Los Angeles Times: New campaign donation disclosure rules rejected by the state Senate

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John Myers /> Aug. 30, 2016 – 7:28 p.m.

Reporting from Sacramento–

Lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly rejected an effort to create new disclosure rules for California political mailers and money gathered from several donors into a single contribution.

id="more-69900">Assembly Bill 700 failed by a single vote in the state Senate, needing a supermajority of 27 senators to pass.

The complex campaign finance bill became ensnared in a disagreement this month over whether it represented more or less donor disclosure. The state's Fair Political Practices Commission voted to oppose late amendments to AB 700 regarding the disclosure rules for “earmarked” contributions.

The bill sought to address instances in which a political contribution is cash collected from a series of donors who ask the identified donor to then “earmark” the money for a particular campaign.

Jodi Remke, the FPPC chairwoman, wrote in a letter last week that the changes to AB 700 would create a “loophole” for some organizations to bypass the contribution limits.

Supporter of the bill disagreed with the FPPC's interpretation, but the disagreement may have proved a distraction in the bill's final days.

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Los Angeles Times: New campaign donation disclosure rules rejected by the state Senate

style="text-align: center;"> href="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Rejected.jpg"> class="size-medium wp-image-69901 aligncenter" src="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Rejected-300x212.jpg" alt="Rejected" width="300" height="212" srcset="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Rejected-300x212.jpg 300w, http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Rejected.jpg 412w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

John Myers /> Aug. 30, 2016 – 7:28 p.m.

Reporting from Sacramento–

Lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly rejected an effort to create new disclosure rules for California political mailers and money gathered from several donors into a single contribution.

id="more-69900">Assembly Bill 700 failed by a single vote in the state Senate, needing a supermajority of 27 senators to pass.

The complex campaign finance bill became ensnared in a disagreement this month over whether it represented more or less donor disclosure. The state's Fair Political Practices Commission voted to oppose late amendments to AB 700 regarding the disclosure rules for “earmarked” contributions.

The bill sought to address instances in which a political contribution is cash collected from a series of donors who ask the identified donor to then “earmark” the money for a particular campaign.

Jodi Remke, the FPPC chairwoman, wrote in a letter last week that the changes to AB 700 would create a “loophole” for some organizations to bypass the contribution limits.

Supporter of the bill disagreed with the FPPC's interpretation, but the disagreement may have proved a distraction in the bill's final days.

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The San Francisco Chronicle: Almost 200 proposed laws await governor's OK - or not

style="text-align: center;"> href="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/California-Capitol.jpeg"> class=" wp-image-60925 aligncenter" src="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/California-Capitol.jpeg" alt="California Capitol" width="575" height="431" srcset="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/California-Capitol.jpeg 780w, http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/California-Capitol-300x225.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px" />

By Melody Gutierrez /> Published: August 28, 2016 /> Updated:   August 28, 2016 – 8:37pm

SACRAMENTO - The fate of hundreds of bills will be decided by Wednesday, when state lawmakers wrap up their two-year session.

id="more-69879">There are already nearly 200 bills on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, including legislation to eliminate the statute of limitation on rape prosecutions, limit the use of solitary confinement at juvenile detention facilities, and eliminate sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products.

Lawmakers will decide how many more bills will make it to the governor's desk among the more than 300 bills remaining to be heard in the Senate and Assembly this week. Among those is a bill aimed at increasing voter participation in elections by transforming how people vote.

SB450 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, would require county registrars to mail ballots to all voters, who could then return them by mail or drop them off at several locations in their county. Currently, voters can request mail ballots. The legislation also would give voters the option of casting votes in person on election day or in the 10 days leading up to it. The bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

“Our current broken system is simply failing us and is not leading to the type of representation and engagement and vibrancy we all hope for from a modern democracy such as ours,” Allen said.

While the fates of many bills have yet to be decided, Brown has already signed some of the session's biggest bills, including SB32 to extend the state's greenhouse gas reduction targets to 2030, and SB1279, which cuts off state funding to any port that ships coal into or out of California.

In July, Brown signed six gun control bills, which, among other things, will make it harder to buy ammunition in the state and make it illegal to own a magazine clip that holds more than 10 rounds. In April, Brown signed a bill that will raise the state's minimum wage to $15 over the course of six years.

“We have passed historic laws on climate change, gun safety and minimum wage, but we have unfinished business,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco.

Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto a bill that reaches his desk on Wednesday.

Here's a look at some of the other bills this session.

On the governor's desk:

•AB1995 Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Santa Barbara - Allows homeless students enrolled at a California Community Colleges campus to take showers at the school for their personal hygiene needs.

“I was once homeless while attending community college, so I personally know what it feels like to be desperate for a shower before attending classes,” Williams said.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Almost-200-proposed-laws-await-governor-s-OK-9189680.php?t=d0c0c54aa200af33be&cmpid=twitter-premium">here.

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The Press-Enterprise: Why 7 Inland cities think voters will OK tax increases this year

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Seven Inland cities are asking voters to approve tax measures; four would raise sales taxes.

By Alicia Robinson / Staff Writer /> Published: Aug. 19, 2016 /> Updated: Aug. 21, 2016 12:24 a.m.

Several Riverside County cities are hoping to cut through the election season noise and convince residents to support tax increases to pay for police, fire and other key services.

id="more-69817">Voters in seven Inland cities will see local tax increases on the Nov. 8 ballot, though two of the measures would tax marijuana and thus hinge on the success of a statewide pot legalization initiative.

Four cities – Hemet, Menifee, Riverside and Temecula – will ask voters to increase the local sales tax by 1 percentage point or 1 cent, from 8 percent to 9 percent. Two others, Moreno Valley and San Jacinto, propose raising hotel room taxes, and San Jacinto and San Bernardino have pot taxes on the ballot.

The local measures reflect a broader trend of putting tax issues to a vote in even-year general elections, said Michael Coleman, fiscal policy adviser to the League of California Cities. Statewide, about 240 local tax issues will appear on ballots this fall, he said. About half are school bonds.

The general election vote is attractive partly because of the larger turnout, Coleman said, but how local issues fare “depends a lot on the local politics.”

THE NEED

Officials in the four cities asking for sales tax increases say they're facing deficits, largely because of rising costs for police and fire service.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.pe.com/articles/tax-811150-city-sales.html">here.

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InlandPolitics: California Senate set to pass prosecutorial misconduct legislation

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Friday, August 19, 2016 – 08:45 a.m.

The California legislature is set to forward legislation targeting prosecutor misconduct to Governor Jerry Brown.

id="more-69799">Assembly Bill 1909, by Assembly Member Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando), partially propelled by high-profile allegations swirling around the Orange County District Attorney's Office, would bring criminal penalties to prosecutors.

The legislation has received bipartisan support and no recorded opposition.

In essence the legislation, if signed by Brown, would impose potential felonies on prosecutors who withhold, conceal or falsify evidence.

Here's key language the legislation would add to current law:

(c) A prosecuting attorney who intentionally and in bad faith alters, modifies, or withholds any physical matter, digital image, video recording, or relevant exculpatory material or information, knowing that it is relevant and material to the outcome of the case, with the specific intent that the physical matter, digital image, video recording, or relevant exculpatory material or information will be concealed or destroyed, or fraudulently represented as the original evidence upon a trial, proceeding, or inquiry, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years.

The bill is currently on the Senate Floor, where it is scheduled for third reading and passage.

Here's are links to recent coverage of the legislation:

The Orange County Register: style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-725339-prosecutors-orange.html">Prosecutors who falsify or withhold evidence could become felons under proposed state legislation /> Reason Magazine: style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/16/california-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-f">California Bill Would Make It a Felony for Prosecutors to Withhold Evidence

Other related material:

href="http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Assembly-Bill-1909-Amended.pdf">Assembly Bill 1909 – Amended

 

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The San Francisco Chronicle: The mystery behind California's high gas prices

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Taxes on gasoline in the Golden State tend to be among the country's highest.

By David R. Baker /> August 15, 2016 /> Updated: August 15, 2016 – 4:47pm

Gasoline is cheap in California compared to a year ago.

But it's nowhere near as cheap as it could be.

id="more-69754">Californians currently spend 49 cents more per gallon than the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For most of the last year, that difference exceeded 60 cents. Several times last summer, it topped $1.

California routinely has some of the highest pump prices in the United States, the result of high taxes and the use of a pollution-reducing gasoline formula not sold elsewhere. But the premium we pay historically hovered between 25 and 35 cents per gallon. Relatively new expenses related to California's fight against global warming have added about 15 cents to that premium, but it can't explain the elevated prices that have persisted for 18 months.

By one estimate, the unusually wide gap between California's gasoline prices and the national average has cost the state's drivers more than $10 billion.

A panel of fuel-market experts convened by the state government has tried for months to pinpoint causes for the high prices. It will meet again Tuesday.

But despite exploring a number of possible answers, including the role and pricing power of refineries, the panel's chairman says he and his colleagues may not be able to prove any of them. Doing so, he said, would likely require far greater legal authority than the panel has.

“We have no subpoena power, we have no investigative power - all we can do is ask people to come talk to us,” said UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein, chairman of the state's Petroleum Market Advisory Committee. “If someone is going to really dig in, it's going to take more power.”

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has a representative on the committee, and in June, her office reportedly issued subpoenas to several oil companies, seeking information on gasoline supplies and pricing. (A spokesman for the attorney general declined to comment.)

But her office has investigated California's gasoline market before and come away empty-handed. And Borenstein fears that most state officials are ignoring the problem.

“There seems to be almost no interest among policy makers, and the reason is that prices are low,” he said. “Given that we're talking about billions of dollars, I think it'd be a good idea for California to make a bigger effort to find out going on.”

The Western States Petroleum Association did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Even in the best of circumstances, Californians pay more for gasoline than most Americans.

Taxes on gasoline in the Golden State tend to be among the country's highest. Federal, state and local taxes and fees add more than 50 cents per gallon for California drivers, according to the American Petroleum Institute - 9 cents more than the national average.

The state's “cap and trade” system for reining in the greenhouse gases behind climate change tacks on another 11 cents. A regulation that requires oil companies to lower the “carbon intensity” of the fuels they sell in California adds an estimated 4 cents. The California Energy Commission includes both expenses and several others under “distribution and marketing” (see accompanying graphic).

But the state also suffers from having a market largely cut off from outside suppliers.

California uses its own gasoline blends, designed to fight air pollution. Other states use different blends, so most of California's fuel comes from refineries located within the state.

If mechanical problems hobble one or more of those refineries, bringing in extra supplies from outside the state can take weeks. No pipelines connect California to the refineries on the Gulf Coast, so any imports must come by ship, traveling either from Asia or through the Panama Canal.

In February 2015, part of a Los Angeles County refinery then-owned by ExxonMobil exploded, and did not return to normal operations until May of this year. Gasoline prices jumped after the explosion, eventually hitting $3.44 for a gallon of regular, according to GasBuddy.com. The national average, in contrast, was $2.46.

To read expanded article, click href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/The-mystery-behind-California-s-high-gas-prices-9144337.php?t=d111477cb07d4f3860&cmpid=twitter-premium">here.

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