In California’s Democrat-dominated Capitol, it’s Senate vs. Assembly
The Chino Democrat had four bills in the Assembly Appropriations Committee earlier this month when the panel announced which of those high-cost measures would advance to a full floor vote. Two were held, one was stripped of her authorship, and the last passed with a new co-author added: Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino, whose opponent Leyva endorsed in January.
Perhaps it was to be expected. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon warned as much at the California Roast in June, when he joked that the new term “for when a legislator sticks their nose into someone else’s business” would be “pulling a Leyva.”
“And that’s kind of funny, because that’s also the new expression that we’re gonna use for when a bill dies in the next house immediately: It got ‘Leyva-ed,’ ” he added, to roars from the audience. “You think that’s funny? It’s not a joke. Just wait. It’s coming, it’s coming.”
Welcome to the state Legislature’s annual civil war. Forget Democrats and Republicans – the divide most likely to make an impact on the outcome of this session is the perpetual rivalry between the Senate and Assembly.
It’s a long-running tension, built naturally into the bicameral setup of the legislative process, that might wax and wane with differences in the relationships between house leaders and policy priorities. But it tends to flare up again at the end of every session as each house gets its hands on the other’s bills, holding some for ransom and enacting their revenge for slights, real or perceived. Read more >>>