Patrick Johnston

Assemblyman Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton), who chairs the Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee, said he is sending letters to chief executives of the largest insurance companies in California asking that they voluntarily freeze their premiums "as a sign of good faith." The letters were co-signed by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

Donating used vehicles to charities has become popular among private donors looking to do good while unloading an old car--and at the same time receive a tax credit--and philanthropic organizations needing to fill their coffers. But state Sen. Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) has found that too many charities operating in California are lending their good names to used-car dealers and professional fund-raisers who agree to give them a minuscule cut in return for selling the donated used cars.

Thank you for the support you gave to SB 941, the no-fault auto insurance reform bill. The measure was defeated in the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 28 by a vote of 5 to 5 with one abstention. Six votes were needed to pass the bill. The case we made was straightforward: Auto insurance rates are high and headed higher even with Proposition 103 in effect. While there are many causes for rising rates (fraud, medical costs, repair shop billing practices, fragile auto bodies)

A state senator has accused the University of California of "sleaze, greed and self-promotion" because of its formal agreement to split fallen junk bond king Michael Milken's profits from the videotape sales of his management school lectures now under way at UCLA. In a blistering letter Friday to UC President Jack Peltason, Sen.

How much is one vote worth at the state Capitol? In the case of Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier) on Wednesday, the answer was more than $3,600. That's how much one Democratic assemblymen paid to rent a private plane so that Hill could show up to vote at the state Capitol on a controversial no-fault auto insurance measure.

Ellie Nesler, convicted of manslaughter in the courtroom shooting of her son's alleged molester, claims that psychiatrists covered up for a state senator who molested her years ago. Nesler did not name her alleged molester in court, but state Sen. Patrick Johnston issued a statement Wednesday in response to the accusation. He denied the allegation but acknowledged he had been Nesler's probation officer when she was a teen-ager.

The chairman of the state Assembly's Insurance Committee, Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton), has launched his own $40,000 campaign of television commercials in the insurance initiative wars, urging a "no" vote on all five of the Nov. 8 ballot measures.

Donating used vehicles to charities has become popular among private donors looking to do good while unloading an old car--and at the same time receive a tax credit--and philanthropic organizations needing to fill their coffers. But state Sen. Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) has found that too many charities operating in California are lending their good names to used-car dealers and professional fund-raisers who agree to give them a minuscule cut in return for selling the donated used cars.

If the power of an Assembly Speaker is measured by his ability to get things done, to kill bills as well as move them along, then Willie Brown is as powerful as he has ever been. Brown, a San Francisco Democrat, in 1988 came within a hair of losing the post which arguably makes him the second most influential person in the state, next to the governor. But Wednesday, he demonstrated convincingly that he is back, and better than ever.

Legislative efforts to strengthen enforcement of the insurance initiative, Proposition 103, suffered a major setback Thursday as the Assembly rejected a bill aimed at preventing auto insurers from pulling out of the California market. The bill, which would have severely penalized companies that arbitrarily cancel auto policies, fell seven votes short of the two-thirds needed for passage. The defeat, on a vote of 47 to 23, came after the legislation had already passed the Senate.

Ellie Nesler, convicted of manslaughter in the courtroom shooting of her son's alleged molester, claims that psychiatrists covered up for a state senator who molested her years ago. Nesler did not name her alleged molester in court, but state Sen. Patrick Johnston issued a statement Wednesday in response to the accusation. He denied the allegation but acknowledged he had been Nesler's probation officer when she was a teen-ager.

Thank you for the support you gave to SB 941, the no-fault auto insurance reform bill. The measure was defeated in the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 28 by a vote of 5 to 5 with one abstention. Six votes were needed to pass the bill. The case we made was straightforward: Auto insurance rates are high and headed higher even with Proposition 103 in effect. While there are many causes for rising rates (fraud, medical costs, repair shop billing practices, fragile auto bodies)

With the strong backing of Gov. Pete Wilson and an unusual coalition of insurance companies, Consumers Union and social activists, a proposed no-fault insurance bill pending in the Legislature would seem to have the best prospects yet to overhaul California's auto insurance system. But nearly every one of the bill's often radical provisions is the subject of dispute or interpretation.

Gov. Pete Wilson on Monday upped the ante on legislation to enact low-cost, no-fault auto insurance, vowing to veto a rival bill by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and repeatedly assailing the California Trial Lawyers Assn. for allegedly blocking insurance reform. Wilson, in Los Angeles, said that heavy pressure will be placed on legislators who have sided with the trial lawyers against no-fault to instead support a $220-a-year basic no-fault auto insurance policy proposed for good drivers.

Democrat Pat Johnston has been elected to the state Senate in a special election in eight Central Valley and foothill counties, replacing state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Johnston's victory Tuesday increases the Democratic majority in the 40-seat Senate to 26, while Republicans remain at 11 with one independent and two vacancies.

Assemblyman Patrick Johnston, no stranger to the turbulence of legislative campaigns, finds himself in the awkward spot of asking constituents to vote for him twice on Nov. 6--once for the Assembly and again for the state Senate. Is he greedy? Power hungry? No, says the five-term Stockton Democrat. Johnston complains that he was forced into seeking two offices simultaneously because of a maneuver by a Democratic "power couple"--former state Sen.

Under threat of a legal challenge, an Assembly committee on Tuesday delayed a vote on legislation intended to freeze insurance premiums until the state Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of Proposition 103.

The chairman of the Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee and leaders of the Consumers Union announced Friday that they will jointly push early next year for adoption by the Legislature of a no-fault auto insurance system modeled on the one in force in New York state.

How much is one vote worth at the state Capitol? In the case of Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier) on Wednesday, the answer was more than $3,600. That's how much one Democratic assemblymen paid to rent a private plane so that Hill could show up to vote at the state Capitol on a controversial no-fault auto insurance measure.

If the power of an Assembly Speaker is measured by his ability to get things done, to kill bills as well as move them along, then Willie Brown is as powerful as he has ever been. Brown, a San Francisco Democrat, in 1988 came within a hair of losing the post which arguably makes him the second most influential person in the state, next to the governor. But Wednesday, he demonstrated convincingly that he is back, and better than ever.