Maldonado confirmation hearing postponed in Assembly

Sen. Abel Maldonado’s confirmation hearing before the Assembly Rules Committee has been delayed at least until Tuesday.

Maldonado, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s nominee for lieutenant governor, had been scheduled to appear Monday in Assembly Rules. But the meeting was postponed because some lawmakers – including Assembly Speaker-elect John A. Perez of Los Angeles – were unable to attend because of travel conflicts.

The 42-year-old Maldonado, a Santa Maria Republican, was approved last week by the Senate Rules Committee and a Senate floor vote on his nomination is pending.

If Maldonado is confirmed, he will serve out the unexpired term of John Garamendi, a Democrat, who recently resigned the lieutenant governor’s job after he won a U.S. House seat in California’s 10^th Congressional District.