Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/689529
ByMichaelR.Blood The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Withablitz of TV ads and hand-shak- ing, Democratic presiden- tial rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders pre- pared for a final contest in California, where for the first time two Demo- cratic women appeared po- sitioned for a November showdown for a U.S. Sen- ate seat. Voting Tuesday in the presidential contest will come a day after Clinton captured enough commit- ments from delegates to become the Democrats' pre- sumptive nominee, accord- ing to an Associated Press count. The victory puts her in line to be the first woman to top the presiden- tial ticket of a major U.S. po- litical party. Clinton reached the 2,383 delegates needed to become the presumptive Democratic nominee Mon- day with a decisive weekend victory in Puerto Rico and a burst of last-minute support from party officials and of- ficeholders known as super- delegates. Sanders, meanwhile, capped his long-running California swing with stops Monday in liberal bastions around San Francisco, in- cluding a scheduled get-out- the-vote rally with rocker Dave Matthews. Earlier in the day, Clinton cautioned that "it's not over until it's over" but told reporters in Compton that "having a woman president will make a great statement, a historic statement about what kind of country we are, about what we stand for." Clinton hopes a win in California, which she car- ried the 2008 presiden- tial primary over then-Sen. Barack Obama, would be a capstone to a history-mak- ing candidacy. As the nation's most pop- ulous state — home to about 1 in 8 Americans — Califor- nia's election has important symbolic value. A loss here for Clinton would be em- barrassing and could em- bolden Sanders to continue his campaign to claim the nomination through the party's July convention, despite delegate numbers in Clinton's favor. Sanders' campaign said it was a "rush to judgment" to declare Clinton the pre- sumptive nominee given superdelegates can switch their support before the Democratic convention in late July. Sanders has been furi- ously campaigning across the state for an upset that he hopes will strengthen his claim that he is the party's best candidate to face Don- ald Trump in November. In the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Attorney General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Or- ange County, both Dem- ocrats, appear headed to- ward a 1-2 finish Tuesday that would send them to a November runoff under California's unusual elec- tion rules. Recent polling shows little-known Repub- lican candidates lagging in single digits. The 34 Senate candidates will appear on a single bal- lot, and voters can choose any candidate, regardless of party. But only two — the top vote-getters — will ad- vance to the November elec- tion. If the trend holds, it would be the first time since voters in the state starting electing senators a century ago that a Republican has not appeared on a Califor- nia general election bal- lot for U.S. Senate. That would underscore the con- tinued withering of Califor- nia's GOP, which accounts for only 27 percent of regis- tered voters. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is es- sentially running against himself at a time when he has been trying to unite a splintered Republican Party behind his candidacy. The names of Ted Cruz and John Kasich, his last rivals for the nomination before they dropped out, are among those that re- main on the ballot. Trump could face questions about his strength unless he se- cures an impressive margin of victory while driving up strong Republican turnout. In the state Legislature, Republicans are trying to prevent Democrats from gaining a two-thirds major- ity in both chambers, which would give the party a vir- tual lock on political power. Democrats face the pros- pect of several same-party runoffs that have attracted millions of dollars in out- side spending. The state this year has seen a surge in voter regis- tration among younger peo- ple and Hispanics, most of whom registered as per- manent vote-by-mail vot- ers. However, that registra- tion spike is not showing up in vote-by-mail returns received so far, said Paul Mitchell of research firm Political Data Inc. POLITICS St at e pr es id en ti al p ri ma ry carries symbolic weight JOHNLOCHER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally on Monday in Lynwood. By Sudhin Thanawala The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Gov. Jerry Brown did not ille- gally gut an existing ballot initiative to try to get his plan to reduce the state's prison population before voters in November, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 6-1 decision all but guarantees that voters will have a chance to weigh in this year on Brown's changes increasing sen- tencing credits for adult inmates and allowing ear- lier parole for non-violent felons. The proposals give Brown a chance to ease a tough sentencing law he enacted during his first term in office in the 1970s that he has since called a failure and add his stamp to the growing national movement for prison re- form. The California Su- preme Court said Brown's changes were consistent with a 2014 law requir- ing amendments that are "reasonably germane" to the original initiative and mandating a 30-day public comment period for initia- tive proposals. "There is no question that the changes the pro- ponents made to this ini- tiative measure were, in certain respects, quite ex- tensive," Associate Justice Carol Corrigan wrote for the majority. "However, that is their right, so long as the changes are reason- ably germane to the origi- nal theme, purpose, or sub- ject." Brown in April sub- mitted nearly double the number of signatures he needed to qualify his mea- sure for the November bal- lot, though elections offi- cials still have to sign off on the validity of the sig- natures. Brown said the changes were needed to help keep the inmate population be- low the level required by federal judges, and it was too late to start over and still collect the signatures needed for a ballot mea- sure this year. The mea- sure would increase sen- tencing credits for inmates who complete rehabilita- tion programs and allow non-violent felons to seek parole after they have completed their base sen- tences, without enhance- ments for things such as gang involvement or fire- arms possession that can add years to a prison term. The changes would miti- gate the fixed sentencing law Brown signed during his first term. "(Californians) will now have a chance to improve public safety by voting to provide incentives so that more people follow the rules, educate them- selves, and turn their lives around," Dan Newman, a spokesman for Brown and other initiative supporters, said in an email. The California District Attorneys Association sued to block Brown's ini- tiative, accusing the gover- nor of completely rewrit- ing the original juvenile justice measure to side- step the normal initiative process and failing to give the public a chance to com- ment on the changes. Al- lowing Brown's changes would encourage other ini- tiative proponents to pull a similar bait-and-switch, it argued. A lower court agreed with the association and in February blocked At- torney General Kamala Harris from issuing docu- ments that Brown support- ers needed to gather signa- tures. The state Supreme Court overturned that de- cision on Monday. CRIMINAL SENTENCES California Supreme Co ur t al lo ws f or governor's prison plan The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Califor- nians once again beat the state's drought-time order for water savings in April — one of the last months before officials transition from a statewide conserva- tion order to more localized targets, a state agency said Monday. The average Californian used 77 gallons of water a day in April, down 26.1 per- cent from 104 gallons in April 2013, the state Water Resources Control Board said. The agency has been the top conservation monitor and enforcer during Califor- nia's five years of drought. California in April marked its 11th month of mandatory water conser- vation of up to 25 percent for cities and towns. El Nino storms this win- ter brought near-normal rain and snow to North- ern California but not the southern part of the state. Starting this month, Cal- ifornia will switch to a sys- tem that will let local water agenciesliftconservationre- quirements if they can prove they have enough water to getthroughthreemoreyears of possible drought. State water board chair- woman Felicia Marcus called the localized conser- vation orders the "show-me- the-water model." "I do want to be clear if this approach doesn't work we are prepared to call folks on it," Marcus told report- ers. Under the new system, water districts unable to show they have enough wa- ter for three more years' of drought must conserve by a corresponding amount. Water agencies that are 20 percent short on water, for example, would be told to keep their water use 20 percent below pre-drought levels. After 11 months of con- servation, Californians have saved enough water to sup- ply 18 percent of the state's nearly 40 million people for a year. WATER Californians beat drought-time conservation target for April The Associated Press Gov. Jerry Brown's pro- posal to reduce the state's prison population appears set to join numerous mea- sures on the November bal- lot. The prison plan cleared a major hurdle Monday, when the California Supreme Court said the governor did not illegally gut an exist- ing ballot initiative. Brown has submitted nearly double the required signatures to get the initiative on the No- vember ballot, though sig- nature verification is pend- ing. Brown's plan would in- crease sentencing credits for adult inmates and al- low earlier parole for non- violent felons. It would join numerous other measures that have collected enough valid signatures to qualify for California's Nov. 8 ballot. • PLASTIC BAGS. Would overturn a 2014 state law banning single-use plas- tic bags in grocery stores. Backed by the American Progressive Bag Alliance, an industry group. • PUBLIC FINANCES. Would require voter ap- proval for any project that raises more than $2 billion in revenue bonds, or debt that is repaid with user fees. The measure, buoyed by $4 million in contribu- tions from Stockton farmer Dean Cortopassi, may af- fect large projects includ- ing high-speed rail and gi- ant water tunnels. • ADULT FILMS. Would require actors in porno- graphic films to use con- doms during sexual inter- course. • PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS. Would impose con- trols on state purchases of prescription drugs, estab- lishing that prices can be no higher than what the U.S. Department of Veterans Af- fairs pays. • HOSPITAL FEES. Would prohibit the Legisla- ture from diverting fees on hospitals that are intended to make the state eligible for federal funds under the Medicaid program for low- income patients, known as Medi-Cal in California. The Legislature could no longer direct the money to its gen- eral fund. Backed by the California Hospital Asso- ciation. • SCHOOL CONSTRUC- TION. Would authorize the sale of $9 billion in school construction bonds, mostly to build and upgrade K-12 facilities. Backed by the Co- alition for Adequate School Housing and California Building Industry Associ- ation. • MINIMUM WAGE. Would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan- uary 2021. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a similar measure into law in April. Its main backer, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, has until June 30 to with- draw it from the ballot. CALIFORNIA Brown prison initiative set to join ballot FollowusonTwitterandFacebook. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2016 8 A