Capitol Update

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Budget: The State Budget continues to be the top issue at the Capitol. The State Constitution declares that the Legislature shall pass the budget by June 15, a deadline only rarely met. It is unlikely that this deadline will be met this year.

Governor Brown’s plan hinges on Republicans and voters agreeing to temporarily extend increases to the personal income, sales and vehicles taxes that were enacted two years ago. The hikes are set to expire by June 30 unless the Legislature renews them. Extensions of these taxes would close the remaining $9.6 billion deficit.

While the governor pushes for tax extensions, Senator Steinberg, Pro-Tem of the Senate, has a proposal to allow cities, counties and school districts to raise the income tax, vehicle license fee and use taxes on residents living within their jurisdiction through a public vote. The use taxes could include a variety of goods and services, such as alcohol, tobacco, oil, sweetened beverages and medical marijuana. Senator Steinberg said he would pull the proposal if Democrats and Republicans come to an agreement on the tax extensions.

Legislative Deadlines: May and June are busy months in the Legislature as both the Assembly and Senate have to meet legislative deadlines to pass bills out of policy and fiscal committees and out of their houses.

The Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committee met their May 27 fiscal deadline and passed hundreds of bills to their respective floors. The Assembly Appropriations Committee announced that it placed over 350 bills on the "Suspense File," which totaled over $1.5 billion in state costs (bills that cost the state over $150,000 are placed on the Appropriations "Suspense File.") Approximately 60% of those measures on the Suspense File were significantly amended to bring their costs down and were passed out of the Appropriations Committee, with a price tag of over $60 million in state costs. Several bills that CLFP opposes and support were held on Suspense and will not move.

The Senate and Assembly "House of Origin" deadline to pass all bills off their respective floors and to the other house was last Friday, June 3. Several of the bills that were are supported and opposed by CLFP moved to their second house, including:

AB 246 (Weickowski) -- Promotes inconsistent enforcement of water quality regulations, hindering business’ compliance. Allows city or county attorneys to file cases that are handled by a single unit in the AG’s Office. CLFP OPPOSES.

AB 723 (Bradford) -- Inappropriately raises energy rates by extending the public goods charge (PGC) to fund programs for energy efficiency programs, renewable energy, low-income assistance and energy research and development. CLFP OPPOSES.

AB 837 (Nestande) -- Unfairly establishes a system of patchwork enforcement by allowing any city, county or the state to impose civil liability for a violation of a recycled content advertising claim, imposing a competitive disadvantage upon California businesses and creating a disincentive for using recycled materials. CLFP OPPOSES.

AB 1319 (Butler) – Prejudges the work product of the forthcoming, science-driven Green Chemistry program by banning the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in specified consumer products. CLFP OPPOSES.

SB 178 (Simitian) -- Amplifies the Green Ribbon Science Panel’s role in the development of Green Chemistry regulations at the Department of Toxic Substances Control without a correlating increase in process transparency and public oversight. CLFP OPPOSES.

SB 535 (de Leon) -- Increases costs and discourages job growth by implementing unlimited fees and taxes under a cap-and-trade system. CLFP OPPOSES.

SB 829 (DeSaulnier) -- Undermines employer rights in California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) citations by allowing private parties to interfere with the appeals process which could impose significant costs on employers, the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board and on Cal/OSHA. CLFP OPPOSES.

SB 900 (Steinberg) -- Allows more flexibility in an applicant’s background when being considered for an appointment to a regional water board. CLFP SUPPORTS.

To see the bills CLFP is tracking, please refer to our bill list posted soon on the CLFP website at www.clfp.com.

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