LEGISLATURE: Inland lawmakers sworn in for 2012-13 session

LEGISLATURE: Inland lawmakers sworn in for 2012-13 session

BY JIM MILLER
The Riverside Press Enterprise    Published: December 03, 2012; 04:02 PM
 
SACRAMENTO -- Inland Southern California's revamped legislative delegation was under the same roof for the first time Monday, larger and less Republican than its predecessors.
Joined by friends and family, new and re-elected Inland lawmakers took their oaths of office during a largely ceremonial day of receptions and glad-handing before they headed back to their districts for the rest of the month. The 2012-2013 session reconvenes Jan. 7.

"It's a lot to take in. It's pretty overwhelming," said freshman Assemblyman Eric Linder, R-Corona, sitting in a temporary Capitol office crowded with relatives and other well-wishers.
Linder said he's already struck up a rapport with fellow freshman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, who represents an adjoining district in western Riverside County.

"We're here for a long haul and we need to get to know each other so we can work together," Linder said.

Three floors above, Medina spent the morning greeting visitors to his office. Among Medina's guests Monday was his mother, Margarita Medina, who had traveled from Panama to attend Monday's ceremony along with Medina's brother, Jorge.

Other new and re-elected Inland lawmakers include Assembly members Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, Cheryl Brown, D-Rialto, and state senators Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, and Richard Roth, D-Riverside.
Two other Inland lawmakers, state senators Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, and Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, who represents southwest Riverside County, were elected in 2010 and were not on last month's ballot -- at least for their current seats.

Negrete McLeod is headed to Congress after defeating Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, with a special election to fill her Senate seat expected early next year.

Lawmakers introduced dozens of bills Monday. Those included measures by Roth and Medina to allocate $15 million to the UC Riverside School of Medicine, which is scheduled to open its doors next summer.

Roth said he also is working on a bill to help Jurupa Valley, the state's newest city. The city and three other Riverside County cities lost millions when lawmakers approved a 2011 state budget that shifted vehicle-license fee revenue to other uses.
All cities lost money in the shift but the state's newest cities were hit hardest. Jurupa Valley officials are considering whether to disincorporate.

DEMOCRATIC GAINS

The Inland region's delegation is a rare example of partisan near-parity in the Capitol, where Democrats last month achieved two-thirds supermajorities for the first time since 1883, with room to spare.

Pending a recount in a district that includes a small part of San Bernardino County, Democrats have a 55-seat majority in the Assembly, leaving Republicans with just 25 seats. A decade ago, Republicans had 32 seats.
In the Senate, Democrats won all three competitive races and head into the new session with a 29-seat majority. They had 25 seats last year.

Assemblywoman Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, noted somewhat ruefully Monday that it has been easy to learn the names of her Republican colleagues because there are so few of them.

Addressing lawmakers, Assembly Speaker John A. Perez pledged to work with Republicans. Melendez said she plans to take him up on his offer.
"I just want to move forward on legislation that will grow jobs in California," she said.

MEET AND GREET

Some of the region's new and re-elected lawmakers barely knew each other before the election. Now they are trying to craft working relationships.

No introductions are necessary between Roth, a Democrat, and state Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, who have known each other for decades but did not communicate during the fall campaign for Roth's 31st Senate District.

Last week, Emmerson and Roth had lunch at the Mission Inn, where they were joined by another caucus member -- Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar.

Huff oversaw the unsuccessful effort to defeat Roth and other Democrats in targeted Senate seats. Roth and others, though, said it was time to move on from last month's election.

"We do have to work together on issues of importance to the region," Roth said.