The state elections have never been more critical for your careers than they are this year. Use this site to follow relevant legislation, volunteer to help our candidates, plan to attend scheduled political events and much more.

State Budget Update

• Aug. 30 (from The Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert)

  Both houses will vote Tuesday on competing budget plan. Neither proposal is expected to get the two-thirds vote necessary to pass. Here's what else to expect:

  -- The Republican budget will contain Gov. Schwarzenegger's May budget revision, with some tweaks. Republicans will drop the following ideas from the governor's budget: intersection cameras that nab speeding drivers; a property insurance surcharge; water-quality fee increases; and housing future low-level offenders in county jails rather than prisons. The GOP budget is expected to eliminate welfare-to-work and state-subsidized child care.

  -- The Democratic budget bill will contain spending authorizations that provide more money for schools and do not eliminate welfare-to-work. Democrats won't vote on trailer bills that contain tax hikes. Democrats also won't have to formally vote to suspend Proposition 98, the state's constitutional guarantee for K-12 and community college funding.

  -- Both houses plan to take up the budget proposals in the morning, leaving the afternoon, evening and late night for regular end-of-session business.

  -- Republicans will try to make the case that a vote for the Democratic budget is a vote for tax hikes on oil production, corporations and middle-class Californians. Democrats who are vulnerable can say they did not cast a formal vote for a tax hike.

  -- Democrats will try to make the case that the Republican budget costs the state jobs and billions in federal dollars, while hurting low-income Californians and students.

  -- Serious budget negotiations likely will resume later this week. Schwarzenegger will either have to call a ninth special session or ask lawmakers to act in a special session that remains open.

On the front burner

The Legislature has been quickly making its way through hundreds of bills on the Assembly and Senate floors. This week marks the last full week of session before the Aug. 31 bill deadline. 

Top bills we are following

• AB 1699 (Hernandez/D-57). Supported by ACSS, CSEA Retirees Inc., CSUEU and SEIU Local 1000 – Provides that state worker salaries would be paid in full if the Legislature fails to pass a budget on time, and would deem employees to have no break in service. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 1699 by 6-1 last month, and it is on third reading in the Senate.
• AB 1592 (Buchanan/D-15), an MOU bill, was chaptered on Aug. 23.
• SB 846 (Correa/D-34), a second MOU bill, was also chaptered on Aug. 23.

State Budget Update

• Aug. 30 (from The Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert)

  Both houses will vote Tuesday on competing budget plan. Neither proposal is expected to get the two-thirds vote necessary to pass. Here's what else to expect:

  -- The Republican budget will contain Gov. Schwarzenegger's May budget revision, with some tweaks. Republicans will drop the following ideas from the governor's budget: intersection cameras that nab speeding drivers; a property insurance surcharge; water-quality fee increases; and housing future low-level offenders in county jails rather than prisons. The GOP budget is expected to eliminate welfare-to-work and state-subsidized child care.

  -- The Democratic budget bill will contain spending authorizations that provide more money for schools and do not eliminate welfare-to-work. Democrats won't vote on trailer bills that contain tax hikes. Democrats also won't have to formally vote to suspend Proposition 98, the state's constitutional guarantee for K-12 and community college funding.

  -- Both houses plan to take up the budget proposals in the morning, leaving the afternoon, evening and late night for regular end-of-session business.

  -- Republicans will try to make the case that a vote for the Democratic budget is a vote for tax hikes on oil production, corporations and middle-class Californians. Democrats who are vulnerable can say they did not cast a formal vote for a tax hike.

  -- Democrats will try to make the case that the Republican budget costs the state jobs and billions in federal dollars, while hurting low-income Californians and students.

  -- Serious budget negotiations likely will resume later this week. Schwarzenegger will either have to call a ninth special session or ask lawmakers to act in a special session that remains open.

On the front burner

The Legislature has been quickly making its way through hundreds of bills on the Assembly and Senate floors. This week marks the last full week of session before the Aug. 31 bill deadline. 

Top bills we are following

• AB 1699 (Hernandez/D-57). Supported by ACSS, CSEA Retirees Inc., CSUEU and SEIU Local 1000 – Provides that state worker salaries would be paid in full if the Legislature fails to pass a budget on time, and would deem employees to have no break in service. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 1699 by 6-1 last month, and it is on third reading in the Senate.
• AB 1592 (Buchanan/D-15), an MOU bill, was chaptered on Aug. 23.
• SB 846 (Correa/D-34), a second MOU bill, was also chaptered on Aug. 23.