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Enron Mail |
-----Original Message----- From: =09Whitman, Britt =20 Sent:=09Wednesday, July 18, 2001 3:48 PM To:=09Sanders, Richard B.; Edison, Andrew Cc:=09Walsh, Kristin Subject:=09California Update 7-18-2001 Importance:=09High If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kristin Walsh at (71= 3) 853-9510 or G. Britt Whitman at (713) 345-4014. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Multiple MOU Plans Debated California State Budget Faces One Last Hurdle Budget=20 There is a small possibility that Sen. Burton will not recess the Senate on= Thursday unless the Senate passes the budget that the Assembly passed last= night (7-17). However a key Democrat, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, has been is in It= aly and is on a 16 hour return flight. No one knows if she has been told to= return and without her presence, two Republican votes are still needed to = pass any urgency measure for the budget. Kuehl's vote is crucial if they t= ake the bill up on Thursday.=20 MOU Mayhem There are currently three leading MOU plans being resuscitated by the Calif= ornia House and Senate deliberations. Senator Burton is hoping to keep the= published schedule and adjourn for a month's recess on Thursday evening. = Speaker Hertzberg is reportedly not thrilled with leaving until the Edison = issue is resolved. However, rumor is that whether or not they recess on Th= ursday, their adjournment will mark the end of the Second Extraordinary ses= sion and all XX bills passed and signed will go into effect in 90 days (al= l others will be dead). Although Davis has stressed the urgency of passing= a comprehensive "bail-out" plan and even threatened to call an emergency s= ession to prevent legislators from taking a 30-day recess on Friday, there = is no clear indication that legislators will comply with this request. = =20 Hertzberg's bill 82XX - Of the more obvious differences from Davis MOU, 82= XX proposes to offer SoCal $300 M less for its transmission lines in additi= on to penalizing Edison if it fails to act in good faith in closing the dea= l. It comes as no surprise that during bill deliberations, SoCal raised ob= jections to the bill and warned of impending difficulties (bankruptcy) for = So Cal were the bill left unamended. The Wright-Richman bill 83XX - We reported last week that 83XX remains the = only measure fueled by bipartisan support. AB 83XX was heard in an "inform= ational" hearing yesterday (7-17) and will be heard again today in the Asse= mbly Energy Committee. Assemblyman Rod Wright, the Chairman of the Committ= ee, presented AB 83xx with Dr. Keith Richman, a Republican Assemblyman from= Southern California. They offered 83XX as an Edison bail-out, pure and sim= ple. Wright was clear to distinguish his bill from 82XX, which he said has = conservation easements and land requisitions, a renewable portfolio which w= ill add an additional fee on ratepayers, and reasonable review for long ter= m contracts. While the chances of the Richman bill being successful appear = slim, reports that that Hertzberg will try to negotiate elements of his own= bill (82XX) as amendments to the Wright/Richman measure suggest that at le= ast Hertzberg feels Richman's 83XX stands a chance.=20 The Byron Sher bill, SB 78XX (Polanco) - Previously presented by Sen. Polan= co on behalf of Governor Davis, SB 78XX has received special attention from= Senate President, John Burton. Although it has never been heard by a comm= ittee, SB 78XX is currently on the Senate floor and ready for a vote. The S= enate Energy Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee are both schedul= ed to have informational hearings on this bill today. Note, the meetings a= re informational because neither committee has possession of the bill. The= se hearings will provide information to committee members, avoid a formal v= ote, and simultaneously shield Burton/Polanco from claims that the details = of SB78XX were never released. The Senate is scheduled to be in session to= morrow, ostensibly to vote on the state budget and SB 78XX. Given Burton's = penchant for wanting to keep on schedule to recess tomorrow, there is no gu= arantee that he will hold the Senate in session once they hear SB 78XX. Thu= s, the Senate may never even see AB 82XX and AB 83XX unless either or both = bills are passed out of the Assembly today and get special treatment by Bur= ton to be heard tomorrow. Burton has previously adjourned the Senate to kee= p on schedule once they finish their business, even if the Assembly is behi= nd them.
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