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POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
Balloon bill compromise made
Supporters and critics of legislation that would have outlawed the sale of helium-filled Mylar balloons hammered out a compromise this week en route to what they hope will ensure the bill’s passage.
Instead of illegalizing the sale of the shiny, metallic balloons — as the bill’s author, state Sen. Jack Scott, had intended — the compromise will now penalize sellers and distributors of the Mylar balloons up to $250.
The amended version of the bill also requires greater educational outreach and proposes that weights used to ground the balloons cannot be a child’s toy or candy. The bill also calls for a privately-funded study by the University of California to search for an alternative to Mylar.
The legislation, pushed by Scott at the behest of the Burbank City Council, had been stalled in the state Assembly since it was passed May 29 by the Senate. Burbank officials asked Scott to draft legislation in September 2007 after a multitude of outages caused by Mylar balloons that had become enmeshed in power lines.
Burbank Water & Power officials in 2007 recorded that more than 4,600 customers were affected by eight power outages, which lasted an average of 77 minutes per customer. The outages caused more than $10,000 in property damage. Though not the sole culprit, metallic balloons were found to have caused a portion of the blackouts.
No metallic balloon-related outages have been reported in Burbank this year, but in 2003, more than $42,000 was lost in customer revenue when a Mylar balloon wafted into a Burbank power substation, shutting it down for hours, Principal Engineer Xavier Baldwin said.
Helium-filled Mylar balloons have also become a thorn in the side of Glendale’s power utility. In May, about 2,000 Glendale residents experienced power outages lasting more than a half-hour. The outages were caused by Mylar balloons, officials said.
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, which covers 75 square miles of Northern California, reported similar problems.
But the legislation was met with steep opposition from a slew of businesses and the Balloon Council, a powerful lobbying group that culled 20,000 florists and other balloon retailers in the state to form a bubble of resistance.
“We managed to achieve the utility’s goals and Sen. Scott’s goals without wiping out an entire industry,” Balloon Council spokesman Pete McDonough said. “That’s a pretty good thing. We didn’t believe that criminalizing the sale of 45 millions balloons in the state of California was the right way to go.”
McDonough said that the sale of metallic balloons account for $75 million in sales tax revenue, a steep amount that the state cannot do without as it faces a $17.2 billion deficit.
The bill is now frozen in the Assembly Appropriations Committee as it awaits formal drafting.
On Wednesday, Scott lauded the compromise.
“We have worked diligently on this bill and have come up with a compromise that strengthens the oversight of helium-filled, metallic balloons while removing the opposition of the balloon industry,” he said in front of the panel.
The compromise between balloon officials and Scott’s office had been in the works for about a week and was initiated after a flood of small business owners called his Sacramento office.
“That really did influence him,” Scott’s spokeswoman Wendy Gordon said. “He heard them and thought, ‘Let’s see if we can work something out.’”
McDonough questioned the need for the bill, saying that the outages caused by Mylar balloons are relatively inconsequential as compared to the number of outages in general.
Gordon dismissed such flippancy, contending that Mylar balloon-cased outages are a serious problem.
“If you’re in the operating room at [Providence] St. Joseph [Medical Center] and the electricity goes out and you have to wait for backup electricity, it’s a problem,” she said. “If it’s 100 degrees out and Southern California Edison is saying we’ve got six outages and they are all Mylar balloon caused and your fridge goes out, that’s a problem. To say that’s it not a problem, is understating it.”
Schiff offers some financial assistance
In the wake of one of the biggest bank closings in U.S. history, Rep. Adam Schiff is encouraging constituents affected by the closure of IndyMac Bank to call his Pasadena office.
On July 11, IndyMac shut down all its 33 branches in California after falling victim to plummeting housing prices and record-high gas costs. Federal regulators, after requisitioning the bank, reopened its branches on Monday.
At IndyMac locations in Glendale and Burbank, hundreds of people lined up before the banks opened at 8 a.m. to withdraw their money as concern mounted over the future of their funds.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has already set up a toll-free assistance hot line and website for inquiries. That number is (866) 806-5919 and operators are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The website is www.fdic.gov/bank/ individual/failed/IndyMac.html.
People unable to get in touch with the government agency or have concerns or questions about the IndyMac takeover can call Schiff’s Pasadena office at (626) 304-2727.
“These tough economic times are taking a toll on everyone, and customers of IndyMac bank are understandably concerned about their hard-earned savings,” Schiff said in a statement. “We can help you get answers.”
House approves DNA improvement measure
The House of Representatives on Monday passed Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008.
The bill aims to improve DNA tools to help catch rapists, murderers and other violent criminals as well as help reduce the backlog of DNA samples waiting to be screened by federal and state investigators.
The bill includes four Schiff-authored amendments. They would provide states with an incentive to collect DNA profiles from people arrested for murder or felony sex crimes, and calls for the Department of Justice’s Inspector General to investigate and report on how many DNA database matches are followed up on by law enforcement and how many are ultimately brought to the attention of prosecutors.
If approved, the bill would authorize the attorney general to provide federal matching funds to states that have implemented permanent mechanisms that generate funds dedicated to analyzing DNA samples for law-enforcement purposes.
The bill, H.R. 5087, will be sent to the Senate for approval, before it is sent to President Bush to be signed into law.
— Compiled by Jeremy Oberstein
Instead of illegalizing the sale of the shiny, metallic balloons — as the bill’s author, state Sen. Jack Scott, had intended — the compromise will now penalize sellers and distributors of the Mylar balloons up to $250.
The amended version of the bill also requires greater educational outreach and proposes that weights used to ground the balloons cannot be a child’s toy or candy. The bill also calls for a privately-funded study by the University of California to search for an alternative to Mylar.
The legislation, pushed by Scott at the behest of the Burbank City Council, had been stalled in the state Assembly since it was passed May 29 by the Senate. Burbank officials asked Scott to draft legislation in September 2007 after a multitude of outages caused by Mylar balloons that had become enmeshed in power lines.
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No metallic balloon-related outages have been reported in Burbank this year, but in 2003, more than $42,000 was lost in customer revenue when a Mylar balloon wafted into a Burbank power substation, shutting it down for hours, Principal Engineer Xavier Baldwin said.
Helium-filled Mylar balloons have also become a thorn in the side of Glendale’s power utility. In May, about 2,000 Glendale residents experienced power outages lasting more than a half-hour. The outages were caused by Mylar balloons, officials said.
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, which covers 75 square miles of Northern California, reported similar problems.
But the legislation was met with steep opposition from a slew of businesses and the Balloon Council, a powerful lobbying group that culled 20,000 florists and other balloon retailers in the state to form a bubble of resistance.
“We managed to achieve the utility’s goals and Sen. Scott’s goals without wiping out an entire industry,” Balloon Council spokesman Pete McDonough said. “That’s a pretty good thing. We didn’t believe that criminalizing the sale of 45 millions balloons in the state of California was the right way to go.”
McDonough said that the sale of metallic balloons account for $75 million in sales tax revenue, a steep amount that the state cannot do without as it faces a $17.2 billion deficit.
The bill is now frozen in the Assembly Appropriations Committee as it awaits formal drafting.
On Wednesday, Scott lauded the compromise.
“We have worked diligently on this bill and have come up with a compromise that strengthens the oversight of helium-filled, metallic balloons while removing the opposition of the balloon industry,” he said in front of the panel.
The compromise between balloon officials and Scott’s office had been in the works for about a week and was initiated after a flood of small business owners called his Sacramento office.
“That really did influence him,” Scott’s spokeswoman Wendy Gordon said. “He heard them and thought, ‘Let’s see if we can work something out.’”
McDonough questioned the need for the bill, saying that the outages caused by Mylar balloons are relatively inconsequential as compared to the number of outages in general.
Gordon dismissed such flippancy, contending that Mylar balloon-cased outages are a serious problem.
“If you’re in the operating room at [Providence] St. Joseph [Medical Center] and the electricity goes out and you have to wait for backup electricity, it’s a problem,” she said. “If it’s 100 degrees out and Southern California Edison is saying we’ve got six outages and they are all Mylar balloon caused and your fridge goes out, that’s a problem. To say that’s it not a problem, is understating it.”
Schiff offers some financial assistance
In the wake of one of the biggest bank closings in U.S. history, Rep. Adam Schiff is encouraging constituents affected by the closure of IndyMac Bank to call his Pasadena office.
On July 11, IndyMac shut down all its 33 branches in California after falling victim to plummeting housing prices and record-high gas costs. Federal regulators, after requisitioning the bank, reopened its branches on Monday.
At IndyMac locations in Glendale and Burbank, hundreds of people lined up before the banks opened at 8 a.m. to withdraw their money as concern mounted over the future of their funds.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has already set up a toll-free assistance hot line and website for inquiries. That number is (866) 806-5919 and operators are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The website is www.fdic.gov/bank/ individual/failed/IndyMac.html.
People unable to get in touch with the government agency or have concerns or questions about the IndyMac takeover can call Schiff’s Pasadena office at (626) 304-2727.
“These tough economic times are taking a toll on everyone, and customers of IndyMac bank are understandably concerned about their hard-earned savings,” Schiff said in a statement. “We can help you get answers.”
House approves DNA improvement measure
The House of Representatives on Monday passed Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008.
The bill aims to improve DNA tools to help catch rapists, murderers and other violent criminals as well as help reduce the backlog of DNA samples waiting to be screened by federal and state investigators.
The bill includes four Schiff-authored amendments. They would provide states with an incentive to collect DNA profiles from people arrested for murder or felony sex crimes, and calls for the Department of Justice’s Inspector General to investigate and report on how many DNA database matches are followed up on by law enforcement and how many are ultimately brought to the attention of prosecutors.
If approved, the bill would authorize the attorney general to provide federal matching funds to states that have implemented permanent mechanisms that generate funds dedicated to analyzing DNA samples for law-enforcement purposes.
The bill, H.R. 5087, will be sent to the Senate for approval, before it is sent to President Bush to be signed into law.
— Compiled by Jeremy Oberstein
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