The Capital Notes Podcast is back this week, with a look at what has (or hasn’t) happened so far in the special legislative session, the odd couple alliance formed to overturn Indian gaming compacts, and the fizzling out of an initiative to change the way California elects a president.

My two week escape to Europe means the real insight this week comes from my co-conspirators, Anthony York of Capitol Weekly and Laura Kurtzman of the Associated Press.

Related Information:

“Water Debate Dammed,” by John Howard of Capitol Weekly

“Gaming Compact Foes Form Uneasy Alliance,” by Anthony York of Capitol Weekly

“GOP-backed Bid To Reform California’s Electoral Process Collapsing,” by Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle (and Carla’s earlier piece mentioned by Anthony in the podcast is here)

“Former CA Governor Endorses Giuliani,” by Michael Blood and Laura Kurtzman of the Associated Press

See, I knew I wouldn’t miss much on my vacation. Sort of.

More soon here at CN… starting with a brand new episode of our podcast tomorrow morning.

Now, if I can only find some good meds for the cold I caught in the Swiss Alps.

–JM

How can I possibly be taking some time off for a vacation in the 11th hour of a legislative session?

Dunno. Ask my wife.

A brief and appreciated hiatus begins here and also for the CN podcast; check back after the special session is in full gear.

–JM

The worst kept secret in California politics is basically all but confirmed, as Governor Schwarzenegger issued a statement this afternoon promising to both veto the Democratic health care proposal and to call the Legislature back for a special session.

“I cannot sign AB 8 because it would only put more pressure on an already broken health care system,” said the governor in a written statement released to the media.

Schwarzenegger’s statement also confirmed that he will call a special session of the Legislature to address health care reform, and many presume a formal announcement will come soon. “We must keep working,” he said in his statement.

That being said, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what happens next.

For example, the governor’s press statement today lists numerous problems with the bill carried by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata… not the least of which is that it doesn’t cover everyone who’s uninsured. Democrats say AB 8 would cover about two thirds of those in California who don’t have insurance.

And while there are a small number of people who also wouldn’t have been covered under the governor’s January healh reform framework, universal coverage is something he says at almost every public appearance.

Democratic leaders told reporters this morning they’re proud of their proposal. “This is a damn good bill,” said Senator Perata.

And Speaker Nunez suggested that while Democrats are more willing to talk about funding for health care in a special session, they’re not so flexible when it comes to the structure of health care reform. “We are not going to be willing to make a lot of movement,” he said, “in the area of the substance of the bill.”

Some major cash has been ponied up in the pending February ballot battle over four Indian casino compacts, amended deals ratified by the Legislature for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.

A coalition of horse racing companies have joined with a national hotel workers union and two other gaming tribes to have those amended compacts overturned by voters. The four referendum measures haven’t yet qualified for the ballot, but the coalition may soon have the cash to get them there.

$1.4 million in contributions were reported Friday, for a total of almost $2.9 million to gather signatures.

That’s serious money. But it’s overshadowed by the war chest the four tribes are amassing to defend their casino deals. The four tribes have now put a total of $11 million into their political account to fight the referenda, most of it also reported on Friday. $10 million of that has come from just two of the tribes — Morongo and Agua Caliente.

Expect these totals to grow… especially if the four ballot measures qualify.

The Legislature continues its march toward the end of the 2007 session, with final action on scores of bills… and more bills still in limbo. Place your bets on what day you think the session will end (Tuesday the 11th is the current fave).

Meantime, some notable developments, at the state Capitol and beyond…

* Special Session, Yes… That’s the message from Senate President pro Tem Don Perata in comments to reporters after today’s floor session. Perata said that Democrats will send their proposal, AB 8, to the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger early next week. The governor has said that he’s opposed to the bill in its current form. “The governor’s said he would veto it,” said Perata, “so the only alternative for him is to call us in special session.” Not that anyone inside the state Capitol is surprised that we’re going to extra innings on health care.

* Congressional Redistricting, No… Meantime, the Senate leader made it pretty clear that he won’t accept the creation of an independent commission to oversee the once-a-decade redistricting process if that commission also draws the state’s congressional districts. Some, but not all, Democrats believe that handing that power over to an independent group could jeopardize their party’s majority position in Congress. As we chatted about in this morning’s CN podcast, there’s been talk in Sacramento of a compromise… where the Legislature would retain the power to draw congressional districts in 2011, but not afterwards.

But Perata said today that’s not enough. “I want it out,” he said. “If Texas starts doing this [allowing the independent drawing of congressional districts], we’ll start doing it.”

* Judge Wants More Info On Bonds… State officials are going to have to come up with a new explanation for why the bond package designed to relieve prison overcrowding is constitutional. A pending lawsuit alleges that the $7 billion in lease revenue bonds contained in AB 900 violate the California constitution, because such bonds are only legal if they’re secured by revenues from the buildings being constructed. So do prisons have revenues? That’s the question Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster has told the state’s attorneys to answer more thoroughly in the order he issued today. Keep your eyes on this case… the bonds in question are a key component to a plan legislators and the governor hope will keep federal judges from releasing prisoners.

* Dems Smack Reeps, Reeps Smack Dems… Ah, what would life be without political slugfests? On the eve of the California GOP’s weekend convention, Democrats fighting a possible initiative to change presidential voting in California says they think there’s proof the national GOP is involved. The Dems today filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents they say will prove the connection. Elsewhere, the state GOP filed a formal complaint with the state’s campaign finance watchdog agency over embattled Democratic party fundraiser Norman Hsu, who made donations to everyone from legislative Democrats to presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

Ballot measure, anyone?

That could be the theme for some of this week’s big political stories. On this edition of the Capital Notes Podcast, we examine the chatter that health care reform will head to the ballot… the term limits initiative which is already there… and the still nascent but politically explosive proposal to change the way California casts its votes for President.

I’m joined by Anthony York, editor of Capitol Weekly and Laura Kurtzman, political writer for the Associated Press.

Related Information

“Hospitals Back Governor’s Health Care Plan,” by Jordan Rau, Los Angeles Times

“Term Limits Drama Engulfs Capitol’s Chattering Class,” by Anthony York, Capitol Weekly

“Electoral College Initiative,” by John Myers, KQED’s California Report

With so many issues and items rumbling around the state Capitol in these final hours of the legislative session, here are a few of the more notable news briefs from Thursday…

* Democratic health care amendments… Some substantive modifications were made yesterday to the main health care legislation now under discussion, AB 8, from Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata. Most interesting in those amendments may be the creation of a new 13 member commission that would provide greater transparency about the cost and quality of health care services. One interesting task the bill lays out for the commission: a mandate to study and reveal the infection rates in California hospitals.

* Hospitals are in… late word this afternoon that the California Hospital Association has signed off on the health care financing proposal suggested in the governor’s health care agenda. This follows recent news that many hospitals would actually end up getting back more money than they’d pay. But…

* Speaking of health care… while negotiations continue, several Capitol watchers are now predicting that the issue will get carried over to a special session. That’s an opinion, of course… but several watchers of these negotiations say there are still a lot of issues unresolved.

* Casino compact stalemate ends?… There’s word that the final amended casino deal with a large gaming tribe will be ratified by the Legislature before the end of session. Shane Goldmacher reports at the Sac Bee’s Capitol Alert site (subscription required) that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians have agreed to a side deal to their compact, much in the way four other tribes did, that deals with auditing of casino revenues. The new compact would allow the tribe to add some 5,500 new slot machines.

* More on the electoral college initiative… Now that the Attorney General has issued a title and summary for the initiative that would change how California’s electoral votes are handed out, Democrats are demanding that Governor Schwarzenegger weigh in. The governor largely sidestepped a formal position on the initiative in interviews with TV reporters yesterday, but that hasn’t stopped Democratic bloggers from tweaking the guv on the issue, including the creation of a new video.

* California: The Lost Years?… Speaking of the governor, he traveled to south Sacramento this morning for a press conference regarding the possible early release of state prisoners by a panel of federal judges. Not that there’s any real development on this issue, which made the news value of the event somewhat squishy. Still, what stood out was Schwarzenegger’s departure from his normal optimism about, well, everything.

Consider the following comments of the governor, when he was asked about prison overcrowding:

“This prison crisis is no different than the crisis we have that we don’t have enough schools, the crisis we have that we don’t have enough roads, we don’t have enough on-ramps and off-ramps and tunnels and bridges, we haven’t fixed our levees for three decades, we haven’t done anything. For three decades this state hasn’t built and fixed anything.” [listen to extended clip]

And on that positive note… stay tuned for more.

The throng of farm workers gathered outside the state Capitol today were here to demand new rights to join unions. They wanted Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to hear them, now that the bill is on his desk.

He heard them all right. In fact, he came out to see them.

Schwarzenegger took what looked like an impromptu stroll out of his Capitol office around midday and made his way through the rally organized by the United Farm Workers… generating what appeared to be genuine surprise on the faces of many of those who showed up.

Speaking with Spanish interpretation thanks to UFW president Arturo Rodriguez, the governor talked about last year’s effort at new rules to prevent heat-related illnesses for farm workers. he even thanked those who were fans of his movies.

But he kept mum on the subject that brought the UFW protesters to Sacramento: SB 180, a bill now on his desk that provides an alternative, and likely easier, way for the UFW to organize workers than the system that currently exists.

When asked whether he would sign the bill (ok, by me), he would only say that he had come outside to “welcome them” to the state Capitol.

Fair enough… but he certainly got an earful from the workers, who chanted as he shook their hands on his way back inside: “Sign the bill! Sign the bill!”

The two Indian tribes that have been lobbying for several years to build side by side casinos in Barstow are giving it one more shot in the final days of the 2007 session of the Legislature. And if the project remains in limbo next week, the two tribes now say they’ll go their separate ways.

We’ve reported several times on the efforts of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians and the Big Lagoon Rancheria to open casinos in the desert town — even though the tribes hail from hundreds of miles away.

Los Coyotes’ reservation is in rural San Diego County; Big Lagoon’s is on the coast up in Humboldt County.

At a news conference this morning at the state Capitol, the tribes announced an 11th hour media campaign, with a TV ad (online here) that they say will be broadcast in Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles over the next few days.

But there’s no indication that the casino deals will be ratified before legislators adjourn for the year early next week. While the two tribes signed formal casino compacts with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005, those compacts have been in limbo in the Legislature ever since. Critics say the projects might set a precedent for tribal casinos on non-tribal land. And several politically powerful tribes in southern California say that’s why they oppose the casino deal — even though Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon accuse those tribes of being more concerned about casino competition in the region.

And if the Barstow agreement isn’t acted on by September 17, the two tribes say they will go their separate ways — Big Lagoon back to a casino on their coastal reservation, and Los Coyotes to a new Barstow casino project solely of their own.

You may remember that in May, Big Lagoon agreed to wait a little longer before going back to a Humboldt casino project. That project would sit smack dab in the middle of what everyone says is an environmentally sensitive region. The tribe was persuaded by the Schwarzenegger administration to drop their legal battle for a Humboldt casino… in exchange for one in Barstow.

So what’s happened since late May?

“A lot’s happened,” said Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead, alluding to the ratification of amended casino deals for some of the tribes opposing his project. “Our [compact] got pushed down, kind of to the bottom of the barrel. Why did it get pushed down to the bottom of the barrel? Because these tribes don’t want us down there… A lot has happened [since May], but not for us.”

Moorehead also said he thinks Schwarzenegger hasn’t done enough to cajole legislators into ratifying the deal, an accusation the governor’s office disputes. Meantime, the vice-chairman of San Diego’s Los Coyotes, Shane Chapparosa, told reporters that his tribe has now begun separate negotiations with the governor’s office for a solo Barstow casino. The governor’s office won’t confirm whether that’s the case.

Regardless, the two tribes’ quest to be part of the club of gambling tribes may be about to start a brand new chapter.