Karen Bass

STATE CAPITOL -- Flanked by legislative leaders in both parties, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced said Monday that he will call lawmakers back in for a special session on Nov. 5 to tackle the state's worsening budget problem.

Schwarzenegger said the session will deal with not only the budget - now more than $3 billion in deficit after being enacted only weeks ago - but economic stimulus, tax modernization, foreclosure relief and more.

In what could be the first signs of a growing political revolt, members of the California Legislature have started to publicly express their extreme displeasure of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent vetoes of more than 400 bills.

On Thursday Democratic Assembly Majority Floor Leader Alberto Torrico vowed to figure out a way to override many of the governor's 415 rejections.

"Frankly, I'm tired of this guy (Schwarzenegger) kicking sand in our face," Torrico, (D-Fremont) told PolitickerCA.com. "He killed a lot of good bills - bills that were needed to help the people of this state. His actions show me just how out of touch he is with the majority of working, tax-paying Californians."

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Legislators of both parties in the California state Capitol were disappointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vow Tuesday to veto the 2008-09 state budget when it reaches his desk and some went so far as to say that the flaws in the budget were the governor's own fault. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) pointed out that previous budget proposals with reform measures the governor backed died because he couldn't get any Republican legislators to support them.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed legislators this week to act quickly on legislation that would add more ballot measures to the Nov. 4 election ballot, but a lack of progress seemed more likely to threaten any legislator's plans to attend party conventions instead.

The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday that Schwarzenegger sent legislative leaders a letter saying he would sign a bill amending a Nov. 4 bond for high-speed rail. The letter also told them to work on other bills related to a water bond, borrowing against state lottery funds to balance the budget, and a rainy-day fund/spending cap for the state budget.

With only hours before the California Secretary of State's deadline to add items to the Nov. 4 ballot, Assembly Democrats unveiled a water bond proposal Friday morning that they believe can get needed legislative support.

Members of an Assembly working group on water said the proposal for a $9.8 billion water bond could be vetted and approved quickly enough to still make the Nov. 4 ballot, but said they also want to give it full consideration and examination before voters see it.

SACRAMENTO - In a graphic example of what can happen when you vote against your own party, a Hanford assemblywoman said this week that Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told her that her legislating days for the rest of 2008 are over.

After Nicole Parra refused to join with Democrats for a budget vote on Sunday, Bass (D-Los Angeles), opted to punish her by kicking her out of her capitol offices and then putting the kibosh on any legislation the assemblywoman comes up with for the rest of the year, the Sacramento Bee reported today.

"I'm done for the whole year," Parra told the Bee.

Parra's remaining legislation -- two bills and one resolution -- will no longer move forward, at least not with her name. She was informed of the move "as a warning" in advance of her non-vote Sunday, Parra said.

Parra said she voted against the budget because it failed to include any provisions for deal with the Central Valley area's ongoing water issues.

But her relationship with the speaker hasn't been all that great especially since she began publicly talking about supporting Republican Danny Gilmore to succeed her in the Assembly.

Read the entire Bee story here:

State Senate Pro Tem Don PerataThe national convention party for California state senators is cancelled until there's a new state budget, State Sen. Pro Temp Don Perata (D-Oakland) announced Tuesday.

With a budget more than 50 days overdue and other bills still awaiting action, Perata said in a release, the state senate will remain in session through at least the end of the month.

That would affect Democrats planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, which starts Monday, and could have an impact on Republicans planning to head to St. Paul, Minn., for the Republican National Convention, which begins Sept. 1.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's issuance of an executive order cutting pay for 200,000 state workers down to federal minimum wage drew quick reaction from across the state's political scene. Democrats denounced the move, while Republicans said the decision should put pressure on state legislators to approve a new state budget - without tax increases - that could restore normal pay for those workers.

State workers will hope California's budget mess is resolved soon, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set to issue an executive order next week reducing the pay of 200,000 state workers to federal minimum wage absent a new budget.

Several media outlets reported late Wednesday that Schwarzenegger would issue that order as soon as Tuesday. That's the same day the State Senate is scheduled to vote on a budget proposal few believe has enough votes to pass.

Two California legislative leaders split over the prospects of a new water bond for the November ballot, even as Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein agreed on the idea.

Republican Assembly Speaker Mike Villines (R-Fresno) said he agreed with the general idea, while State Senate Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) wanted to concentrate on a previously passed water bond and approving a new state budget first.