Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 27, 2006

Democrats in the Assembly had a chance this week to distinguish themselves from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his half-baked efforts to protect the Central Valley from a deadly and costly flood.

As usual, the Democrats blew it. Their failure was largely the handiwork of Assemblyman Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, the benefactor of the banking industry.

Calderon chairs the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, and in recent years he has blatantly used his position to fatten his campaign coffers. Last year, his campaign invited lobbyists to a "Banking and Finance" reception that cost $3,200 per couple. During his first year of office, in 2003, he raised $356,000 from bankers and other contributors; then spent much of it on junkets to Las Vegas and lavish meals.

The banking industry knows it has a good friend in Calderon, and he proved it again this week. Almost single-handedly, Calderon killed a bill by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, that would have required homeowners living in flood-prone areas to carry flood insurance.

Why did mortgage bankers dislike this bill? For one thing, it might have prompted homeowners to think twice about buying a home in a floodplain. That might have chilled some of the mortgage business, but allowed willing home buyers to recover from a future flood. The bankers also didn't like the original version of Jones' bill, which would have required mortgage lenders to enforce the insurance mandate as a requirement for obtaining a loan.

The bankers lobbied against this requirement, and earlier this month Calderon forced Jones to gut it from the bill. Jones did so on the understanding that the Banking and Finance Committee chairman would work with him on a different way to enforce the insurance mandate.

As expected, Calderon failed to come through. As a result, not a single lawmaker on the Assembly's Banking and Finance Committee - including Roger Niello of Fair Oaks - would second a motion to vote on Jones' bill, AB 1898. Thus, the legislation died Monday without lawmakers having to record their votes.

How very convenient.

Democrats of all stripes should examine the impact of Calderon's maneuver. Because of it, Democrats will probably continue to get big campaign contributions from banking and insurance companies, who opposed Jones' bill. But Democrats will have lost the chance to advocate a flood-control package that is much more protective and farsighted than what the governor has advocated.

Schwarzenegger wants to strengthen levees - great - but so far hasn't succeeded in getting a bond issue on the ballot. Moreover, he utterly failed last week in convincing President Bush that the Central Valley faces a flood emergency, meaning the feds won't be of much help.

Jones, along with Assemblywoman Lois Wolk of Davis and a few other Democrats, are seeking a more comprehensive approach. They want to strengthen levees, but also believe that people who bought homes in the floodplain should bear some responsibility for that decision. This is only fair. If we keep asking state and federal governments to pay for stronger levees, shouldn't we be willing to insure our homes in case those levees ever fail?