California Hospitals Give Big to Term Limits Campaign
The political wing of the California Hospital Association on May 4 donated $100,000 to a committee collecting signatures for a ballot measure to overhaul term limits for California legislators, a cause important to Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles), the Los Angeles Times reports.
According to the Times, other groups with "especially high stakes in the current legislative session" -- such as Pacific Gas & Electric -- have made large donations to the Committee for Term Limits & Legislative Reform.
Jay Stewart, executive director of the nonpartisan Better Government Association, said, "Common sense tells you that if you support an issue near and dear to any legislator ... to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, you're probably going to get your phone call returned."
The Times notes that Núñez's plan to expand health insurance coverage in California does not call for contributions from hospitals, which would face such a requirement under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) health care reform proposal.
Steve Maviglio, a spokesperson for Núñez, said contributions to the term limits campaign have not affected Núñez's actions.
Jan Emerson, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, said that the proposed measure "adheres to the spirit of the [1990] law while at the same time promoting effective governance" (Vogel, Los Angeles Times, 6/4).