SACRAMENTO FILE

Governor Will be the keynote speaker Friday at a governor’s conference on aging in Sacramento.

Assembly Floor Action:

Low-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal: Approved and sent to the Senate on a 51-25 vote a bill (SB 106) by Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-San Jose) to ratify a Western Low-Level Waste Disposal Compact when California and Arizona enact one. The legislation also specifies a dump site to be located in a northeastern San Bernardino County area that is represented by Republican lawmakers. The Senate, which previously passed the measure by a 25-1 vote, will consider Assembly changes to the bill.

Radio Headsets: Approved and sent to the Senate on a 55-17 vote a bill (AB 522) by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) to prohibit bicycle riders from wearing radio headsets while on streets and highways. Bicycle paths are exempted. Violations would be infractions punishable by fines.

Senate Floor Action:

Gubernatorial Appointees: Confirmed on 28-0 vote the appointments of Frank O. Bell Jr. as state public defender and of Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block as a member of the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training.

Committee Action:

Wiretapping: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill (SB 159) by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside) to authorize use of electronic surveillance by law enforcement officers under limited conditions. A 6-0 vote sent the bill to the Senate floor.

Miscellany The Long Way to Washington: It took Senate Sgt.-at-Arms Tony Beard two days to travel from Sacramento to Washington by air recently because of various canceled flights, thunderstorms and shuttling back and forth from Dallas to Houston looking for connections that did not materialize. “My big problem was I couldn’t get out of the state of Texas,” said Beard, who was headed east for an FBI security training seminar.

Capitol Disabled Tours: Special tours of the restored state Capitol are being conducted for disabled people. The tours are designed on a personalized basis to accommodate the specific needs of the people involved. For more information, call Sally Dishman in the Capitol museum office at (916) 324-0321.

Freshman First Bill Hazing: Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) got the needle when he presented an acupuncture bill to the Assembly, a traditional initiation rite reserved for freshmen bringing up their first bill for a vote. “Is that your first bill?” demanded Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Frank Vicencia (D-Bellflower). “Yes,” replied Ferguson. “It sounded like it,” Vicencia shot back. A majority of Ferguson’s colleagues later first recorded “no” votes on the tote board, which made it look like the bill was defeated--until they changed them to “yes.” The final tally was 70-3 to send the legislation to the Senate.