CAPITOL NOTEBOOK: SECRET TALLY AN EXERCISE IN SKULDUGGERY.

Byline: Terri Hardy and Dorothy Korber

KEEPING score is part of a lawmaker's life.

They push for votes on Election Day and closely monitor the amount of money they raise. They keep a running count of legislators who will support their bills - and remember forever those who will not.

All of this is common knowledge. But, in a special binder closeted in the office of the Assembly Budget Committee, there is one tally sheet kept secret from the public.

The list documents, lawmaker by lawmaker, how many pork items they were able to bring home to their communities.

Legislators zealously scan the list to ensure that no one else gets more than his fair share.

With this in mind, lawmakers play an interesting shell game with the money. Often, say Capitol insiders, a legislator will request a pork project for his community, then draft several other lawmakers to sign on to the item. The requesting lawmaker buries his name in the middle of the other names. That ensures the pork item is not credited to him in the secret binder.

It seems odd to outsiders, but staving off the envious wrath of other members is more important than taking credit for bringing home the bacon.

Said one lawmaker: ``It becomes a kind of game, where you wonder what items each person really asked for.''

Wake-up call

``You supply the topic, we'll supply the Burton.'' That was the promise of a lighthearted news advisory sent out by the office of ``Iron John'' Burton, president pro tem of the state Senate and its most powerful member.

Don't ask us why the San Francisco Democrat is called Iron John Burton. Profane John Burton or Ugly-Tie John Burton or Ramblin' John Burton would be more apt. But, whatever the sobriquet, he's always Quotable John Burton, so we headed over to his press conference last week.

Burton, wearing a shirt that looked like an unfocused checkerboard, was asked about the ongoing wrangle over the state budget. Midnight Tuesday is the Legislature's legal deadline for sending the budget to the governor.

``I doubt if we'll make June 15,'' was Burton's languid reply. ``June 15 is like a snooze alarm. It's like when you have to get up at 6 a.m. so you set your clock for 5:30 and then sleep an extra half hour. I think we'll make it by the end of the fiscal year, though.''

The Legislature hasn't passed a budget by June 15 since 1986. So, set your snooze alarm for Fiscal Year Eve, June 30. Even that would be a blue-moon event - the Legislature hasn't passed a budget by June 30 since 1993.

Charter blues

Charter school advocates say they are still under fire with a budget proposal that would pull funding for children taught at home. It is estimated the funding cut would force 44 charter schools with 19,000 students to close.

This fight comes after charter school groups stopped an attempt to require all charters to unionize. Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, watered down her bill after vocal opposition from charter school groups and a behind-the-scenes message from Gov. Gray Davis that he would not support it.

The changes to charters have come from Democratic lawmakers backed by teachers unions and school boards. The Assembly Republican Caucus has vehemently opposed the changes, saying they threaten the innovative charter school movement.

Valley buses

San Fernando Valley-area supporters of a Valley Transit Zone say they are facing a fight similar to the one waged by charter schools.

Advocates of the zone, intended to allow local control of more than 30 MTA bus lines, are opposed to Senate Bill 101 by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles, which would require the new entity to be bound by the same conditions of the collective bargaining agreement held by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The board of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association voted last week to strongly oppose AB 101.