Legislators

Does Los Angeles-area state Sen. Roderick Wright live in the district he represents? Where the veteran Democrat currently makes his home doesn't actually matter under state law, elections experts say. Where he lived while running for office is the key question. The residency matter, and the issue of whether Wright correctly reported his address while seeking the 25th District seat he won last year, surfaced last week when the Los Angeles County district attorney's office confirmed it is investigating Wright.

Lawmakers on Tuesday denied themselves a pay raise next January but, with an eye toward a better economic and political climate, decided to retain their automatic cost-of-living raises for future years. A blur of last-minute procedural maneuvering in the Senate produced a salary package for members of Congress that holds their annual pay at $174,000 until 2011.

Republicans have chosen Jeff Sessions to be their leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee, making the conservative Alabaman the public face of the GOP during coming battles over immigration and the next Supreme Court nominee. A formal vote installing Sessions to replace Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania -- who announced last week that he was switching to the Democratic Party -- as ranking Republican on the committee could come as early as today.

When not in a capital gripped by budget crises, state Sen. Ron Calderon can be found touring his San Gabriel Valley district in a Cadillac STS V8 Luxury Sports Sedan that the state bought for $54,830. The Democrat from Montebello spent an average $83 per week on gasoline last year, charged to California taxpayers on a state-issued card. When legislators' cars need maintenance or are in accidents -- even with spouses or offspring at the wheel -- taxpayers also pay, state records show.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) vowed Sunday to clear her name after the revelation of a wiretapped conversation in which she reportedly agreed to intervene in the federal investigation of two pro-Israeli lobbyists in exchange for help getting a coveted congressional post.

With California's budget crisis resolved for the moment, state lawmakers Thursday turned their attention to another emergency: a three-year drought that has left key reservoirs at 35% of capacity. Legislators stepped forward with plans to ask voters to borrow as much as $15 billion for projects to expand and improve the state's water supply. "This is the session to aggressively solve California's water challenges," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Thursday.

The executive director of a foundation created by John Burton filed a $10-million lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the former state Senate president sexually harassed her by making unwanted advances, using suggestive language and commenting on her body.

The striking writers behind Jon Stewart's fake news show and Stephen Colbert's fake talk show came here to explain to real lawmakers Wednesday a strike that has crippled creative television and threatens to wreck the Oscars. But knowing it can be difficult to get a lawmaker's attention when not in a Learjet or on the links, the brains behind two of Comedy Central's most-watched shows couched the issues in terms Washington could understand: a mock debate.

Angry mobs clashed with police Thursday in several Kenyan cities as news spread about the slaying of a second opposition lawmaker in this Rift Valley town. The newly elected parliament member, David Kimutai Too, and a female companion were shot to death in a car in what police described as a "crime of passion" arising from a "love triangle."

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who drew heavy criticism last fall for using campaign funds for world travel and luxury purchases, continued to spend thousands of dollars on airfare and gifts in the last six months, according to financial reports made public Thursday.