Follow the leaders: a pox on both their houses
The leaders of both the state Senate and Assembly have stymied significant reforms this year.
KEVIN DE LEÓN Senate president pro tem
The issue: Two years ago, with three of its members under criminal indictment, the Senate voted 32-1 to ban campaign fundraising within 30 days of a budget approval and 30 days before the end of session.
What he did: Moved to lift that ban on one of the most lucrative — and unseemly — fundraising practices in Sacramento. His flimsy excuse? One of his senators was facing a primary challenge from a fellow Democrat from the Assembly who was not subjected to the fundraising restriction (because the Assembly did not adopt such a rule). Aftermath: The sleaze-fest was back on in Sacramento. Legislators again aligned their peak fundraising period to the moment when bills were in the balance, creating an unsettling aura of “pay to play,” and when they should be directing their attention to their lawmaking duties.
ANTHONY RENDON Assembly speaker
The issue: An initiative that would require legislation to be available for public inspection at least 72 hours before a vote. The goal was to prevent special interests from jamming through bills at the last minute, and to assure that our elected representatives have a chance to review what they vote on.
What he did: Legislators had a chance to amend and approve the measure and avoid a ballot fight, but they whiffed. Rendon offered all sorts of laughable excuses, such as suggesting a requirement that video of legislative proceedings be “accessible to the public” and “downloadable” was too ambiguous, and he questioned the plain-English definitions of a bill’s “final form” and “the vote.”
Aftermath: The Legislature’s failure means voters get the last word on these reforms in Prop. 54. Vote for it.