PolitiCal

U.S. attorney lobbies against limits on wildfire liability

2012-05-25T14:29:50-07:00

Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. attorney in Sacramento, has launched an unusual and intense lobbying effort to stop Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to limit legal liability for wildfires.

In a letter sent Friday to state Senate and Assembly leaders, Wagner said the proposal would undermine a high-stakes federal lawsuit against Sierra Pacific Industries, California's largest timber company. The civil trial, which involves alleged negligence causing the 2007 Moonlight fire, is scheduled to start on July 2 and could leave the company on the hook for $600 million.

Wagner wrote that his "deep concerns" are shared by the other three U.S. attorneys in California. He called the proposal an attempt to "tilt the legal playing field in the final days before the trial," and he urged lawmakers to "reject this unseemly effort to protect the alleged wrongdoer in a major federal case."

Brown's plan would limit the amount of money government agencies can recoup for battling wildfires and restoring damaged public lands, preventing them from seeking what the proposal calls "excessive damages." The timber industry, which owns large swaths of territory in California and donated to Brown's campaigns, says the federal government has sought several times more than the true cost of repairing the damage.

Wagner said in an interview that the federal government is seeking as much money as possible because recovering from wildfires is a long and expensive process.

"This is not about sending a check to the Treasury," he said. "The money that is recovered in these cases goes right back into the national forests."

Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said it's rare for federal prosecutors to delve into the legislative process in Sacramento.

"Usually U.S. attorneys only interact with state politics when they're indicting somebody," Pitney said.

Wagner said he's not interested in shaping public policy, but is concerned that Sierra Pacific was working outside the courtroom to affect the outcome of the federal government's case.

"It appears to us that they're trying to get the Legislature to suddenly change the rules," he said.

Sierra Pacific did not immediately return a request for comment. Nor did representatives for Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles), but an aide to Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said he plans to meet with Wagner to discuss the issue.

"The pro tem does not wish to affect any ongoing investigation or prosecution by the U.S. attorney," said Steinberg's spokeswoman, Alicia Trost.

ALSO:

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget plan

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

California's legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher

-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento
twitter.com/chrismegerian

Senate OKs bill protecting workers' social network information

2012-05-25T10:27:59-07:00

California employers would be prohibited from asking job applicants and workers for passwords to their Facebook, Myspace and other social network accounts under a privacy bill approved by the state Senate on Friday.

Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) said he introduced SB 1349 out of concern that employers are able to access personal information of their employees, including their religion, political views and sexual preferences, on social media sites.

"We don’t want employers to go on a fishing expedition," Yee said. "Within a social media account there is a lot of personal information."

The measure passed on a 28-5 vote, with some Republicans worrying that it could prevent employers from conducting legitimate investigations of allegations, such as harassment through social media sites.

"Sometimes you can prevent an escalation of harassment by intervening early," said Sen. Ted Gaines (R-Roseville). The bill next goes to the Assembly for consideration.

ALSO:

U.S. attorney blasts wildfire proposal

Gov. Jerry Brown unveils revised budget

California Senate approves buffer for cars passing cyclists

-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

California Senate OKs buffer for cars passing cyclists

2012-05-25T10:08:15-07:00

California motorists would have to provide three feet of space between their vehicles and bicycles they pass on the road under legislation approved Friday by the state Senate.

Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) said his measure is needed because the current law, requiring only that motorists pass at a "safe distance," has not adequately protected bicyclists. "This definition is vague and leaves everyone vulnerable," Lowenthal told his colleagues. "It’s time that California protect both its bicyclists and its motorists."

Collisions in which cars pass from behind are responsible for about 40% of bicycle deaths involving motor vehicles, he said. Twenty other states have a rule of at least three feet.

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year because of concern that it also required motorists to slow to 15 mph, which law enforcement felt could cause safety and traffic problems. The new bill tries to address the governor’s concern by requiring motorists to slow to a reasonable speed.

SB 1464 would allow motorists to cross a solid yellow line between traffic if it is safe to do so and necessary to give bicyclists a three-foot buffer. Drivers who pass too close would face an infraction with a $35 fine. The cost would be $233 after all court fees and surcharges are added in.

The fine would be $220 ($959 with court fees) if a collision results in bodily injury to the cyclist. The measure passed 27-6, with some Republicans in opposition, and next goes to the Assembly for consideration.

ALSO:

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget

U.S. Attorney blasts wildfire proposal

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

--Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo: A bicyclist rides alongside cars in downtown L.A. last year the day after a 63-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed by a car on a downtown street. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

U.S. attorney blasts wildfire proposal

2012-05-24T16:00:22-07:00

Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget proposal includes a provision that would limit legal liability for causing wildfires, a clause that the U.S. attorney in Sacramento on Thursday blasted as a “fairly cynical attempt” to benefit the powerful timber industry.

The proposal comes as the federal government is suing Sierra Pacific Industries, the state’s largest timber company, for allegedly contributing to the 2007 Moonlight fire, which scorched 65,000 acres in Plumas and Lassen counties. The civil trial is scheduled to start on July 2.

“This proposed legislation appears to be a fairly cynical attempt by Sierra Pacific Industries to undermine the federal government’s position in our pending lawsuit against that company,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner in a statement. “I hope that members of the Legislature see this measure for what it is: not a solid policy proposal but an attempt by one party to a lawsuit to tilt the playing field in its favor after three years of litigation in federal court.”

Brown's proposal covers some of the same ground as a bill introduced by Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills) earlier this year. That bill, which would also limit legal liability for wildfires, is supported by the influential insurance industry, which has given $225,000 to Brown’s proposed November ballot measure that would raise state taxes.

The timber industry has also reached into its pockets to support Brown’s tax campaign. Sierra Pacific has donated $10,000, and the California Forestry Assn. and Green Diamond Resource Company have pitched in another $15,000.

The Brown administration and Sierra Pacific did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lea-Ann Tratton, spokeswoman for the Consumer Attorneys of California, which opposes limits to legal liability, said there are ongoing negotiations in hopes any deal does not affect pending lawsuits.

The Moonlight fire started on land owned by Sierra Pacific, according to the federal government’s lawsuit, which called it an “incident of the kind that ordinarily does not occur in the absence of someone’s negligence.”

The federal government is seeking nearly $200 million to pay for stopping the fire and rehabilitating the land, as well as other costs. The largest wildfire settlement ever reached by the federal government was $102 million, which was paid by Union Pacific Railroad for the 2000 Storrie fire north of Sacramento.

ALSO:

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget plan

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

California's legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher

-- Chris Megerian and Anthony York in Sacramento

twitter.com/chrismegerian and twitter.com/anthonyyorkLAT

Photo: A wildfire in Southern California last year. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Twitter feud erupts between Jerry Brown press shop, columnist

2012-05-24T15:56:56-07:00

A Twitter feud between Gov. Jerry Brown’s press secretary and writers from the Sacramento and Fresno Bee has found its way into the newspaper’s pages.

Thursday’s paper included an item on the tweeting exploits of Brown press secretary Gil Duran, including his sending a picture of a crying baby to the author of a critical tweet and a personal tete-a-tete with Bee columnist Dan Walters.

Walters started by riffing on a Brown remark that California was “not some tired country of Europe,” tweeting to his 1,540 followers that “California may be a tired American state.”

That earned a sharp response from Duran: “No, it’s just you that’s tired, Dan. Just you.”

This dust-up followed a back-and-forth between the columnist and the Brown press shop earlier in the week that covered topics ranging from hairstyles to Winston Churchill.

Duran has since dismissed the exchange as “a little joshing” between reporter and flack, but has maintained his fast tweeting pace.

“If you can’t stand the tweet,” he wrote, “stay out of the kitchen.”

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget plan

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

-- Anthony York in Sacramento

Photo: A screenshot showing an exchange of tweets between the accounts for Gil Duran and Dan Walters. Credit: Twitter.com

After data breach, new rules for sending sensitive information

2012-05-23T15:24:11-07:00

A data breach that jeopardized personal information for more than 700,000 people has spurred California officials to change how they transport sensitive information.

Packages of payroll data, including Social Security numbers, will be delivered by courier rather than dropped in the mail. And officials are examining ways to transmit encrypted data, rather than storing it on microfiche.

The changes were confirmed by Oscar Ramirez, a spokesman for the California Department of Social Services.

“We’re looking to improve the process," he said.

The overhaul stems from a breach that occurred earlier this month while transporting information on more than 700,000 people who provide or receive home care for the elderly and disabled.

A package shipped by Hewlett-Packard, which handles payroll data for workers in California's In-Home Supportive Services program, arrived damaged and incomplete at a state office in Riverside.

The breach upset unions who represent home care workers.

"We are dismayed by the revelation that confidential IHSS payroll information is being stored on non-encrypted microfiche tape," said a statement from Doug Moore, head of the UDW Homecare Providers Union. "It is shocking that a large state like California would use such antiquated procedures to maintain confidential personal information -- especially in this time of increasing identity theft."

An investigation into the breach is ongoing, Ramirez said.

ALSO:

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget plan

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

California's legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher

— Chris Megerian in Sacramento

twitter.com/@chrismegerian

we are dismayed by the revelation that confidential IHSS payroll information is being stored on non-encrypted microfiche tape. It is shocking that a large state like California would use such antiquated procedures to maintain confidential personal information--especially in this time of increasing identity theft.

Report: Ending corporate tax breaks would help trim budget deficit

2012-05-23T14:33:03-07:00

As lawmakers begin to haggle over the state budget, the California Tax Reform Assn. said Wednesday that they need to eliminate $6 billion in tax breaks for large corporations.

The association's report said taxing oil production, altering property tax assessments on corporate buildings and other changes would help the state close an estimated $15.7-billion budget gap.

Republicans have blocked efforts to raise taxes, which Democrats say has exacerbated the state’s budget crisis.

“There is overwhelming public support for closing loopholes before cutting vital programs,” Lenny Goldberg, the association’s director, said in a statement. “Hopefully the Republicans will listen to the will of the majority of Californians and end these abuses in the tax system before harming schools and services.”

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., said higher taxes could spur companies to leave the state. He also noted that there are tax breaks for all kinds of activity, including home ownership.

“Whether or not something is a loophole is in the eye of the beholder," he said.

But the California Labor Federation said businesses and the wealthy are benefiting while the state cuts government services.

“Taxpayers deserve to know whether these giveaways are producing any positive benefit to our state. If they’re not, they should be immediately abolished and those funds should go to services all Californians value," executive secretary-treasurer Art Pulaski said in a statement.

RELATED:

Jerry Brown unveils revised budget plan

No pay raise if deficit remains, elected officials warned

California's legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher

— Chris Megerian in Sacramento

twitter.com/@chrismegerian

California voters support reduced drug possession penalties, survey says

2012-05-23T06:05:00-07:00

Backers of a measure that would reduce possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine from a felony to a misdemeanor released a survey Wednesday that indicated up to 70% of likely voters statewide support the change.

The survey, conducted by California Tulchin Research, found respondents were more concerned with the state budget deficit than crime, and that a majority say they believe that state jails and prisons are overcrowded and that a new solution is necessary.

The report said that 87% of Californians surveyed support allowing drug offenders to avoid jail time if they complete a drug treatment program.

The telephone survey of 800 Californians was conducted in the first week of this month and was paid for by a coalition of groups supporting SB 1506, including the American Civil Liberties Union of California and the Drug Policy Alliance. The bill was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).

"Voters across the state, both Republicans and Democrats, recognize that long prison sentences are doing little to deter or limit drug abuse in our communities,'' Leno said.

Those surveyed were asked if they would oppose or support the proposal to "reduce the punishment for possessing a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use from a felony to a misdemeanor. Forty-three percent said they have "strong support'' for the change, and 27% said they "somewhat support'' it.

The survey also found that 60% of respondents said they think that the state is headed in the wrong direction, while 27% said they think that California is headed in the right direction.

ALSO:

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

Assemblyman Hernandez pleads not guilty to drunk driving

Governor, legislators could face pay cut like other state workers

-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

California continues courtroom push to cut costs

2012-05-22T15:39:19-07:00

Gov. Jerry Brown still hopes to slash spending on healthcare and home care for the poor, and his revised budget proposal includes cuts that have already been blocked by federal courts.

The spending plan, unveiled May 14, expects to save $261.8 million by reducing Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and $22.4 million by cutting back on In-Home Supportive Services.

If judges continue to block the cuts, there's a contingency plan with money set aside to cover the costs, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Brown’s Department of Finance. But it shows that Brown isn't giving up on his administration's courtroom budget battles.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts have been blocked by the federal government or the courts, according to the Department of Finance.

The court case involving Medi-Cal stems from the state’s effort to cut by 10% payments to doctors who provide services to poor patients. In January, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder blocked the cut, writing in her 30-page order that “the state’s fiscal crisis does not outweigh the serious irreparable injury plaintiffs would suffer.”

The California Medical Assn., which sued the state, hopes the administration backs down rather than appeal.

"It’s time for the Department of Health Care Services to stop relying on sweeping policy changes like this one for budget solutions, but rather sit down and come up with a long-term fix," said Molly Weedn, a spokeswoman for the association.

Brown has proposed two separate cuts to In-Home Supportive Services, which allows the elderly and disabled stay in their homes by paying for aides. First, he wants a 7% cut in aides' hours. If his administration succeeds in court, there would also be a 20% cut in hours that has been blocked so far.

The 7% cut to home care would cause a ripple effect. Even though it's a $99-million reduction, the program would suffer a total loss of about $800 million because the state would sacrifice hundreds of millions more in county and federal funding.

RELATED:

Brown unveils revised budget plan

Brown gets no promise of federal help for Medi-Cal

California's legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher

-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento

twitter.com/@chrismegerian

Photo: Dr. Oliver Brooks, center, examines a Medi-Cal patient at an L.A. clinic in 2010. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Assemblyman Hernandez pleads not guilty to drunk driving

2012-05-21T16:54:59-07:00

Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) has pleaded not guilty to drunk driving charges stemming from his March arrest in Concord, Calif., officials confirmed Monday. Hernandez faces a June 20 court hearing on two misdemeanor charges filed by the Contra Costa County district attorney, according to Bobbi Spinola, an assistant to the prosecutor. She said he entered the plea May 8.

The Assemblyman was arrested March 27 at 2 a.m. after police officers saw the state car he was driving weaving between lanes. At the time, he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test at the scene, but a blood test was taken at the jail. The results showed he was over the legal limit for alcohol in his blood.

He recently issued an apology, saying “I may have made a poor judgment thinking that I was sober enough to drive after a couple of drinks over the course of an evening.’’

His defense attorney, Felipe Placencia, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

ALSO:

Assemblyman Hernandez was driving state car when arrested

Assemblyman Roger Hernandez charged with drunken driving

Governor, legislators could face pay cut like other state workers

--Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo: Roger Hernandez, booking photo. Credit: Concord Police Department