August 25, 2004
| TO: | CLA Members/ Systems/ Network Contacts |
| FROM: | Mike Dillon, Lobbyist Christina Dillon, Lobbyist |
| RE: | NEWS FROM THE CAPITOL |
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM - LIBRARY BOND PASSES ASSEMBLY
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. yesterday, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, the designated "floor jockey" for Senator Alpert's library bond bill, SB 1161, took up the measure on the Assembly Floor. In her brief explanation of the contents of the bond bill, Assemblywoman Wolk noted the tremendous growing need for library construction in the state and called SB 1161 "critical." Assemblyman Leland Yee, who was serving as the Assembly's presiding officer, in an effort to speed up action on the hundreds of bills pending on the Floor, quickly deferred discussion and called for the roll call vote. The initial tally was 48 "ayes" to 12 "noes," with 20 members "not voting." (Of the 20 "not voting," 15 were Republicans and 5 were Democrats.) Assemblywoman Wolk then asked that the bill be placed "on call," giving us time to work on securing the requisite votes before the close of session. With 54 votes needed for passage, and knowing that two Democrats would be absent due to illness, and illness in the family, and also knowing that one Democrat, even though he is a friend of ours, had earlier expressed opposition to the bill, we knew we would have our work cut out for us. Specifically, we were in search of 9 Republicans to go along with 45 Democrats to secure the necessary 54 votes needed for passage (the current composition of the Assembly is 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans.)
After getting the first unofficial vote count from the Assembly Clerk's office, we began "working the Floor." With dozens of lobbyists crowding the intensely warm hallways, working their own bills, we began sending in cards with little notes to Republican legislators who had earlier indicated to us their support, checking on the whereabouts of several Democratic lawmakers who did not vote, and button-holing legislators if they happened to leave the Floor for a moment to return to their offices. Senator Alpert, meanwhile, quickly ran down to the Assembly, and along side Assemblywoman Wolk, began talking with non-voting Assembly members. At 5:55 p.m., thinking she might be close to success, Assemblywoman Wolk "lifted the call" and we found that 3 Republicans had added on, and one Democrat had changed his vote from "aye" to "not voting," giving us a tally of 50 "ayes" to 14 "noes," with 16 members still "not voting." We anxiously continued our efforts and, at 6:05 p.m., Assemblywoman Wolk again "lifted the call" and to our delight, we had received the necessary 54 votes, with a tally of 56 "ayes" to 14 "noes," and 10 "not voting." We slapped high-fives among ourselves, and then exchanged a few high-fives with several other lobbyists within the hallway, even though they had nothing to do with our library bond bill.
We then walked upstairs to Senator Alpert's office to share the "unofficial final" vote count with her. She had experienced a full day in her own Senate Chambers, and a highly emotional day with the election of a new Senate President pro Tem, Don Perata, but still had time for a victory hug for the Dillons. She talked about her efforts in the Assembly to work the vote, and we strategized over how a few more Republicans might add on to the bill before the close of session. She thanked us for our hard work and we departed knowing that we would have to work the same magic as the bill heads to the Senate now for concurrence.
It should be noted that the vote counts are always "unofficial" until the close of the Floor Session proceedings. At that time, members are allowed to do what is called "vote add ons" or "vote changes," as long as they announce their vote formally into the microphone at the close of business, in the presence of the Assembly Secretary. Thus, the official vote count for SB 1161 was 57 "ayes" to 15 "noes" and 8 "not voting." We were the beneficiaries of two more Republicans who chose to add on an "aye" vote, and one Republican who changed his mind and moved to a "not voting." Special thanks to the Republicans, who typically do not support increasing the state's bonded indebtedness, but who came through for us last night: Dave Cox, Bonnie Garcia, Shirley Horton, Guy Houston, Ken Maddox, Abel Maldonado, Bill Maze, Robert Pacheco, Sharon Runner, Steve Samuelian, and Todd Spitzer.
While we have a challenge ahead of us to get a 2/3rds vote tomorrow on the Senate Floor, as the bill moves back there on concurrence, we are hopeful that we can get the measure to the Governor for his consideration. We continue to work with the Governor's chief lobbyist and the Department of Finance and hope to resolve any concerns they may have in the next 48 to 72 hours. Please keep your letters to the Governor coming!!
Lastly, we would like to take a moment to thank some key people who assisted us in our "victory" yesterday: 1) the office of Assemblyman Dave Cox, and in particular, the Assemblyman himself and his Chief of Staff, Kevin Bassett, for alerting us to an issue in the bill that could have been problematic for the Republicans - we were able to address the concern with a technical, but meaningful amendment; 2) the office of Senator Alpert - truly outstanding staff, who flanked us last night, 3) Assemblywoman Wolk and her Legislative Assistant Debbie Michel for their tenacious and effective work last night on our behalf, 4) Graham Knaus, the Alameda County Lobbyist - the only other lobbyist helping us "work the Floor," and 5) the CLA Bond Task Force, headed up by CLA Legislative Chair, Anne Cain, who developed a successful grass roots, outreach strategy to have certain library directors target certain key Republican Assembly members.
It should be noted that as we go around to legislators' offices and inquire as to how many letters of support they are receiving on the bond bill, their response has been "not many." The Governor will need to receive hundreds of letters in the next few days in order to make the necessary impact. Please take a moment today and write:
The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor, State of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA. 95814
Attn: Pam Oto, Office of Governor Schwarzenegger