Still Not Over - Assembly Stalemated

The Assembly has gone into a deep cocoon, only occasionally popping up to finish a vote that has been placed on hold. The most recent one was SB12, which set cuts for general government. That's not necessarily in the land of controversial votes - the local government raids, the offshore drilling proposal and the return payment of Prop. 98 maintenance of effort funds in future years are the major stumbling blocks. But SB12 couldn't get the 54 votes needed for passage, stalling out at 51. Now, it's possible that this was just a delay tactic while negotiations and arm-twisting continue over the other issues. But the longer this plays out, the more opportunity for a collapse.

The Senate is in adjournment. They are gone until August. They jammed the Assembly and now the Assembly has to find a way out of the mess. If you've resigned yourself to the fact that this is over, well, I think we might have a long way to go. Remember that the Assembly has one less person in it now than it did in February - Curren Price moved up to the Senate. That means additional votes are needed, most likely from Republicans, for these measures.

I would be slightly surprised if these remaining measures didn't pass. But the going is very slow, and there's still time to weigh in and whip your Assemblymembers, particularly on the contentious issues.