In less than 90 minutes today, the new two year session of the California Legislature convened... and then promptly adjourned until the new year. But even amid a day of celebrations and collegiality, a few interesting issues managed to surface-- ones that are might dominate the state's political headlines in 2007.

First, some odds and ends from the festivities. It was SRO in both chambers, especially the Assembly, as family members and friends gathered to watch new legislators take the oath. There were an awful lot of VIPs, too, who were milling about... from ex-legislators now officially termed out to local officials like LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Oakland Mayor-elect Ron Dellums. There were also several incoming, and outgoing, constitutional officers... from Treasurer and defeated gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides to soon-to-be Attorney General Jerry Brown and soon-to-be Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Other VIPs on the floor included head honchos of some of the most powerful interest groups, like Barbara Kerr of the California Teachers Association.

In fact at one point, the dais of the Assembly (where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also participated, something rare for chief executives) looked like a who's who of potential gubernatorial candidates in 2010... including outgoing Controller Steve Westly; re-elected schools chief Jack O'Connell; Brown; Villaraigosa; and Angelides (I'm excluding Speaker Fabian Nunez, former Senate Pro Tem John Burton, and former Assemblymember Lou Papan from that list).

Schwarzenegger's appearance at the swearing-in ceremony in the Assembly seemed to be a symbolic gesture of bipartisanship for the coming year. And while no one was pessimistic about such working relationships, several issues do threaten to derail the political peace train.

Most interesting will be how things play out on next year's state budget. In his first big Q&A with Capitol reporters, new Assembly GOP Leader Mike Villines (R-Clovis) called last year's state budget "a mistake." And while he said he believes it's possible to get a budget enacted on time in 2007, he also didn't seem to put too much emphasis on the constitutional deadline. "I think it's always important to do what's right, first," he said.

And the budget just happens to be the likely home for some of the legislation needed to implement portions of the November infrastructure bonds.

In fact, legislative staffers say even the bonds that do not need to be part of the budget... including some of the flood control and housing bond offerings... will require GOP votes if they are to move forward in 2007, i.e. through an "urgency measure" rather than a majority-vote bill that wouldn't take effect until 2008.

And Democrats, while saying they are also optimistic about cooperation, made it clear that the burden is going to be on GOP legislators.

"Republican legislators," said Speaker Nunez, "have an opportunity to get on the bipartisan bus. Or not."