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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (5350)	8/19/2003 2:16:42 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793921

Will the last Business in San Francisco that closes please turn out the lights? It is still the Labor Union HQ of the West Coast. Here is the headline, and a key paragraph. Exits, Not Entrees, on the Menu A record number of restaurants are closing in San Francisco, a mecca for fine dining. Others are changing dramatically to survive. ......And this fall, San Franciscans will decide on a proposition to raise the city's minimum wage by $1.75 to $8.50 an hour, a figure that will not include tips received by those who wait on restaurant tables. Owners say the new wage will push many more eateries to the brink of insolvency...... latimes.com

To: Sully- who wrote (5350)	8/19/2003 2:15:58 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793921

What a disaster this California Legislature is! Business of lawmaking gets even crazier With 4 weeks of legislating left, some fear recall casting shadow over process Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Tuesday, August 19, 2003 ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle \| Feedback URL: sfgate.com [Click to View] The end of a legislative session -- which resumed Monday after a brief summer recess -- is always chaotic and undisciplined, but this year is shaping up to be even crazier as the recall for Gov. Gray Davis kicks into high gear. With four weeks left before lawmakers leave town for the year, major issues including workers' compensation reform and universal health insurance still have to be hammered out. If Monday was any indication, it's going to be a bumpy road. In less than two hours, Assembly leaders persuaded three committees to approve what will be the nation's most sweeping financial privacy legislation. Across the hall, the Senate Appropriations Committee slogged through more than 150 bills in a meeting that lasted seven hours. Legislative leaders from both parties said the recall will not affect their work, but others believe it will cast a long shadow over the process. "The best thing we could do would be to recess until after the recall," said Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge. "I think the recall is going to be overhanging everything we do." Some of the key issues still to be resolved include: -- Workers' compensation -- Both parties say they want to see reform, but it is Republicans who have said they do not know whether anything meaningful will come out of a six-member conference committee that has yet to formally meet. -- Universal health care -- Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, has said this is one of his top priorities, and he may link it to workers' compensation reform. His bill would make it mandatory for employers in California to provide health insurance coverage for their workers. -- Driver's licenses -- Davis has said he will sign a bill that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. He vetoed a similar bill last year. -- Sacred sites -- Another bill Davis vetoed last year but has given his blessing this time around. This bill, also by Burton, would give Indian tribes greater say over the development of land that they consider sacred, both on and off reservations. The governor's indication that he will sign bills before they have even worked their way through the Legislature is a radical change from previous years. "It will feed the frenzy of lawmakers wanting to push their legislation out quickly, because the view will be that the politically expedient thing to do in a number of cases is for the governor to sign the bill," said Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, D-Pittsburg. Davis has also said he will sign a bill by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D- Los Angeles, which gives thousands of same-sex couples many of the same rights as married couples -- including community property, child support and access to divorce court. That bill was amended Monday to take out provisions that would have allowed domestic partners to file joint tax returns. But Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said action needs to be taken on these issues "recall or no recall." Steinberg said he is still working out the details of a bill that would reverse the recent increase in the car tax and replace it with other revenues, such as higher income taxes on the wealthy and increased tobacco taxes. Steinberg said the move has nothing to do with the recall, despite the fact that it is the most unpopular tax in the state. Davis has said he is open to the idea of replacing the tax. Canciamilla called the plan "a terrible idea" and Richman said he would be very worried about any serious legislation that comes out in the next month. "You'll see, even more than usual, bills that are not ready pushed out, just because of the recall," said Canciamilla, who also said some Democrats are worried there won't be a governor of their party after Oct. 7. But conversations around the Capitol begin and end with the recall, many said. Fred Main, a senior vice president for the California Chamber of Commerce, said the interest is only natural. "These are people whose lives are built around policy and politics," he said. "Everything is run through a politics and policy prism, and this is a new facet." Assembly Minority Leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks agreed, saying the environment is ripe for speculation. "If you don't have a rumor going in this building, you need to start one," he said. sfgate.com