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State Capitol Update
Legislature Briefly Returns to Capitol to Tackle Unfinished Business
You will recall that the California State Legislature officially adjourned the 2009 session on Friday, September 11, and should have begun a 4 month long Fall/Winter recess. Instead, some policy matters were left undone in the final days of session, which required the legislature to return to the Capitol in recent weeks to dispense with several pieces of legislation, and to continue their work in the "Special Sessions" on Water, federal funding for education, and the overhaul of the state's tax system.
In our October 15 memo to CLA members, we reported that the State Senate recently returned to the Capitol, to address twenty important measures, including SB 67, by the Committee on Budget, a bill that fell victim to a stalemate between Senate Republicans and Democrats in the final days of session. SB 67 contained several technical "clean up" changes in order to implement the Proposition 1A Securitization program that more than 1100 cities, counties, and special districts have already enrolled in. In the final days of the session in September, Senate Republicans had refused to grant the necessary two-thirds vote for these 20 "urgency" measures, until agreement could be reached on issues important to their caucus, such as extension of the New Construction Home purchase tax credit. Fortunately, with these disagreements resolved, the Senate was able to conclude their work on the 20 bills during a one-day session.
On Monday, October 26, the Assembly reconvened for two purposes: the first was to address approximately 10 pieces of legislation that were coming back to their house from the Senate for a vote of "concurrence," and second, to continue hearings on the complicated water legislation. It should be noted that the Assembly did not need to address SB 67 during their session, as they had already passed the bill in September before the legislature officially adjourned. However, the Assembly did need to take up bills such as technical clean-up measures pertaining to the student aid program and K-12 education.
Also on Monday, as part of the "Special Session" on water, the Assembly and Senate Committees held a joint hearing and took testimony on a major water bill by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, that could potentially address issues affecting the Delta, water storage, and water conservation. Senator Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass are requesting that several public hearings be held this week and next week on the water legislation, to allow as many affected parties to participate in the process as possible. It is conceivable that the legislature may attempt to vote on a water package next week, if agreements are ultimately reached in this politically-charged battle.
Submitted to California Libraries by:
Mike Dillon & Christina DiCaro
CLA Lobbyists
Posted on October 27, 2009 11:09 AM | Permalink