Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s free fall in the polls and renewed vigor among union, trial lawyer and Democratic Party opponents could claim another victim: the business agenda in Sacramento.

Already, business groups have ratcheted back on their goals for the legislative session, switching from an offensive drive at the beginning of the year to a largely defensive effort.

“We were very excited about the possibility of positive change early on, but the attitude of the business community has now become more realistic,” said Michael Shaw, assistant state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

An attempt at tort reform has already failed. Gone are priorities such as reducing health care mandates on employers, restoring the manufacturer’s tax credit, and a drive to reform the state’s environmental laws. On shaky ground: an effort to soften the state’s daily overtime law.

The focus now is on making sure “unfriendly” business legislation doesn’t pass the Legislature.

Under close watch are moves to raise the state’s minimum wage by $1 an hour (SB 48 by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View) and to establish a single-payer health care system (SB 840 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica).

Schwarzenegger has backtracked on pension reform and redistricting, although there’s little concern he would fail to veto these measures.

“I don’t think there is a great concern that the governor will abandon the interests of the small-business community on the major issues,” Shaw said. “This is not the final year of (former Gov.) Gray Davis’ administration.”

Bonds Galore


L.A. City Councilman Greig Smith may be a Republican, but he’s not taking a small-government approach to solving L.A.’s problems.

Stymied by what he says is L.A.’s chronic underinvestment in keeping up its streets and sidewalks, Smith wants to take a $1 billion-plus bond to voters that would be used “to fix every street and repair every sidewalk in this city in a 10-year period.”

“Our streets are a disgrace, getting a ‘D-minus’ rating in a recent nationwide survey,” Smith said, speaking at the Current Affairs Forum last month. “We have not had a major investment in our street system in decades.”

One result of the current “pay-as-you-go” approach was the huge number of potholes that emerged after this year’s heavy rainfall.

Smith said a bond initiative which he’d like to propose for 2007 could also free up to $200 million per year from the city’s general fund to pay for other priorities, such as hiring more cops.

Such a measure would require two-thirds voter approval and face competition from L.A. Mayor James Hahn, who has said that if he’s re-elected, he would push for a $500 million citywide bond to fund affordable housing.

Smith also said he would favor L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca bringing back a more refined initiative to raise L.A. County’s sales tax one-half cent to fund the hiring of more public safety officers.

Smith said he opposed Hahn’s proposal for a citywide half-cent sales tax increase when the council rejected a ballot measure this year, because the Hahn proposal “would have made the city of L.A. an island as far as the sales tax rate goes.”

He said a new countywide measure wouldn’t have that effect, but it would require a better campaign than the Measure A initiative last fall that fell just short of the two-thirds approval needed for passage.

High-Powered Guns


As soon as his budget opened up a bit, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca wasted no time in bringing in some high-powered help.

In April, Baca hired downtown attorney Michael Yamaki, who was appointments secretary to former Gov. Gray Davis and a former L.A. Police Commission staffer.

Part of Yamaki’s job will be to procure more funds for the sheriff’s department from Sacramento and Washington.

“He’s going to be able to articulate the needs of the Sheriff’s Department in language that’s understood in Sacramento and Washington,” said Baca spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Whitmore said Baca expects Yamaki to bring in far more money to the department than the $105,000 per year he’s being paid. “We’re expecting him to be a net revenue generator,” Whitmore said.

While Yamaki is politically connected, he was not hired for his ability to fundraise on behalf of Baca, who is up for re-election next year, Whitmore said. “There are no political overtones to this hire.”

Earlier this month, Baca hired Brian Center, justice deputy to L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina. Center handled probation, Justice Department matters, county courts and other law enforcement-related issues for the supervisor.

Of course, Molina helps oversee Baca’s budget, so having her key point person on law enforcement on board can only help.

*Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227, or by e-mail at

[email protected]

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