California Lawmakers Face Friday Deadline To Pass Bills

Our top story on Midday edition it's deadline time again in Sacramento. Lawmakers are required to send legislation to the governor's desk by tomorrow. As the session comes to a close several major proposals await the governor's signature including one which could allow utilities to pass along more wildfire costs to ratepayers. Joining me from Sacramento with a roundup about the push to get numerous bills before the governor is Katie or reporter for KQED. Politics and Government desk. Katie welcome. Thanks Maureen. Now many San Diego residents are watching a wildfire compromise bill some are calling it a bailout for utilities. What are some of the key provisions in the measure right. Mungo's it provides protection for past and future fire victims. It gives upgrades to the electricity grid with in terms of safety. It also establishes a wildfire related financial responsibilities for utility companies. And it leans towards ensuring that these companies don't get pushed into bankruptcy because they have been found especially PG&E has been found you know responsible for so many fire related incidents up here. That was something Gov. Jerry Brown said We have to be careful of that if if these utilities go bankrupt that's not good for anyone because obviously they provide our power. However ratepayer advocates say this bill goes too far. It allows utilities to take out bonds to pay for some of the damages. But of course the ratepayers would have to pay back those bonds. And so the ratepayer advocates are not happy with the legislation. Now this bill is a compromise version that was apparently rushed out of a bipartisan committee. It still needs a vote in the legislature procedurally. Kate. Katie can it still get to the governor's desk in time. Yes but it will be close. The conference committee report was finalized Tuesday evening and the bill was amended. Now a relatively new rule here in Sacramento means that says that bills have to be in print for 72 hours at least before they can be voted on. So that puts us late Friday evening before the legislature can take up this bill. I believe it's about 9 o'clock where they can start acting on it. They have to be done by midnight. So that gives them three hours to get it done. You know the thing about the legislature is right they're very slow until they aren't. And you would be surprised how fast some bills can move through here if the political will is there. Now lawmakers are also considering two bills to restore and expand some of the nation's net neutrality laws which of course were rolled back by the Trump administration. Well what the bills actually do. SB 122 is the big one. It does things like prohibit companies from blocking Web sites speeding up or slowing down Web sites things like that. The second bill SB 460 actually requires companies Internet companies that are going to enter into state contracts with California to follow those net neutrality rules if the Internet is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. How can an individual state actually create its own rules. Well it certainly sets up a fight. Right. Which is what California seems to love doing with the federal government these days. And that's exactly though what opponents are saying that this opens up California to lawsuits because of course a lot of Internet companies don't operate just in California. They operate nationwide and don't believe they should be subject to a specific state's rules. That being said California is not the only state that is attempting to do this. I believe there are over 20 states that are attempting some form of net neutrality. So I think it is very likely we'll see a court case related to this in the future. There was also an important bill that at the last minute failed to pass this session. San Diego Assemblywoman Shirley Weber had introduced a bill that would narrow the standard for when police officers could use deadly force. Why did it stall. Well if you take the politicians at their word. Senate leader Toni Atkins sent out a statement late last night saying basically because of the 72 hour rule and because of the deadline on Friday there just isn't any time there is not enough time for this bill to go through the process and possibly be amended or modified in ways that would give it enough support to get through the Senate and Assembly. But she said she supports the measure. She agrees that California's current use of force standards she says is outdated and unconstitutional and she vowed to work with. Sure. Shirley Weber the assembly woman who authored the bill again next year to bring it back and try and take it on again. Finally Katie what's the overall mood in Sacramento right now given tomorrow's deadline. Well I told someone this morning I felt like I'm running a marathon. You know it's just it's going to be a long couple of days. I think people are prepared for it. But there's also sort of an excitement. Right. This is something that happens every year in Sacramento people kind of build up to it. This year is a bit different because of course it's an election year. So bills like 131 that are shelved will be reintroduced but the makeup of the legislature is sure to be at least somewhat different. And that could certainly affect the political dynamics. So it's there's a bit more of an urgency to get things done this year. I've been speaking with Katie or a reporter for KQED politics and government desk. Katie thank you. You're welcome.