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Connie Ballmer, Steve's wife, contributed $1 million to Gov. Gavin Newsom's campaign to fight his recall in 2021. The couple also contributed $500,000 to former State Senate leader Toni Atkins' campaign committee for Proposition 1 in 2022, which enshrined the right to an abortion in California's constitution. KCRA 3 reached out to the Clippers organization for comment but did not hear back as of Wednesday night. The proposal is now heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. "Our office does not typically comment on pending legislation," said Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for the governor. "The Governor will evaluate the Legislature's proposal on its merits if it reaches his desk."
Smith acknowledged that the Legislature’s influence changed his plans. “You guys literally stopped us in the middle of the process and said ‘these both have to be downtown, so go figure out what you have to do.’ … The Jazz probably go where hockey goes, if we’re going to be honest,” he said.
The NBA is teaming up with the voting rights organization started by LeBron James to target voter suppression during the league’s All-Star Game weekend in Atlanta amid a brutal political fight in the state Legislature over sweeping measures that would restrict ballot access. More Than A Vote, the group launched by James, said Tuesday that it was partnering with the NBA, the NBA Players Association and the state chapter of the NAACP to draw attention to attempts in Georgia and other battleground states to roll back voting rights.
Legislation that would streamline the state environmental review process for the proposed Los Angeles Clippers arena in Inglewood is on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk after winning unanimous approval from the state Senate and passing on a 6-3 vote in the Assembly. Both votes occurred Friday as the state Legislature sprinted to complete its work as the 2017-2018 session came to a close.
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Clippers management, which is eager to build a new arena for its team and move from its current hub at Staples Center, hailed the Legislative approvals even though it remains unclear whether the governor will sign the bill into law. "We are now one step closer to bringing the world's best basketball arena to a community that deserves the best," Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said in a statement late Friday. "... with the passage of this bill, we are proudly setting a new standard for environmental responsibility. AB 987 puts into writing the promise we've made to Inglewood from the start: to be exceptional neighbors who care passionately about the Inglewood community and its citizens."
The author of the draft bill is Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who represents Inglewood in the Legislature. Bradford wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Current and former Bucks owners have committed $250 million. Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed borrowing $220 million, with the city and county putting in the remaining $30 million. But Republicans in control of the Legislature have said they want the state portion to be only around $150 million. There is no concrete funding proposal from the county, while the city has come up with about an $18 million package and argued it's already spent millions getting the proposed site ready for construction. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has proposed taking as much as $220 million from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands and perhaps loaning some to Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. Fitzgerald said after the meeting that tapping resources of the board remained the primary option.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says any deal from the state to help pay for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena will also likely have to include contributions from the city and county. Walker spoke about the issue on Wednesday after he announced a plan to have the state use $200 million in bonds to help pay for the arena. His proposal met with some resistance from state lawmakers who say the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County should also have to chip in. Walker says he doesn't object to that and it's likely to be a part of whatever passes the Legislature.
Tennessee lawmakers are set to vote this week on a compromise that would end the state's so-called "jock tax," a special tax on some professional athletes who play in Tennessee. The tax, which applies to NHL and NBA players, charges athletes, from both home and away teams, $2,500 when they play in the state. The tax is applied a maximum of three times a year, so an athlete can be charged as much as $7,500 annually. An effort to reform the tax last year stalled in the Legislature. Now, WPLN Nashville Public Radio reports that a compromise has been reached that would end the tax on NHL players immediately. NBA players would play another two seasons before the tax is repealed.
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The fight to build a new arena for the Sacramento Kings is now in the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown, as the Legislature on Thursday night approved a bill to streamline development of a downtown arena for the pro basketball team. The California Senate voted 32-5 in favor of Senate Bill 743, written by Sacramento Democrat Darrell Steinberg. The bill seeks to speed the judicial process for handling environmental lawsuits, limit the courts' ability to stop construction and change the way traffic impacts are measured in environmental reviews. It represents fewer changes to the California Environmental Quality Act than Steinberg originally hoped to achieve but would be sufficient, he said, to develop an arena that would keep the Kings in Sacramento. "The NBA has said... if we don't meet this timeline, if we don't get this project started in 2014, we're at risk of losing it," Steinberg said. "The opponents are still out there."
At a time when nearly all of Minnesota's sports teams have either gotten new facilities or are lining up to ask for them, Minneapolis city officials and the Timberwolves say the 21-year-old Target Center also needs a major face-lift before it becomes obsolete. Mayor R.T. Rybak, Wolves owner Glen Taylor and other city and business leaders plan a news conference Tuesday afternoon to tout what they are calling a "sensible, sustainable Minnesota solution" for renovating the Target Center. "If we could have our wish list, we do what a lot of other communities have done, and that would be have a new facility," Taylor said. "But I served in the Legislature. I know the difficulties that the government is facing, so we have never asked for a new facility. What we want is to bring this up to date for our fans. ... We want our fans to have the same experience that they would have at Target Field, the Xcel Center or the new football field at the University of Minnesota [TCF Bank Stadium]."
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