Posted on 11/26/2006 10:11:03 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Energized by this month's landslide victory, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is assembling a wide-ranging 2007 agenda - hoping to help millions of Californians without health care, trying again to redraw the state's legislative districts and fixing the dysfunctional prison system.
Some proposals could emerge soon after the new two-year legislative session begins Dec. 4. Others may come into focus in early January when Schwarzenegger delivers his State of the State address. Many details of the governor's plans - particularly health care - are still in flux.
But the style in which he will pursue them appears clear.
Schwarzenegger considers his re-election a mandate for the type of bipartisan cooperation that led to this year's increase in the state's minimum wage, clampdown on global warming and $40 billion investment in the state's decrepit roads, schools, levees and housing stock.
"Their vote for me," the governor said during a recent trade mission to Mexico, "was kind of saying, `That's the Arnold we like. That's the move we like. That's the way we should move forward. That's the way we want you to do it in the next four years."'
The dynamics this year, however, could make achieving his goals more difficult.
Windfall revenue won't be sufficient to close a looming $5.5 billion budget gap, let alone create more programs.
And with no statewide election scheduled next year, Schwarzenegger has no motivation to notch accomplishments fast, and Democrats have no incentive to extract policy wins while the governor is amenable.
"For Arnold, the key is he has got to stay within this style of working with Democratic leadership," said Bruce Cain, who directs the University of California Center in Washington, D.C. "This will be a test of whether he has internalized all the lessons about patience and governing rather than going out to malls and whipping crowds into a frenzy."
Schwarzenegger has made health care his No. 1 priority for 2007, saying he wants to cut in half the ranks of California's 6 million-plus uninsured and rein in spiraling health care costs.
How he plans to achieve that ambitious goal is the subject of intense speculation in Sacramento. So far, Schwarzenegger has offered more clues about what he opposes than what he may be proposing.
In his first term, Schwarzenegger campaigned to overturn a measure to force medium-size and large businesses to provide health insurance for their employees; vetoed a bill to have the state administer health care for all Californians; and rejected extending health coverage to some 800,000 uninsured children.
Now, Schwarzenegger has hired a team of health experts - some of whom worked for former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis - which has held dozens of meetings with groups ranging from labor unions to insurers.
"The governor believes very strongly that a solution of this magnitude is going to require shared responsibility among employers, individuals, insurers, doctors, hospitals and the state," spokesman Adam Mendelsohn said.
While a plan has yet to emerge, the governor has outlined four principles that will guide him: promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent ailments; expanding coverage for children; using technology to deliver services more efficiently; and making health care more affordable.
"The key is what those principles mean," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California. "The principles could apply to a number of different proposals, including ones he's vetoed in the past."
Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has vowed not to raise taxes, further limiting his options to achieve expansive health care reform.
Schwarzenegger has made it clear that he will again try to overhaul the state's redistricting system, shifting the power from self-interested legislators to an independent commission.
Two previous attempts have failed: Voters rejected a ballot initiative to redraw districts in 2005, and a more bipartisan attempt fell apart in the state Legislature last year.
Now, the governor says he hopes legislators will place the item before voters in 2008.
"I think there is serious effort there," Schwarzenegger said in Mexico. "We just have to figure out what makes them comfortable because no one wants to lose seats."
The fate of redistricting is crucial in political circles because the people who draw the maps have serious sway over how much - or how little - competition incumbents face. The last round of map-drawing was seen as particularly egregious, with the vast majority of legislative and congressional seats considered "safe" for incumbents.
"We're going to push redistricting reform through the Legislature if possible," said Ned Wigglesworth of California Common Cause. "If that doesn't work, we'll consider the initiative process."
The governor's aides say he will also try to put new restrictions on campaign fundraising.
Schwarzenegger previously pitched a fundraising blackout during budget season, but he put little muscle behind the effort, which subsequently died in the Legislature.
This year's proposal could limit when money is raised - during the budget or bill-signing seasons, for example - or even where it is raised - possibly creating a no-fundraising zone around Sacramento.
Some legislators hope to create a broader political reform package with Schwarzenegger that would also loosen term limits and move up the date of California's primary election, allowing the state to have more clout in presidential primaries.
Health care is No. 1
Political reform
Prison fixes
Reforming California's correctional system may be the most thankless task on the governor's 2007 to-do list: overhauling a system considered so unmanageable that a federal judge has threatened to wrest control of it from the state.
The overriding issue is crowding, which has become so severe that officials warn the prisons are about to run out of beds. To address that problem, Schwarzenegger will need to navigate treacherous political terrain.
The governor's on-and-off relationship with the powerful prison guards' union is currently at a low point. That may be a plus in the view of critics who believe the union's cozy relationship with politicians has impeded reform. But it also may also mean stiff opposition to proposed changes.
In just the past few months, the Correctional Peace Officers Association lobbied to defeat a package of Schwarzenegger-proposed reforms, and sued - so far, unsuccessfully - to block his plan to ship 5,000 inmates to out-of-state facilities.
What's more, Schwarzenegger will be under pressure from federal court officials, who already have handed control of prison health care to an outside receiver. And a legal advocacy group for prisoners recently filed court papers seeking to cap the state prison population.
Some experts say those pressures - combined with a governor freed from the worries of re-election - may make next year the ideal time for prison reform.
"There seems to be a wider recognition," said Donald Specter, director of the law office, "that the status quo is unacceptable."
Apart from health care, political reform and prison issues, Schwarzenegger says he wants to make schools more accountable, perhaps by posting more information in a central place online for parents to access.
The administration also will focus on ensuring billions in bond money are well-spent and implementing a sweeping climate-change bill.
For the 2007 agenda, "what's encouraging is what happened last year," said veteran Democratic lawmaker Darrell Steinberg, who will rejoin the Legislature as the Sacramento-area senator next month.
"If the governor takes that approach again, as he has indicated he would, I think anything's possible."
"Their vote for me," the governor said during a recent trade mission to Mexico, "was kind of saying, `That's the Arnold we like. That's the move we like. That's the way we should move forward. That's the way we want you to do it in the next four years."'
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All done to a snappy beat , of course, a Third Way beat, sung in the key of TWirP.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Dems and unions opposed re-districting last time.
I still think it is a good idea and would help republicans.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
But the democrats have safe seats too because of it. And there are more of them then republicans. There must be some reason why the Dems and unions were against redistricting right?
The shapes of some of these districts are beyond bizarre, serving only the office holder and not the people in them.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Prop 77 was largely bankrolled by Democrats and liberal Republicans, including many of the same venture capitalists that have been bankrolling big bond and tax initiatives that fund their favored investments. (Steve Poizner, Eli Broad, John Doerr, Reed Hastings, Vinod Khosla, Warren Hellman, etc.)
As structured, Prop 77 was predicted to make it more likely for Republicans to lose seats, hence the majority of California's Congressional Republicans were strongly opposed to its passage.
So your policy is better the gerrymandering devil you know?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
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