Screen capture off Youtube of former state Sen. Joseph Montoya during the aftermath of a federal corruption investigation.(Image source: KCRA, Sacramento)In recent legislative history, 2014 was an unusually rough year for the state Senate. Sen. Rod Wright was on trial for voter fraud and perjury, and Senators Ron Calderon and Leland Yee had been indicted by federal authorities on corruption charges. But don’t forget 1988.
A street sign for voters. (Photo by Gustavo Frazao, via Shutterstock)It hasn’t attracted as much attention as some of the gaudier ideas on the November ballot, such as mandatory condoms in X-rated movies, but Californians will have one measure to decide on the June 7 primary ballot. The lone proposal is Proposition 50, which would allow legislators to eliminate pay and benefits for fellow members arrested or convicted of a felony.
An early prison cell, an inmate's home for years. (Photo: Straight 8 Photography)OPINION: Jerry Brown’s push for sentencing reform is the latest great example of Brown doing what most experts and practitioners know to be the right thing—and the willingness of an aging and experienced governor to learn from and correct his mistakes.
Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, at a 2013 conference on online gaming. (Photo: Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)Sen. Rod Wright, the chair of the powerful Governmental Organization Committee and the Legislature’s leading expert on online gaming, was convicted of eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud in a case spanning nearly seven years. He was convicted of lying about his true address — which under California law must be in the district he represents — and lying on registration and candidacy documents. (Above: Rod Wright at a Sacramento conference, 2013. Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)
Gov. Brown has signed into a law a measure allowing prison inmates who were minors at the time they committed their crimes to apply for resentencing and early release at least 15 years into their sentence.
Under the law, minors are treated differently than adults.