tuition hikes in each of the next five years,” as the Mercury News recalled.

But the revised budget plan went well beyond those measures, touching policy areas that have bedeviled Brown throughout much of his time in office.

Prison reform

Brown, for instance, used the revision to forge ahead with reforms to California’s prison system, which has been a virtual albatross around his neck since the Supreme Court ordered the state to reduce its crowded incarcerated population.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, the new budget revision “calls for shrinking the number of inmates housed outside California in the next year by 4,000 — reducing related state spending by $73 million. As of this week, the state had a little more than 8,000 inmates in private prisons in Arizona, Mississippi and Oklahoma, and another 6,250 prisoners in contracted lockups within the state.”

According to the Times, the cuts became possible because of the impact of Proposition 47, which thinned prisons’ ranks largely by slashing penalties and jail time for drug-related offenses. As CalWatchdog previously reported, although relatively few donors fueled the measure, Prop. 47 won the support of a substantial majority of voters in November.

Mixed reactions

In what has become a hallmark of his tenure in office, reactions to Brown’s adjusted numbers mixed praise with criticism. “We applaud the governor for putting money back into the pockets of those who work hard every day and pay their taxes – it’s the right move,” remarked Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, according to the Sacramento Bee. But, she added, Brown’s tax credit “will not end widespread poverty. That’s why Assembly Republicans have offered straightforward solutions to reform education and support the modern economy so every Californian can boost their earnings and quality of life.”