Jackie Speier

Three established Capitol Democrats are trying to win their party's nomination for lieutenant governor, normally an office that attracts little drama. While state Sen. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough has been racking up newspaper endorsements -- 13 so far -- Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has garnered attention for his allegation that insurance companies are trying to sink his candidacy.

California's secretive government-run workers' compensation insurance company came under attack Wednesday for fighting a bill that would force it to open its books to state auditors. At issue is legislation by the chairwoman of the Senate Insurance Committee to allow the state auditor to review the administration of the State Compensation Insurance Fund and investigate its finances.

The chairwoman of a California Senate oversight committee has requested an audit of a $600-million settlement between the state Insurance Department and defendants accused of fraudulently acquiring the assets of now-defunct insurer Executive Life. State Sen.

Vying for scraps of state revenue, the arts fought the environment in Sacramento and the environment won. A bill written by state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) had aimed to boost the cash-starved California Arts Council, the agency that makes state government grants to the arts, by an estimated $1.5 million a year. The idea: Give the arts council all the income from vanity license plates emblazoned with a special design that arts-loving motorists can purchase for an extra fee.

In a meeting last year with former San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh in the Capitol, state Sen. Jackie Speier was discussing her legislation to crack down on high-school athletes' use of performance-enhancing supplements. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unexpectedly popped in, cigar in hand, the Hillsborough Democrat recalled. " 'Oh, yeah, I'm for that,' " she remembered him saying. So Speier was stunned when, in September, Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.

Following a rash of pit bull attacks this year in the Bay Area -- including the fatal mauling of a boy -- a state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would give local governments greater power to control pit bulls. Though it would not ban pit bulls, the bill by state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) would allow municipalities to establish mandatory spay or neuter programs for a particular breed. Professional breeders would be exempt.