The Skinny: Tension release

OK, everyone take a deep breath. Now that the legislative session is over — at least the regularly scheduled session is over — here’s hoping everyone has had a little time to recalibrate and settle down. Signs of end-of-session tension were everywhere last week. In the Senate, a bill by Leland Yee to reinstate funding for domestic violence shelters was taken over by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg who stripped Yee’s name off the bill — supposedly payback for some votes Yee refused to put up during the latest budget standoff.  As it turns out, all of that was moot because Republican senators refused to put up votes for that measure, and 19 other non-controversial urgency measures that needed GOP support to get out of the Senate. All of this, reportedly, was because Democrats refused to include some sweetener for the makers of TurboTax. Meanwhile, Capitol tongues were wagging about a dust-up that involved former Sen. Richard Polanco and Senate staffer Kip Lipper. Like most things involving the rumor mill, versions of events varied widely, depending on who you talk to. On the Assembly Floor, Colonel Paul Cook didn’t take kindly when Alberto Torrico briefly held his Vietnam Vets bill hostage. The hostage was eventually released and the bill passed unanimously.
We love a happy ending…