ASSEMBLY PANEL REJECTS BILL TO BAN COURTROOM CAMERAS.

Byline: Mark Katches Daily News Sacramento Bureau

After a spirited debate in which the O.J. Simpson trial was termed a media circus, an Assembly panel nevertheless defeated an attempt Wednesday to outlaw televising trials in state courts.

Assemblyman Bernie Richter, R-Chico - the author of AB 2023 - said he proposed the legislation because of the television coverage during the Simpson case.

``Cameras impede and distract from the business of the court, which is the pursuit of justice,'' Richter said.

Victims rights groups and media organizations opposed the bill, contending that the public should be able to see what goes on inside state courts where public seating is limited.

Assemblyman Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said it would be irresponsible to take cameras out of the courtroom as a knee-jerk reaction to turmoil of the Simpson murder trial.

He also criticized Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito's handling of the case.

``If the lawyers in the O.J. trial were playing to the crowd, it was the judge who was responsible to bring order to the courtroom,'' Battin said.

Calls to Ito were not returned Wednesday.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 8-1 to defeat the proposed law. The bill now will die unless Richter asks for reconsideration, which the assemblyman says is unlikely.

``I think it's a terrific signal that the Legislature is not going to pull the plug on cameras in the courtroom,'' said Assemblywoman Debra Bowen, D-Torrance, a member of the committee.

Richter said the defeat of his bill might not matter because the state's Judicial Council is expected to recommend strict rules next month limiting camera coverage.

The panel did support AB 2344, a competing bill by Assemblyman Tom Woods, R-Redding, that essentially will keep in place the state's current code allowing for cameras in the courtroom at the discretion of the judge.

The vote on Richter's proposed television ban capped a furious day of committee meetings Wednesday as lawmakers - with the March primary election behind them - began focusing on issues ranging from Gov. Pete Wilson's proposed 15 percent across-the-board tax cut to reductions in class size in state schools.

At the same time, a citizen committee appointed by Wilson voted to deny a pay raise to all legislators and holders of constitutional offices, including the governor.

In other legislative action, the Assembly Appropriations Committee moved Wilson's 15 percent corporate and personal income tax cut to the Assembly floor where it will be voted on as early as Monday.

The bill - AB 2033 - is being carried by Assemblyman Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga.

It was not expected to face much dissent in the Republican-controlled committee and may not get its first real test until it reaches the upper house, where Democrats have voiced strong opposition.

``If enacted, this bill will cut taxes for 18 million Californians,'' Brulte said.

Democrats say, however, that more than 50 percent of the tax cuts would benefit the state's wealthiest taxpayers.

Other bills moving out of committee Wednesday included SB 1414 by Sen. Leroy Greene that would create incentives for schools to reduce their average class size from 31 to 20 in grades K-3. It moved from the Senate Education Committee to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

A few blocks from the Capitol, meanwhile, the Citizens Compensation Commission, set up to take the issue out of the hands of the Legislature, voted unanimously against any pay raises for lawmakers after more than a dozen citizens testified against a raise. There was no testimony in favor of a pay increase for lawmakers whose annual salaries range from $75,600 for legislators to $126,000 for the governor.