State Legislative - Week of April 30, 2010

 

Legislative Update 
 
Abel Maldonado sworn in as Lieutenant Governor.  The California Senate confirmed Republican Senator Abel Maldonado’s Lieutenant Governor Nomination on Monday of this week, and was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor the following day.  Governor Schwarzenegger announced a Special Election for August 17, 2010 to fill the Maldonado’s vacated 15th Senate District seat which covers the Central Coast, from Santa Barbara to San Jose counties.
 
Democrats had hoped that the Governor would have consolidated this Special Election with the November General Election, when voter participation will be higher.  The Governor stated that it is more important to have the new state senator in office to work on the state budget than to wait a few more months.  Candidates running to replace Maldonado include current Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) and former Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz).
 
Mandatory Single Sales Factor Apportionment.  Last week, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced, as part of the Sixth Extraordinary Session dealing with tax reform, SBX6 18 which would require businesses to apportion their income pursuant to a single sales factor.  In an attempt to make this proposal revenue neutral, SBX6 18 would also provide certain industries with a manufacturers’ investment tax credit.  By making the proposal revenue neutral, the bill would only require a simple majority vote, as opposed to the two-thirds vote required for new tax increases.
 
SBX6 18 was initially scheduled to be heard in the Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee this week on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, but is now scheduled to be heard in that committee on May 12th.  CCTA has been meeting with key legislators to educate them on the negative impacts a mandatory single sales factor would have on the cable industry without the restoration of the cost of performance apportionment methodology.
 
Next Week – May 3 – 7, 2010
 
Telephone Corporations: Call Centers.  This week, Assemblyman Hector De La Torre amended his Assembly Bill 2690 to require “telephone corporations” to annually post on their websites the location of their call centers that receive calls from California customers, and the number of calls received by each call center from the telephone corporation's California customers.  This bill is sponsor and supported by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).  This bill is scheduled to be heard on Monday, May 3, 2010, at 3:00 pm, in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.