Darrell Steinberg yanks chairmanship from GOP senator after budget talk

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Displaying the kind of bare-knuckle politicking he isn’t known for, state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) yanked the chairmanship of the Agriculture Committee from a Republican lawmaker who told reporters this week that the state budget is Democrats’ problem.

Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) told reporters after GOP senators met with Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday that ‘no one person in there is ready to support extra taxes.’

Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature, and voters last fall approved a ballot measure allowing for the passage of the state budget with only a majority vote in each house.

Now, Berryhill said, the budget is ‘really not our problem. The Democrats own this.’

Legislators still need a two-thirds vote to approve new taxes.

Steinberg, who as Senate leader controls committee assignments, said in a letter to members of the Rules Committee that he would strip Berryhill of the agriculture panel’s chairmanship and replace him with Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres).

‘Each member of the California State Senate represents nearly one million people and we have a duty, regardless of party or philosophy, to actively engage in the serious work necessary to address the challenges confronting California,’ Steinberg wrote. ‘I have spoken to Senator Berryhill about this matter. Mr. Berryhill is a man of integrity and substance, and I am confident he will so engage in the months ahead.’

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento