Our favorite on-the-scene Sacramento reporter Frank Russo has the first installment of what will be a wild couple weeks in the California Legislature.  The session is scheduled to end September 14, and over 700 bills are likely to be voted on between now and then, to get to the Governor’s desk for signature.  The first batch of bills have been passed out of their respective chamber; in fact, 83 bills passed in the Senate just yesterday.  Frank highlights several that came out of the Senate and the Assembly; here are a few (on the flip).

AB 1108 (Ma) Toxic Toys- This bill prohibits the use of phthalates in toys and childcare products designed for babies and children under three years of age… It now goes back to the Assembly for concurrence in the Senate Amendments.

AB 122 (Solorio) Voter intimidation- Requires elections officials to provide a copy of the provisions of law prohibiting voter intimidation and voter fraud, and the penalties to every candidate. Senator Calderon used the example of a recent Orange County election where several thousand Latinos were sent a letter warning them not to vote. It passed on a 23 to 12 vote with the support of two Republicans, Senators Maldonado and McClintock and all the opposition was from Republicans. There was no known opposition to the bill. It now goes to the Governor.

AB 976 (Calderon) Prohibits a city or county from enacting an ordinance that compels a landlord to inquire, compile, report, or disclose any information about the citizenship or immigration status of a tenant. It passed on a straight party line 22 to 12 vote.

AB 1539 Krekorian- Compassionate release for medically incapacitated inmates with terminal illnesses. This bill provides that a court shall have the discretion to resentence or recall a prisoner’s sentence when the prisoner is permanently medically incapacitated if the conditions under which the prisoner would be released do not pose a threat to public safety. It passed on a 22-16 party line vote with Democratic Senator Lou Correa the sole member of his party voting against it. It needs to go back to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments.

AB 435 (Brownley) Wage Discrimination- Requires that all employers maintain their records of wages, wage rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment for five years, and extends the statute of limitations for a civil action to collect back wages to four years, or, in the case of willful misconduct, to five years. It passed on a straight party line vote of 21 to 15 with Democratic votes. It now goes back to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments.

AB 1429 (Evans) Requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies that provide coverage for cervical cancer treatment or surgery to also provide coverage for a Human Papilloma virus vaccine. It passed 26 to12 with a couple of Republican votes and all the opposition was from Republicans. It needs Assembly agreement on amendments.

AB 548 (Levine) Would require managers of multi-family dwellings to provide recycling services for their buildings. This is significant because it provides a residential recycling opportunity for more than 7.1 million Californians residing in more than 2.4 million multifamily dwelling units. It passed on a largely partisan vote of 47 to 25 and goes to the Governor.

SB 490 (Alquist) Would ban foods with transfat from being sold to kindergarten-high school students on school campuses. It passed on a largely partisan 50 to 26 vote with Republicans complaining that it trampled on local school boards’ discretion and Democrats saying the state sets the rules for schools.

Some thoughts:

• I’m glad something came out of that disgusting attempt in Orange County to intimidate Hispanic voters.  Good for Asm. Solorio.

• The Krekorian bill for compassionate release is simple common sense in a time of prison crisis.  Apparently the Big Kahuna of prison reform, Sen. Gloria Romero’s bill to create an independent sentencing commission, is being negotiated with the Governor’s office so that he’ll sign it.  We’ll see what transpires.

• AB 435 is a local version of the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act.  The Supreme Court ruled that a woman could not sue for wage discrimination because the statute of limitations had run out even though she didn’t know the extent of the wage discrimination until it was too late.

• The HPV vaccination bill should give the theocrats a jolt.  They’ve argued for some time that you can’t vaccinate and save kid’s lives because it might make them a little more promiscuous.  Showing their true priorities.

We’ll try to keep up with the major bills coming through the Legislature until the end of the session.