Public Affairs / Politics     

Budget Debate Done, Spending Plan Nowhere in Sight
"What we are doing is not real," said Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield). "This budget will not pass." Ashburn's comment pretty much summed up the action that consumed the Assembly and Senate all morning in the final day of the legislative session Tuesday. Los Angeles Times

U.S. Sen Barbara Boxer Warming Up for "Smackdown at St. Mary's" Debate With Carly Fiorina
With just a few hours to go until the "Smackdown at St. Mary's" -- the first televised U.S. Senate debate -- incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer began throwing punches Tuesday at GOP candidate Carly Fiorina during a visit to the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board. Boxer, the three term U.S. Senator, ripped the former Hewlett Packard CEO for her record at the tech company, for her opposition to Obama's Economic Recovery Act -- and for suggesting the need for term limits for U.S. Senators and members of Congress. San Francisco Chronicle 

FPPC Chief Urges Overhaul of Political Reform Act
More than three decades after it went into effect, California’s campaign finance law needs to be updated and reworked, the state’s political watchdog told a newly convened advisory panel. The Political Reform Act of 1974, spawned by the Nixon-era Watergate scandals, “is need of an overhaul,” said Dan Schnur, the chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission. “Our goal is to simplify and renew the Act.” Capitol Weekly

Human Resources / Health & Safety 

California's Safety-Net Health Insurance Premiums Rise
State regulators have quietly given insurers permission to raise maximum premiums for most of the 20,000 who depend on the coverage of last resort. Some are paying an extra $7,500 this year. Los Angeles Times

Minnesota Balks at Health-Law Funds
Minnesota's Republican governor on Tuesday blocked the state from tapping certain federal funds under the new health-care law, a declaration with political overtones for a possible presidential candidate. The executive order by Gov. Tim Pawlenty made Minnesota the first state to formally restrict itself from taking some federal dollars under the law. The Wall Street Journal

Bill Bans Use of Credit Reports in Hiring Decisions
Employers would be prohibited from using credit reports to decide whom to hire under legislation winning final approval Tuesday. The Assembly sent Assembly Bill 482 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 42-25 vote after a sharp debate in which backers, including its author, Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, said it was a matter of fairness and Republican critics said it would damage the state's business climate. The Sacramento Bee CaptiolAlert

Economy

Assembly Rejects Foreclosure Bill
A bill that would have created new rules for the foreclosure process failed in the Assembly on Monday for the second time in less than a week and is dead. The final vote was 30-36, with 12 members not voting. Last Tuesday, the vote was 27-38, with 13 members not voting. The Press-Enterprise

California Highest in Federal Spending, Low in Per Capita Outlays
The federal government spends more money in California than any other state, thanks to its having nearly 12 percent of the nation's population, but California's per capita federal spending is one of the nation's lowest, according to an exhaustive new Census Bureau report. The report, covering federal spending for the 2009 fiscal year, says that Californians received $346 billion in federal funds during the year from dozens of specific programs, including Social Security, 10.7 percent of the $3.2 trillion in federal outlays. The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert 

Schwarzenegger to Top California Officials: Stop Hiring
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a message to top officials in his administration: Stop hiring. Schwarzenegger did not order an official hiring freeze. But he wanted "to reiterate that we should not be hiring unless absolutely necessary," said the governor's spokesman, Aaron McLear. The Sacramento Bee 

Environment/Agriculture    

ARB Concedes Error in Off-Road Truck Rule, Plans to Revise Regulation
The California Air Resources Board acknowledged something Tuesday that critics have been saying for months: the state vastly over-estimated the amount of diesel pollution emitted by big off-road construction vehicles. The error, contained in an ARB computer model and compounded by a recession that idled far more trucks than expected, means that the construction industry would come close to meeting state-mandated targets for reducing pollution through 2025 even if regulations designed to force firms to retire or retrofit their dirtiest trucks are repealed. HealthyCal.org

Oil Rigs Could be Converted Into Reefs for Fish
Offshore oil drilling rigs due to be retired may be converted into artificial reefs for fish and other marine life under legislation winning unanimous Assembly approval today. The Assembly sent Assembly Bill 2503 by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 54-0 vote after Pérez took amendments that eliminated the initial opposition to his late-blooming measure. The Sacramento Bee CaptiolAlert

$600K Will Help Revive San Diego Wetland Habitat
New state funding will help restore receded wetlands in south San Diego Bay, an ambitious effort to help fish and wildlife displaced by farming and development. Conservationists want to return the barren area to what it once was: a coastal habitat for native wildlife. The San Diego Union-Tribune

International

Mixed Ruling on Chinese Aluminum
The Commerce Department on Tuesday found that the Chinese government unfairly subsidized $514 million of aluminum exports to the U.S. last year.  But the U.S. said it wouldn't investigate allegations that China's currency policies function as export subsidies for Chinese manufacturers of aluminum and coated paper. The Wall Street Journal

Data Show China Growth Merely Moderating
A bevy of manufacturing indexes from around the world on Wednesday underlined the uneven and shaky nature of the global recovery, with activity picking up a notch in the economic powerhouse of China, but cooling in the eurozone and several other Asian countries. The mixed picture reflected the uncertainties haunting the global economy. U.S. unemployment and household debt remain high and the country’s property market is still fragile. The New York Times

Cambodia Boasts Plans for Asia's Tallest Building
Impoverished Cambodia plans to build a 1,820-foot (555-meter) skyscraper, its prime minister said Wednesday, a feat that would give one of the region's least-developed capitals the tallest building in Asia.  Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had approved a master plan for the skyscraper, which would be located about half a mile (one kilometer) from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh - a dusty city of colonial villas, slums and one standout skyscraper, the recently completed Canadia Tower that is about 377 feet (115 meters) high. Associated Press in The San Diego Union-Tribune

The CalChamber is urging the business community to contact California Congressional Representatives before the September 10 close of the Congressional Summer District Work Period and urge support of the US-Korea FTA. For further information, visit www.calchamber.com/korea.

Infrastructure / Education 

Steinberg's Teacher Layoff Bill Buried in Assembly
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and civil rights groups lost big Tuesday when an Assembly committee rejected his legislation that would have changed how teachers are laid off. Steinberg's loss in the Assembly Appropriations Committee was a win for teacher unions and other education interests, including the giant Los Angeles Unified School District, which had opposed his bill that would require layoffs not to disproportionately affect low-performing schools. The Sacramento Bee CaptiolAlert

Bill to Roll Back Cutoff Date for Entering Kindergarten Wins OK
Heavily debated legislation that would gradually roll back the cutoff date for children to be old enough to enter kindergarten won Assembly approval Tuesday and appeared headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. Senate Bill 1381 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, still needed a final vote in the Senate on the last night of the 2009-10 legislative session. The Senate approved an earlier version of the bill in June. Tuesday's Assembly vote was 41-13. The Sacramento Bee CaptiolAlert

Hanging by a Thread the Dream Act
A few hours after the end of today the 2009-2010 legislative cycle, hundreds of bills, including several that could help the Hispanic community, have been approved by lawmakers and sent to the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who has until September 30 into law or veto them. Only 1.495 Senate bills introduced, 833 in 2009 and 662 this year. La Opinion 

Opinion / Editorial 

Legislature’s Low Marks Highly Deserved
On Tuesday in Sacramento  – 61 days into fiscal 2011-12 – state lawmakers took their first meaningful votes on the 2011-12 budget. And the votes weren’t really all that meaningful. In what Sacramento insiders call “drills,” Democratic and Republican versions of the state budget were considered and rejected on mostly party-line votes. Yes, an argument can be made that at least these are first steps toward an actual budget. The San Diego Union-Tribune

Hot Air on Budget Ends California's Legislative Year
Both legislative houses voted Tuesday on competing versions of the long-stalemated state budget after hours of flowery debate. The net result was zero, as everyone knew in advance that neither could muster the required votes. The purely political drill could and should have been staged three months ago, but for reasons that defy logic, the Legislature's dominant Democrats chose to do it on the final day of the 2009-10 legislative session. Dan Walters in The Sacramento Bee

Dear Patients: Vote to Repeal ObamaCare
Facing a nationwide backlash, Democratic congressional candidates have a new message for voters: We know you don't like ObamaCare, so we'll fix it. For Democrats who voted for ObamaCare, this tactic is an escape route, a chance to distance themselves from the president with a vague promise to fix health-care reform in the next Congress. The Wall Street Journal

Make a difference on proposed laws. Visit www.calchambervotes.com.