BUDGET DEBATE CAUSING BILL BACKUP MORE THAN 900 BILLS STILL SLATED TO BE HEARD BY LEGISLATORS THIS YEAR.

Byline: STEVE GEISSINGER

Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- When lawmakers return today to the Capitol for their final four weeks of work this year, they likely will confront not only a contentious budget standoff, but face more than 900 other bills -- some that deal with vital issues and many that are sure to fuel passionate debate.

The question is: Can they get to them?

It's clear the first order of business for the Legislature will be the budget. Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, has gone as far as to say that his house will not deal with any legislation until a budget bill is signed.

But even if the budget is resolved quickly, it's assumed that hashing out a health care bill -- important to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders -- will then become the focus. Next is a bill pushed by Perata and the governor to put a multibillion-dollar, San Joaquin Delta restoration bond on a 2008 ballot.

All this could lead to a frenzied race through a mountain of unfinished business that includes another vote on gay marriage, the politically sensitive issue of revamping how political boundaries are drawn and a controversial bill to create a sentencing commission.

"It's a very unique situation where legislation is being held hostage and we don't have a lot of time ," said Assembly Speaker Fabian NuIllegal 'X-value' for character STYLs voided here ez, D-Los Angeles. "The Democrats and the Republicans need to be focusing on several important issues beyond the budget.

"We could set a new record as the first Legislature to hold up an entire legislative session."

The time crunch hasn't been lost on the governor, who has spent this past week using his bully pulpit to push Senate Republicans to sign off on the deal approved by the Assembly.

"The governor is focused on getting health care, water and the other issues on his ambitious agenda done this legislative year," said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the governor. "That's the reason it's so important the budget is resolved as soon as possible."

Normally both houses would have worked until there was a budget. But the Assembly approved a budget and went on summer vacation -- only to have Senate Republicans reject it and stand firm until the Assembly returned.

Neither Schwarzenegger's public admonishments nor Perata's threat to hold up legislation have had much impact, at least so far, on the so-called "Gang of 14" Republican senators, led by Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman of Tustin. If anything, they have pushed for more concessions -- asking for changes ranging from $700 million in spending cuts to legislation that ensures developers do not have to consider the effects of global warming under environmental law that governs development.

On Friday, Ackerman fired off a press release, saying it's a "myth Senate Republicans have been moving the goal posts."

But whether Republicans are holding out for the right reason, the fact they are holding up the budget vexes Schwarzenegger.

In one of several campaign tours statewide on the budget, Schwarzenegger said this week, "California's budget stalemate must end so we can get back to work serving our citizens."

That work, in terms of pending legislation, is wide-ranging:

AB 43 by Mark Leno, D-San Francsico, would recognize same-sex marriage in California. Previously passed by the Legislature, then vetoed by the governor, the bill is expected to suffer the same fate this time.

SCA 10 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would create an independent panel to take the politically volatile issue of drawing lawmakers' districts away from the Legislature.

SB 110 by Perata would create an independent criminal sentencing commission that some Democrats feel is necessary to help reduce prison overcrowding and some conservatives fear will simply shorten prison terms.

AB 67 by Perata would restore an Oakland-sponsored law allowing confiscation of cars used in wild "sideshows," featuring drivers hanging outside the cars, spinning circles and other antics.

AB 1724 by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, would reauthorize local law enforcement to seize cars used in drug or prostitution crimes.

AB 1109 by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, provides incentives for more energy-efficient lighting, including incandescent light bulbs.

AB 444, by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-El Cerrito, would empower county transportation panels to ask voters to approve a surcharge on cars registered in their county.

AB 1251, by Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa, would give winners of the multi-state Mega Millions lottery a year to come forward and claim their prize, instead of six months.

AB 1291, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, would require parents, whose children have committed first gang-related crimes, to attend mandatory educational classes about gangs.

AB 45, by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, would give more power back, and more swiftly, to the state-run Oakland Unified School District.

AB 1743, by Huffman, would block spending on a new Death Row at aging San Quentin Prison without legislative approval.

SB 7, by state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Redondo Beach, would ban smoking in cars when anyone under the age of 18 is also in the vehicle.

SB 80, by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, would allow importing kangaroo hide from overpopulated herds in Australia to make expensive soccer shoes.

Of the 930 bills, the majority -- 562 -- are stuck in the Senate awaiting committee hearings and eventual floor votes, according to the clerks' offices for the legislative houses. And that's fueling the angst because it's the Senate that has yet to vote on the budget.

It could get even dicier if the Assembly decides to negotiate and vote on a new budget bill.

Under the worst case scenario, unfinished bills can be carried over to the second-year of the 2007-08 legislative session, but stamped with the political stigma that it stalled the first year.

sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com

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