SACRAMENTO - The state Legislature will reconvene Monday, and Lancaster Republicans George and Sharon Runner said they plan to focus on health care and passing their public safety ballot initiative in the 2008 session.
Last year, State Sen. George Runner and his wife, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, said they would focus on public safety, strengthening penalties for juvenile gang crimes and pushing the state to build more prison space.

While Republicans notched a victory with a $6.1 billion plan to build 40,000 new beds in state prisons, other anti-crime legislation didn't get as far as the Runners had hoped. So they are planning on taking those issues to the voters in November.

"It's always our job to try to be reasonable in what we're trying to get, and to try to be incremental," George Runner said Wednesday from Sacramento. "But if there are high priorities, we'll continue to go to the ballot."

The Runners and other Republicans are gathering signatures to put the Safe Neighborhoods Act on the November ballot. The act is an anti-crime ballot initiative that supporters say will toughen penalties, crack down on gangs, protect victims and provide more state funding for law enforcement.

Republicans are in the minority in the Senate and Assembly, and Sharon Runner said going directly to the voters can be the most effective way of passing legislation.

She said her bill to stiffen penalties for driving under the influence was held up in committee, so its provisions have been added to the ballot initiative.

"It's not easy to do when there are 32 Republicans (and 47 Democrats)," Sharon Runner said. "I need at least nine (Democratic) members to agree with me. … It's been frustrating in the five years I've been in Sacramento."

In 2006, the Runners pushed for the passage of Jessica's Law, a ballot initiative that tightened penalties for sex offenders. This year, they will be spending time campaigning for the Safe Neighborhoods Act, and will be announcing next week that the Safe Neighborhoods Act campaign has received a donation of $1 million.

George Runner said being outnumbered in both houses doesn't mean Republicans can't get things done in Sacramento.

"You just choose to fight your battles where you can," he said. "It's not just Republicans who have challenges up there. … It's not just that you're in the majority so you get your things done."

He said Republicans can, if nothing else, slow the progress of unfavorable legislation, such as the health care bill passed by the Assembly in December.

"We're trying to slow down and influence the health-care debate," George Runner said. "Obviously, it got slowed down. We'll be voting on health care the second week of January, and we'll not only hear the bill the Assembly voted out, but hearing a Republican set of bills as well - a plan that's more market-centered."

Sharon Runner called the Assembly health-care bill "the 'Governor and Fabian' health-care plan," and said it is not the solution to the state's problems.

"I just don't believe it's the real cure for health care," she said. "I think the Republicans, we've offered several bills dealing with health savings accounts, nurse practitioners working in clinics. … More access is the key."

She said the health-care package, which needs to be adopted by voters in November, will be "dead in the water."

"I think people say no more taxes," she said. "People are not sure where the economy is going."

Both Runners said pushing for more access to health care, but not universal health care, will be a priority for 2008.

"Health care is a key issue for us," George Runner said. "I don't think the Democratic plan has a chance at all."

Another item on their agenda for the year will be finding a solution for the state's water crisis, which has been exacerbated by drought and a federal judge's decision to cut down on the amount of water pumped from the San Joaquin River Delta to Southern California.

"That fact is, we are near crisis, and in many places we are in crisis," George Runner said. "We need to find a way to move water from Northern California to Southern California."

He said the process has thus far been held up by environmental interest groups, but that the state needs to "choose what is right and best for California."

jkoren@avpress.com

Link to Article