San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, September 12, 2002

The state's early-March presidential primary timing makes sense in helping us to influence nominations for the nation's highest office before the rest of the country has settled on the standard-bearers. But it creates problems when used for state and local offices.

Late winter is too early for voters to focus on these other contests, eight months before the general election. The result this year was a record-low voter turnout of 35 percent to decide the match-up for governor. Candidates for Congress and the Legislature are forced to commit themselves the previous year for a March primary. Additional competitors cannot jump in as late as they otherwise might. The nominees face interminable campaigns for November votes.

The solution offered in SB1975 by Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, keeps the presidential primary in March of every fourth year, while pushing the statewide primary in those and other even-numbered years back to June (though wisely not back to August, when too many voters are away on vacation).

Such separation of presidential primary voting from other primaries is already the law in 27 other states. The $30 million cost in this state will be worth the improved service to democracy. Davis should sign the measure.

Among other bills he should sign:

-- "Laura's Law" (AB1421) provides for court-ordered outpatient treatment of unwilling mental patients in carefully spelled-out circumstances that include potential violence to the patient or others. The change is needed to protect both the mentally ill and those they might harm.

-- Extension of Medi-Cal to persons in early stages of HIV infection, before the full onset of AIDS symptoms (AB2197). Such treatment serves to hold off effects of the disease at a savings to the public health system, and keeps patients working longer and off the disabled list.

-- State-sponsored handling of "e-waste" (SB1523), by means of a $10 cathode ray tube recycling fee levied on sales of the toxic-laden devices, to finance their safe disposal and educate the public about the problem.

-- A package of seven measures to protect consumer and worker rights against erosion by mandatory arbitration terms applied to disputes over sales and employment arrangements. Such reforms -- including a bill by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, to preserve the right of employees to press discrimination claims before the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing -- address an array of abuses under one-sided, forced arbitration. For example, one of the measures would require disclosure of financial ties -- such as consulting deals with a company -- that could pose conflicts of interest. Arbitration, favored by many businesses and employers as an alternative to more costly litigation, needs to be fair as well as cheap. The governor should ratify these important safeguards.

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