Guaranteed Healthcare

Nunez Forced to Recuse Himself from ALL Healthcare Votes??

In a stunning turn, it appears that Speaker Fabian Nunez must recuse himself from any votes on healthcare legislations—including any attempts to revive AB 8, the healthcare bill that Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this month.

The Sacramento Bee reported this morning that Maria Robles, the wife of Fabian Nunez, has accepted a six-figure salary with Californians for Patient Care, a front group for the hospital industry that receives approximately 99% of its funding from the California Hospital Association.

Nuñez has already established a precedent for abstaining on issues affecting another of his wife’s employers. In 2006, Robles accepted a six-figure salary to work as a consultant for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.  As a result, Nuñez pledged not to vote on legislation that affected them that year.

Under California law, “no member of the legislature shall… receive or agree to receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation, reward or gift from any source, except the State of California” with very limited exceptions for certain speech fees and expense reimbursements (California Government Code 8920). This broad provision covers a spouse’s income, as Nunez’ prior actions with the Air Quality Management District demonstrate. Additionally, the law specifies that no legislator shall “participate, by voting or any other action, on the floor of either house, in committee, or elsewhere, in the passage or defeat of legislation in which he has a personal interest.”
I don’t have the penalties at hand for violating this law—add them in the comments if you, please.

But does this mean AB 8 is dead?  Has the insurance industry failed in their attempts to create a “forced market” for their products?

Interestingly, this couldn’t happen at a better time.  It appears that the coalitions of Sacramento insiders pushing the grand Nunez-Schwarzenegger compromise may be breaking apart.  Fabian’s backers are now apparently on the warpath against Arnold.  They’ve hired consultant Chris Lehane, a true-blue Democrat and Clinton/Gore/Clinton operative who has no interest in polishing Arnold’s resume as he heads into the possible 2010 showdown against Boxer.

Of course who knows what’s going to happen? Nunez’ wife is working for Arnold’s plan, and his allies are working against it. 

Finally, superstar columnist David Lazarus continues his advocacy on behalf of single-payer healthcare.