But I will say this: Have a great week, and don't forget that CAW is always looking for sponsors (see info below on how to support your free newsletter!).

-Gabe

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The biggest difference between the January budget blueprint and the one released in May is that the latter reflects tax revenues based on figures from the April 15 income tax deadline.

Unlike the earlier budget proposal, which totaled about $88 billion and was based on economic projections, the May budget offers harder numbers and gives a realistic sense of how much money the state has to spend. The May Revise, written by the governor's Department of Finance, provides the Legislature with a framework to begin serious negotiations.

Not all of the money is available to be spent according to the whims of lawmakers or the governor. Voters in 1988 approved a ballot initiative that requires the Legislature to provide minimum guarantees for schools. Gov. Davis five months ago proposed more than $28 billion for school funding, but that amount is all but certain to go up, given the booming state economy. So the real question this month is how much more tax revenues are available now than were expected when the original budget was released in January.

Most estimates in the Capitol put that increase at somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion -- a lot of money by anyone's reckoning and a pot of money well worth fighting over.

For the next eight weeks, that's exactly what's going to happen.

Educators and the teachers' unions want more money for the classrooms, and there are indications that Davis will increase the amount he proposed in January.

Tax cutters led by minority Republicans want a hefty amount to be given back to taxpayers in the form of tax breaks, always popular politically, and it is likely that the Democrat Davis will agree to some tax reductions.

Lawmakers in both parties, as well as the governor, also want to provide more funds for transportation projects and improvements in the state's infrastructure, and it is all but certain that money will be authorized for these projects, although the amount is still up in the air.

There also is the issue of financing small but popular local projects, the spending prized by legislators that makes them look good to their local constituents. Many of the lawmakers' wish-lists for this spending have been given to the governor already, and the politicking over this relatively small but politically important spending will only add to this year's budget infighting.

Indeed, the budget isn't really a money document at all. Rather, it is a statement of political priorities and it is in the arena of politics, not checkbook balancing, that the real budget battle is waged.

Everyone in the Capitol would rather deal with a budget surplus than a budget deficit. But the stresses of a surplus are intense on politicians, who squabble mightily for the extra money. There also is a sense of desperation among Republicans, who are in the minority in the Legislature and face a Democratic governor who has line-by-line veto authority.

But Republicans have one major tool of leverage: It takes a two-thirds vote of both houses to pass a budget, and Democrats fall narrowly short of that benchmark. That means Democrats have to negotiate seriously with Republicans or risk a bruising political fight.

Let the battle begin...

--Patrick Hoge and Dan Smith in the Sacramento Bee, who reported that "Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush insists he didn't know about and didn't help arrange a $500,000 donation to the Greater Sacramento Urban League from a controversial nonprofit foundation he helped create. Several members of the league's board of directors, however, have told The Bee that Quackenbush accepted their applause and personal thanks for his efforts to secure the money at the board's July 19, 1999, meeting -- Quackenbush's first as a board member." April 28.
http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert02_20000428.html

--Hallye Jordan in the San Jose Mercury, who reported that "Matthew Jacobs didn't ask beleaguered Insurance Commissioner Charles Quackenbush any questions at Thursday's Assembly Insurance Committee hearing but he was nonetheless the man behind the interrogation. A former federal prosecutor, the solemn-looking Jacobs sat at the dais with committee members, whispering suggestions in the ears of the Democratic lawmakers who had hired him just this week to advise them. Former colleagues say Jacobs was tailor-made for the role. They described him as a fair prosecutor who has experience handling some of the biggest political corruption cases in recent California history." April 28.
http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/prosecutor28.htm

--Jason B. Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle, who reported that "Pharmaceutical companies are gouging Bay Area senior citizens by charging them exorbitant prices for commonly used drugs says U.S. Rep. George Miller, who wants Congress to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. At senior centers in Vallejo and El Cerrito today, Miller, D-Martinez, will unveil two new reports that show older Americans in the Bay Area without insurance pay twice what consumers in Canada and Mexico pay for similar medication. Seniors in Miller's congressional district also pay on average 160 percent more for the five most commonly used drugs compared with the most favored customers of drug manufacturers, such as the federal government, HMOs and other large purchasers." April 28.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2000/04/28/MN14176.DTL&type=printable

--Virginia Ellis in the Los Angeles Times, who reproted that "Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush signed a confidential agreement absolving Farmers Insurance of any wrongdoing in its handling of Northridge earthquake claims without ever completing an investigation of the company's settlement actions. In the agreement, obtained by The Times, Quackenbush pledged to stop a Department of Insurance examination of the company's Northridge claims actions and not to levy fines or penalties for its performance after the earthquake. Even if future evidence of improper claims handling were to be uncovered, 'there will be no regulatory action by the commissioner,' the agreement said." April 27.
http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20000427/t000039557.html

2000 POCKET DIRECTORY OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE ---------------------------------------------- 27th Edition of "the little red book" is now available! Current contact information on each legislator, including photos, committee assignments, Capitol and district office addresses, phone numbers and staff. Separate listings of all Senate and Assembly standing, select, special research, joint and sub committees, with members, staff, phone and room numbers. Don't be without this indispensable directory!

2000 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES VIA EMAIL ---------------------------------- Receive late-breaking changes to the Pocket Directory monthly throughout the year -- via email. To keep your directory up to date, you will be provided with any "information changes" that occur after the February publishing date. In addition to "changes," the updates will include profiles of new members, alerts to new committees and other legislative news items. Easy way to keep your directory current!

2000 U.S. CONGRESS DIRECTORY ---------------------------- Convenient 4" x 9" spiral-bound directory includes photos, key staff members and committee memberships of the 100 U.S. Senators and 435 U.S. Representatives. Separate listings of Senate and House committee and subcommittee memberships, the President's cabinet with key staff members, the State governors with addresses and phone numbers, and the Supreme Court members with phone numbers.

ORDER NOW THROUGH OUR WEB SITE: http://www.capenq.com/order

or fax the EASY ORDER FORM from our brochure to (916) 442-1260

1999-2000 WHO'S WHO IN THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE ------------------------------------------------- 8" x 11" loose-leaf binder of political and personal biographies of all 120 legislators, including each legislator's photo, education, career, campaign issues, legislative interests and accomplishments. Each district information page has exclusively created easy-to-read district and "locator" maps. The Who's Who makes a wonderful legislative yearbook keepsake.

1999-2000 CALIFORNIA STATE AGENCY DIRECTORY ------------------------------------------- Information on the governor's appointments! This handy 4" x 9" directory lists all agency and department-level organizations and most division and branch-level offices. Includes names and titles of state officials, with addresses, phone and fax numbers. Where a vacancy exists, the position is listed without a name. The next more complete edition will be published in the Fall of 2000.

COMING LATER THIS YEAR

Open & Public III ----------------- Open & Public II is no longer available -- it is being updated now and will be available in September 2000. For a current guide to public meetings and the Ralph Brown Act, see The Legal Notebook.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE

* The Legal Notebook * Navigating the Legislative Process * Conflict of Interest Laws for Local Government Officials * Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California * California Election District Zip Code Directory * Election District Diskette * Mailing Labels on Diskette * Senate, Assembly & Congress District Wall Maps

ORDER NOW THROUGH OUR WEB SITE: http://www.capenq.com/order

or fax the EASY ORDER FORM from our brochure to (916) 442-1260