Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.
Buzzer Sounds for the 2001-02 Legislative Session
New and returning California legislators convened for one day in Sacramento on December 4, 2000, to officially begin the 2001-02 legislative session. In addition to the traditional swearing-in ceremonies, the day was marked with the introduction of 39 Senate Bills and 60 Assembly Bills and with the re-election of Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) as their respective house majority leaders.
The Senate session was called to order by Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, who told the 40-member body-including the 10 incoming freshmen, all of whom were Assembly Members last year-that they "had historic opportunities to do great things with the unprecedented prosperity with which we have been blessed," alluding to the projected $10 billion state revenue surplus. He also cautioned that, "We must not only invest in bricks and mortar and computer chips, but also in our most precious resource, our children." The Senate welcomes 14 Republicans and 26 Democrats, including former Assembly Member Mike Machado (D-Stockton), who squeaked out a victory against Lodi City Council Member Alan Nakanishi by a margin of less than 1%.
Notwithstanding the lopsided majority of Democrats in the lower house (50 Democrats, 29 Republicans), Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg opened the Assembly session by calling for bipartisan cooperation between the two parties. There was only a brief announcement that newly elected Republican Assembly Member Jan Leja (R-Beaumont) was vacating her seat as a result of a plea bargain agreement with the Attorney General's office over campaign finance reporting violations. Her resignation leaves a vacancy that will be filled by a special election that is expected to be held in March 2001.
But clearly education was not the only thing on the minds of incoming legislators. Several bills were introduced to address concerns regarding spiraling electricity rates and voting system reforms. Of the nearly 100 bills introduced to date, only 4 impact community colleges. Of special note are measures to place a school facilities bond on the March 2002 statewide ballot (AB 16, Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles), a bill that would prohibit the colleges from disclosing to anyone not employed by the institution, any information concerning a current or former student, without written permission from the student.
The Legislature will return to the Capitol on January 3, 2001, just one week
before the Governor unveils his priorities for the proposed 2001-02 State
Budget.
--Nancy LaCasse and Arnold Bray