Acting Governor Attacks Lungren Over Guidelines

SACRAMENTO — When it comes to turning things upside down while the governor is out of state, Democratic Senate Leader Bill Lockyer is no Mike Curb. But he’s still too much for Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.

In 1979, Curb, the GOP lieutenant governor, engaged in political mischief when, as acting governor in the absence of Democrat Jerry Brown, he appointed a justice to the state Court of Appeal and rolled back smog controls.

Curb’s actions provoked a political firestorm and earned him a dose of bad publicity from which he never fully recovered.

For the past four days, Lockyer, the president pro tem of the state Senate, has been acting governor of California in the absence of Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis.

Wilson has been in Asia since Jan. 11 promoting California trade. Davis has been in Washington to attend President Clinton’s inauguration.

In his role as acting governor, Lockyer has issued a flurry of proclamations, enabling him to “frame issues” he considers important and maybe get some publicity, his aides said.

Most of the declarations have been benign. One declared San Francisco and Alameda counties as storm disaster areas and another designated April 17 as Flood Emergency Workers Recognition Day.

But one declaration has angered Lungren, a leading GOP gubernatorial candidate next year.

Lockyer, a potential candidate for attorney general, issued a proclamation criticizing Lungren over enforcement of a new child molester law.

Lockyer accused Lungren of failing to adopt guidelines for local police regarding the enforcement of the new statute, known as “Megan’s Law.” He asked Lungren to “immediately develop and implement” the guidelines.

Under the statute enacted last summer, local law enforcement authorities are empowered to alert citizens about the whereabouts of convicted child molesters and other sex criminals released from custody into the community.

In the declaration addressed to Lungren, Lockyer asserted that four months after enactment of the law, California has no statewide implementation guidelines. He said it is “urgently needed” to protect public safety.

But Lungren said Tuesday that the “acting governor” is wrong. A spokesman said the attorney general issued the guidelines Sept. 12 to all law enforcement agencies statewide. He said the training of officers is underway.

“It’s a shame the acting governor conveniently forgot the history of this issue and is four months late,” Lungren said.

Lockyer’s spokesman, Sandy Harrison, characterized Lungren’s Sept. 12 document as an advisory “description” of the law and an outline of proposed implementation steps planned “down the road.”

“There is no way a reasonable person could interpret this as an implementation of the law,” Harrison said.

It is unlikely that the tiff will go much further. Davis is due back in Sacramento today.