The law firms – Gibson Dunn and Van Dermyden Maddux – concluded in a four-page summary of its findings that “it is more likely than not” that Mendoza engaged in “unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior” toward six women who worked at the Capitol over the past decade. But the firm’s investigation cleared Mendoza of the harshest overall allegation he faced: the claim he fired three staff members in September in an attempt to squelch an investigation into his conduct. The probe found no evidence linking the firings and the filing of a report with the Senate Rules Committee that alleged Mendoza had repeatedly asked a young Senate fellow to come home with him to “look at resumes.” The investigation also found — except for one women who was kissed on the cheek — no evidence of physical contact between Mendoza and the women he hit on; and no evidence of retaliation against those who rejected his advances.

The Sacramento Bee broke the story last fall of allegations against Mendoza involving three former employees. Within a few days, state Senate President Kevin de Leon moved out of the Sacramento-area home he shared with Mendoza when the two Los Angeles County Democrats were in legislative session.

De Leon, who is running for U.S. Senate, has insisted he was unaware of any improper conduct by Mendoza, who is currently on paid leave.

The investigation included 51 interviews with 47 individuals. Mendoza, who is married and has four children, was among a few people interviewed twice. Last night, he issued a statement calling the investigation inadequate and a rush to judgment.

Report backs claim he gave alcohol to minor

While the report on Mendoza was far less damning than the allegations against Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, and Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Woodland Hills – who resigned late last year after being accused by several women of sexual misconduct – it contradicts Mendoza on the most serious harassment allegation against him. In 2008, according to then-19-year-old Jennifer Kwart, Mendoza provided the underage intern with alcoholic drinks from the minibar in a suite at a San Jose hotel that was hosting the California Democratic Party state convention. Kwart says Mendoza made plain he expected sex, leading her to concoct a family emergency and leave the following morning.

Unlike his responses to some of the allegations made against him, Mendoza dismissed Kwart’s claims as “completely false.” The lawyers hired by the Senate Rules Committee concluded otherwise, finding that it was “more likely than not” that Mendoza “offered and subsequently had alcoholic drinks with the intern in the hotel suite” and “engaged in unwanted flirtatious and sexually suggestive conversation with the intern.”

Mendoza, 46, a former elementary-school teacher, served as an Assembly member from 2006 to 2012. He was elected to the Senate in 2014 and was expected to coast to re-election this November. Even if the Senate chooses not to oust him, the allegations will be a headache for Mendoza going forward. The Los Angeles Daily News reported earlier this month that Rio Hondo College board trustee Vicky Santana, a risk manager with the Los Angeles County Probation Department, would definitely challenge Mendoza. The report also said Montebello Mayor Vanessa Delgado had pulled papers and was considering running. Both Santana and Delgado are Democrats.

UPDATED AT 1:45 P.M.

Seven weeks since stories about Harvey Weinstein in the New York Times and the New Yorker triggered a wave of sexual harassment allegations around the nation, California state lawmakers are on edge both about their pasts and what the future may hold.

Allegations about four named current and ex-lawmakers and a fifth unnamed one have been publicly reported. But lawmakers who faced past accusations of wrongdoing and thought they were past the risk of fallout could be in for a rude surprise if Assembly and Senate practices are changed and the results of previous disciplinary hearings and investigations are disclosed.

Going forward, all harassment allegations are going to be investigated independently – breaking with a system that long seemed to value keeping dirt hidden as much or more than having a healthy Capitol working environment. The Assembly will hold a hearing Tuesday on new policies and the Senate is likely to in coming weeks.

Four accused lawmakers identified; the fifth still not revealed

Here are the accused and where they stand:

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima. Bocanegra resigned Monday — a month to the day after the Los Angeles Times broke the story that Bocanegra had been secretly reprimanded in 2009 for an incident in which he allegedly groped and stalked Elise Flynn Gyore at a time when both were legislative staffers. Since then, six more women have come forward with allegations of improper behavior by Bocanegra. He initially said he would resign in September 2018 at the end of the next legislative session, but that didn’t placate critics who said he should quit now or be kicked out if he refused to leave. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, had promised Bocanegra would be “immediately” expelled if an independent investigation confirmed the allegations against him.

Former Assemblyman Steve Fox, D-Palmdale. On Oct. 18, the Sacramento Bee reported that it had obtained a copy of a settlement reached in April in which the Assembly agreed to pay $100,000 to Nancy Kathleen Finnigan, who worked for Fox as legislative director in 2013, during his only term in office. Finnigan alleged Fox had exposed himself to her and then fired her when she complained about his behavior. Finnigan’s suit was filed in 2014, when she first publicly accused Fox of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Fox denied the allegations and dismissed her as a disgruntled ex-employee.

The political career of Fox, 64, who has worked as a teacher and lawyer, may not be over. His 2012 win of a long-GOP-held Assembly seat was considered flukish, and he lost by more than 20 percent to Republican Tom Lackey in his 2014 re-election bid. But in 2016, while Lackey defeated Fox again, his margin of victory was only 6 percent.

Assemblyman Devon Mathis, R-Visalia. On Oct. 20, anonymous allegations that had surfaced on a website run by conservative activist Joseph Turner claiming that Mathis had sexually violated a passed-out staff member were printed in the Fresno Bee. Mathis denied the allegations and on Nov. 15 was cleared by the Sacramento Police Department, which said detectives were “unable to substantiate” if a crime had occurred.

The Assembly Rules Committee, however, has hired a private attorney to investigate allegations of improper behavior, according to Mathis’ hometown paper, the Times-Delta.

State Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia. Starting with a Nov. 9 story in the Bee, three young women have come forward with allegations of improper behavior, including a 19-year-old intern hoping for a permanent job on his staff who was invited by Mendoza to come to the Sacramento-area home he lives in part-time to “review resumes.” The twist: Mendoza until recently shared the home with state Senate President Kevin de Leon, who denied knowing of any wrongdoing by his former roommate. Mendoza, like Fox, has denied wrongdoing. De Leon has not said what his intentions are if a pending independent inquiry finds the allegations against Mendoza credible.

The fifth accused lawmaker has so far not been identified. On Oct. 19, Sacramento lobbyist Pamela Lopez told CNN that a current member of the Legislature – a “big man” – had trapped her in the restroom of a Sacramento bar in 2016 and masturbated in front of her.

Lopez has been urged by activists to name the lawmaker but has so far declined to do so.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, announced this week that all harassment investigations in his chamber will be handled by an outside legal firm. De Leon also announced that he was moving out of a house he shared with Sen. Tony Mendoza, the Artesia Democrat who is the latest legislator accused of inappropriate behavior.

California’s state government has been dealing with a sexual harassment scandal after 140 influential women who have worked in and around the Capitol published an open letter in mid-October stating that they have “endured, or witnessed or worked with women who have experienced some form of dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces.”

Signed by six sitting legislators, the letter decried such behavior “in a state that postures itself as a leader in justice and equality.” The California Legislative Women’s Caucus was even more pointed, as its statement alleged “a lack of accountability and remorse” and a “pervasive culture of sexual harassment within California politics.” The statement claimed that “the Legislature’s own zero-tolerance policies are not enforced.”

A couple of prominent legislators have been caught up in the scandal. First, longtime Capitol staffer Elise Flynn Gyore said that she was treated like “prey” and then groped by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, in 2009, when he was a staffer. The Assembly Rules Committee investigated and disciplined Bocanegra, but didn’t release the details to a group of 11 women who sought such information when he was running for office with widespread party backing.

Bocanegra recently has apologized for the incident, but the details raise questions about an institution that some people say values secrecy over accountability. It’s also led to criticism of Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat known for her strong stance for women’s rights, who chaired the Assembly Rules Committee at the time of the incident. KPIX-TV in the Bay Area contacted one of the women who signed the letter asking for the file on the harassment complaint, but she said that “Nancy Skinner never responded to their request.”

Now Mendoza is in the spotlight. Southern California Public Radio reported that Mendoza “fired three employees after they reported his alleged inappropriate behavior toward a young female colleague, according to an attorney representing one of the staffers.”

Mendoza denies the allegations and apologized if he “ever communicated or miscommunicated anything that made an employee feel uncomfortable.” He also says the firings were based on work performance. The Sacramento Bee broke the news this week about allegations from a second intern. She claims that Mendoza took her to his hotel suite at the California Democratic Party convention and acted inappropriately toward her. Mendoza’s spokesperson told the Bee that that the woman’s recounting of what took place was “completely false.”

And the Senate president has received criticism, with some “wondering how de Leon – who chairs the Senate committee that investigates allegations of sexual harassment – could have been unaware of the reports and investigation into his roommate,” reported the San Jose Mercury News. De Leon denies knowing anything about the reports.

The scandal comes against the backdrop of Alabama’s Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is facing sexual misconduct allegations – a nationally publicized story that’s being depicted by Moore and some of his supporters as a “witch hunt.” And, of course, sexual harassment allegations have been roiling the entertainment industry.

For California political observers, the big questions are whether the Capitol has fostered an insular environment that promotes, or at least tolerates, sexual misbehavior – and whether de Leon’s new rules have a chance of fixing that situation.

Specifically, the new approach will remove the Senate Rules Committee from dealing with harassment allegations. “Instead, an independent outside legal team will investigate any and all allegations and make findings and recommendations to resolve and, where appropriate, discipline,” according to the committee’s statement this week. “The Senate’s Rules Committee and Senate Democratic Women’s Caucus will work jointly and expeditiously to retain a highly qualified team of counsel and investigators to fulfill this obligation.”

The committee stated that the process “will be designed to protect the privacy of victims and whistleblowers, transparency for the public, and adequate due process for all parties involved.” The “general findings will be made public” even if some names and details will be withheld based on the discretion of “victims and whistleblowers.” This will apply to all current complaints. The committee has also asked the women’s caucus to make recommendations for reform and has retained a human-resources consulting firm to review its policies.

Yet some critics believe that by bringing in an outside legal firm that this could establish attorney-client privilege and shield key facts from the public. But others believe the rules will help Capitol staffers, who are at-will hires who can be fired for any reason, to feel more comfortable lodging a complaint. “The short-range plan is to pull this out of the current system where people really don’t feel their complaints will be handled appropriately,” Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, told Capital Public Radio. She is on the rules committee.

Even if the new process succeeds in dealing more forthrightly with particular harassment claims, it might just be the first step in dealing with broader problems within the Capitol.

Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.

Critics of a California workers’ compensation system that is both among the

Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed Assembly Bill 1244, a bill introduced by Assembly members Adam Gray, D-Merced, and Tom Daly, D-Anaheim, and approved 79-0 by the Senate and 39-0 by the Assembly.

It would ban medical service providers from participating in the state-funded workers’ compensation program if they’d ever been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving fraud or abuse in the state program or in Medi-Cal or Medicare. It also bans those suspended from Medicare or Medicaid by federal authorities for fraud or abuse and those who have “lost or surrendered a license, certificate or approval to provide health care.”

Brown also signed Senate Bill 1160 by state Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, which addresses a tactic used by health care providers to force payment from client companies if insurers reject claims they consider suspect or invalid: placing liens on their property. The measure requires physicians and others providing care to cite the specific legal authority that allows them to place liens, not just cite an unpaid debt. It also limits selling billing rights for uncollected claims to collection companies. Finally, it freezes collection of liens by providers facing charges of medical fraud.

Mendoza’s bill ran into Republican criticism in the Senate, where some saw it as too intrusive. But it passed 26-12 and was approved 80-0 in the Assembly.

New policy fights not as charged as before

Past fights about workers’ compensation fixes in Sacramento were far more contentious.

The most memorable and consequential came early in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s seven years as governor. His first major legislative victory after taking office in November 2003 came in May 2004 when he signed a package of legislation that allowed employers to limit which doctors were allowed to treat those who had or said they had workplace-related injuries. The new laws also made it more difficult to make claims of permanent disability; reduced payments for permanent disabilities; and put limits on how many times claimants could use employer-paid rehabilitation services such as physical therapy.

Businesses paid a record $21.4 billion in premiums in 2003, according to a Sacramento Bee report. That dropped by more than half in coming years as reforms paid off, but by 2015 had rebounded to $17.6 billion.

The 2003-04 fight was so pitched because some unions and Democrats believed Schwarzenegger was actually trying to knock holes in the safety net for injured workers, not just correct abuses.

More recent policy debates have focused on how medical care providers continue to keep pushing the envelope with their billing practices, some of which are obvious frauds and others of which are more nuanced.

Less sophisticated companies targeted

In a recent interview with Kaiser Health News, the director of the state Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees workers’ compensation, noted that scams are far more likely to be used with less sophisticated companies.

“I think both abuses and fraudulent activities prey on the most vulnerable populations and we’re hopeful that appropriate treatment will be provided to workers when needed,” Christine Baker said.

Such companies often have relatively small fiscal reserves. Kaiser’s story told how a family-run Los Angeles janitorial service that employed 350 had to close after it was hit with the types of liens that are now illegal.

It was the last committee stop for the bill, which passed the Senate and now will be up for an Assembly floor vote.

 

SB792, by Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would require vaccination for whooping cough, measles and influenza for all day care workers.

 

The only exemption for a whooping cough or measles immunization would be a physician’s note that exempts individuals for whom the vaccination would not be safe.

 

Day care workers who do not want to get the influenza vaccine, though, just need to fill out a form to become exempt from the requirement.

 

The bill also reiterated the need for evidence of being free of tuberculosis — known as “clearance” —  among day care workers, which already is required by law.

No crowds of protesters for this legislation

But unlike with legislation mandating that students get vaccinations before being allowed in school — a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that ended nearly all exemptions and was criticized by, among others, the Washington Post editorial board — this bill is generating little controversy and enjoys bipartisan support. It was lobbied for by the Health Officers Association of California, the Child Care Law Center, the March of Dimes California chapter, and other groups that promote children’s interests, and faced criticism only from those who consider vaccinations dangerous.

Republicans who objected to the school vaccination bill as an attack on parental rights have accepted Mendoza’s argument that this is a common-sense measure to protect children and a reasonable job requirement for someone who works with young kids.

The measure passed the Senate on a 34-3 vote in May.

Before passing the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a 16-1 vote Wednesday, it won approval on a 6-1 vote in the Assembly Human Services Committee and on a 16-1 vote in the Assembly Health Committee.

If the bill is adopted by the full Assembly and signed by the governor, it will take effect Sept. 1, 2016.

Mendoza says California’s population and demographics have changed significantly since the formation of counties and by increasing the number of supervisors from five to seven, residents of California’s largest counties will get a more representative and responsive county government.

Cost of increasing government has always been an obstacle to changing the number of supervisors. Mendoza’s legislation tries to confront that issue by declaring that the cost of seven supervisors shall not exceed the cost of five supervisors at the time the measure takes effect after the 2020 census.

With California’s huge and diverse population, the suggestion that county representation be improved makes sense – but who should decide, state voters or local voters?

Los Angeles County, the largest county in the state, would be directly affected by this measure if it becomes law, along with the counties of Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and perhaps Santa Clara if it crosses the 2 million population threshold before the initiative takes effect.

In Los Angeles County, four times voters were asked to increase the size of the Board of Supervisors. Four times the voters said no.

In 1962, 1976, 1992 and 2000, Los Angeles County voters rejected increasing the board to either seven or nine members from the current five. In the most recent vote, the proposal was defeated by nearly a two to one margin.  Mendoza argues that a statewide measure is needed to prevent local county officials from defeating any local measure to expand the board. Indeed, the bill analysis for the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments argues that Los Angeles County Supervisors responded to a legislative attempt to expand the Board in 2000 with a cynical approach of the supervisors putting an expansion measure on the ballot with weak cost controls then working to defeat it. 

Be that as it may, the fact is that voters in the county have four times defeated an effort to change the number of supervisors. If Mendoza’s measure receives a two-thirds vote in the Legislature and appears on the ballot, all the voters in the state will have a say, not just the voters in the most populous counties. In fact, many voters who do not live in the affected counties will help to decide the issue. 

Under such circumstances, local self-determination could be lost to a state requirement.

In 2012, the Senate Democratic Caucus ran the tables, winning every contested race. With Fran Pavley, Richard Roth and Cathleen Galgiani added to his caucus, Senate President President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, had a veto-proof, two-thirds majority.

They could do what they wanted, even pass tax increases, with any Republican objections  ignored.

But before that supermajority could be put to use, Senate Republicans were given a victory they hadn’t earned at the ballot box. In February 2013, Senator Michael Rubio, D-Bakersfield, abruptly resigned to take a job with Chevron. In the ensuing special election, Republican Andy Vidak of Hanford upset Leticia Perez.

Rubio resignation began Democrats’ downward spiral

Rubio’s resignation was the beginning of a downward spiral for Senate Democrats. In quick succession earlier this year, three members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Ron Calderon of Montebello, Rod Wright of Inglewood  and Leland Yee of San Francisco, faced high-profile scandals that brought about their suspensions and ended Senate Democrats’ super-majority in the 2013-14 session.

This November, Democrats have no room for error, as favorable demographics and incumbent advantages have Senate Republicans poised to reclaim one-third control of the State Senate. In order to reach their expected 14-seat minority, Senate Republicans need to defend two Central Valley incumbents and win an open seat in Orange County, which is rated a toss-up by most political analysts.

Cannella appeals to immigrants

Despite declining statewide voter registration, Republicans have done well in recent elections appealing to moderate Democrats and decline-to-state voters in the conservative Central Valley. Four years ago, Senator Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, beat then-Assemblywoman Anna Caballero by three points in an open seat being vacated by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock.

This year, Cannella faces a much weaker opponent in Democrat Shawn Bagley, a produce-broker and businessman from Salinas. Although Democrats hold a 14-point advantage in voter registration, Cannella will likely use his more than $900,000 warchest to tell voters about his moderate record in Sacramento.

Cannella co-sponsored legislation to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses. He’s pushed Congress to adopt comprehensive immigration reform and voted in favor of the Dream Act, to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain conditional permanent residency and in-state tuition benefits.

Vidak: State’s leading high-speed rail critic

While Cannella has worked to broaden the GOP’s base, Vidak has appealed to moderate Democrats and independents on the issue of high-speed rail. The Legislature’s leading high-speed rail critic, Vidak has questioned pay-to-play politics in the contracting process and called for a re-vote of the public, which in 2008 green-lighted the project by passing $9.9 billion in bonds in Proposition 1A.

This November, Vidak must again overcome a 17 percentage point Democratic registration advantage, as he faces Fresno School Board Trustee Luis Chavez.  If the primary is any indication, Vidak is well-positioned to defeat Chavez, who managed just 38 percent of the vote in the heavily Democratic district to Vidak’s 62 percent.

Nguyen: GOP’s opportunity to gain seat

With the effects of redistricting finally taking effect for even numbered State Senate seats, Republicans are guaranteed to pick up one seat, the 28th Senate district, in the Coachella Valley. The race remains too close to call, but the top three candidates, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, former Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia and Indio Councilman Glenn Miller, are all Republicans.

The best pick-up opportunity for Senate Republicans lies in Orange County, where County Supervisor Janet Nguyen takes on former Assemblyman Jose Solorio, now a trustee on the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board. On Tuesday, despite having a second Republican candidate in the race, Nguyen earned 51.8 percent of the vote in the 34th Senate District. The district has an even split between Asian and Latino voters.

GOP long-shots, but on the table

Two more seats are long-shots for Republicans, but will likely remain on the table in November. In Alameda and Santa Clara county, GOP candidate Peter Kuo will face Democratic Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, who escaped a bitter primary with former Assemblywoman and convicted shoplifter Mary Hayashi. Also impressing political analysts, former Downey Mayor Mario Guerra pulled in 44 percent of the vote in a heavily Democratic district.

“Comparing June vote totals to November is like comparing preseason to the playoffs,” Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a completely different election with a completely different turnout universe.”

In the 32nd Senate District, Guerra needs to overcome a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration disadvantage. Even without a long-shot victory in the Whittier-based district, Senate Democrats will lose a seat in November, when Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, is expected to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. That would produce a new race next year for a replacement.

District 12

Candidate		Votes	Percent
	Luis Chavez (Party Preference: DEM)	17,296	37.6%
*	Andy Vidak (Party Preference: REP)	28,718	62.4%

District 28

100.0% ( 422 of 422 ) precincts partially reporting as of June 6, 2014, 10:29 a.m.

Candidate		Votes	Percent
	Philip Drucker (Party Preference: DEM)	16,177	18.8%
	Anna Nevenic (Party Preference: DEM)	13,084	15.2%
	William “Bill” Carns (Party Preference: REP)	4,379	5.1%
	Bonnie Garcia (Party Preference: REP)	16,894	19.6%
	Glenn A. Miller (Party Preference: REP)	16,792	19.5%
	Jeff Stone (Party Preference: REP)	18,737	21.8%

District 34

100.0% ( 482 of 482 ) precincts partially reporting as of June 5, 2014, 6:20 p.m.

Candidate		Votes	Percent
	Jose Solorio (Party Preference: DEM)	23,851	33.7%
	Janet Nguyen (Party Preference: REP)	36,577	51.8%
	Long Pham (Party Preference: REP)	10,244	14.5%

District 32

100.0% ( 494 of 494 ) precincts partially reporting as of June 5, 2014, 6:20 p.m. 

Candidate		Votes	Percent
	Carlos R. Arvizu (Party Preference: DEM)	1,046	2.0%
	Sally Morales Havice (Party Preference: DEM)	5,917	11.3%
	Tony Mendoza (Party Preference: DEM)	16,706	31.9%
	Irella Perez (Party Preference: DEM)	5,545	10.6%
	Mario A. Guerra (Party Preference: REP)	23,135	44.2%