LEGISLATIVE SESSION GETS POOR MARKS FROM CRITICS.

Byline: STEVE HARMON

San Jose Mercury News

SACRAMENTO -- Lost opportunities, political acrimony, and little in the way of significant legislation. That's how political observers characterized the 2007 legislative session that concluded early Wednesday morning.

Lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fell far short of the sweeping, historic change that the governor had envisioned after his re-election last November -- and success paled in comparison to last year when Schwarzenegger teamed up with Democratic leaders to produce unprecedented legislation to curb global emissions and $43 billion in infrastructure bonds approved by voters.

"They had the stars and the moons properly aligned, with the governor re-elected, and there were no election worries for the Legislature," said Tony Quinn, a GOP political analyst. "This was the year to do something. I expected to see more substantive stuff. But, the governor didn't use the large mandate he got. It just petered out."

Left on the cutting room floor are hot-button issues such as health care reform, sentencing and parole reform, assisted suicide, water storage, and redistricting reform.

Schwarzenegger has called lawmakers into special session in hopes of accomplishing what couldn't be done in the regular session: health care reform, and water storage and flood protection legislation.

But not everyone is optimistic, especially given the partisan divide that dominated a session that produced mostly tweaks to state laws, not memorable change.

If anything, the legislative session was characterized by splashy bills that caught the attention of the nation -- even if they wound up gutted or killed.

Mountain View Democratic Assemblywoman Sally Lieber's bill to ban spanking of young children was ridiculed by comedians and bloggers and ultimately watered down to allow juries to consider a list of acts such as hitting with a closed fist to be considered child abuse.

Another would have made it illegal to sell incandescent light bulbs, causing another national stir. That bill never made it out of the Assembly.

sharmon(at)cctimes.com

Legislative highlights 2007

State lawmakers introduced 3,063 pieces of legislation this year and passed 962. As of Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had signed 213 bills and vetoed eight.

Bills that failed to advance in the Legislature, were vetoed or expected to be vetoed include: Health care reform plan by Democratic leaders; term limits and legalization of gay marriage.

Bills that the governor signed this year included: prison reform; restrictions on environmental lawsuits to stop new development and a crackdown on gangs.

Bills that passed the Legislature and need the governor's approval include: banning smoking in cars when children are present; prohibiting hospitals from dumping homeless patients in overloaded areas and allowing illegal immigrants to qualify for student aid.

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Legislative highlights 2007 (see text)