by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

So, this is rapidly breaking news here. As of right now, Assembly Members Price and Calderon abstained from voting on the yacht loophole fix. All other Dems voted yes, with Assembly Member Soto being out sick, we don't have the 41 votes necessary to fix the yacht loophole. What does it say if we can't get even this smallest of revenue fixes passed?

As an aside, apparently Sen. Denham is taking this recall effort seriously. He voted against some of the spending cuts. Interesting. I'll update when I learn more.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Key bills and issues we’ve been following during the past week and beyond

By Hannah Beth Jackson

With traveling solons returning home from various parts of the world next week, both Healthcare and Water Policy are two special session topics that are heating up. There are various views on both matters and some new Special Session legislation has been introduced this week.

And, in breaking news, the so-called "Dirty Tricks" initiative to change how California allocates its Electoral College votes appears to be dead, at least for now.

Governor "green" speaks at the United Nations, upstaging the absent President Bush (who held his "own" global warming conference to upstage the U.N.) and gets a chance to sign three major environmental bills. Let's see if he puts his pen where his mouth is.

Public Safety bills on the Governor's desk get support from the former Attorney General.

Special Session - Water Policy - three competing sets of proposals, and an Oct. 16th deadline.

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

Best news I've heard today. Here's the latest from the Los Angeles Times:

BREAKING NEWS: Electoral initiative backers give up

Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California's 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.

In an exclusive report to appear on this website late tonight and in Friday's print editions, The Times' Dan Morain reports that the proposal to change the winner-take-all electoral vote allocation to one by congressional district is virtually dead with the resignation of key supporters, internal disputes and a lack of funds.

The reality is hundreds of thousands of signatures must be gathered by the end of November to get the measure on the June 2008 ballot.

read more »

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The Los Angeles Times will be reporting tomorrow that the somewhat mysterious group that has been backing an initiative to change the Electoral College to split California's votes along Congressional District lines are giving up the ghost on their drive to place the measure on the ballot. This, according to the LA Times blog, Top of the Ticket.

The Times says that Democrats and others opposing this change, which would have handed over 20 electoral votes to the Republican candidate for President, more or less the equivalent of the size of Ohio's Electoral College vote, want to make sure that this monster is really dead.

Hat Tip to My DD, a national blog for spotting this just posted news from the L.A. Times.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has been quoted in the press saying that Nunez will propose a package of bills tomorrow to deal with rising gasoline prices in California. This will include new standards for when oil companies in California can shut down refineries for maintenance and a new board that would adopt and enforce refinery maintenance schedules.

Bloomberg News has the breaking news in an article that is somewhat sketchy about the details of the legislative package, but the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FCTR), which has been critical of the failure of the Governor and legislature in the past on this issue and has been focused on oil price market manipulation, issued a statement that the Speaker is on the right track.

Judy Dugan research director of FTCR and their blog, OilWatchDog.org, referenced the manipulation of the California electricity marketby Enron and others and put the current gasoline price spike in that historical context. She noted that as in the 2001 power crisis, it is restriction of gasoline supply that is raising prices—and refinery profits--to record levels.

She said:

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

Just received word that the FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Republican Congressman John Doolittle and now see that it has been picked up by Think Progress and Roll Call.

Not much in the way of details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.