Squeezed between the Doritos and Budweiser ads during the Super Bowl was a spot paid for by a surprising source: California tax dollars.

Buying up airtime during the single most expensive television event of the year is probably not the first place one would expect deficit-plagued California to spend its money. The ad, exhorting people to quit smoking at a likely six-figure cost to taxpayers, comes as Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed gutting many healthcare services.

The commercial was a part of a $14.5-million television campaign this year, funded by a portion of a 25-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes that voters approved in 1988.

The ad’s existence amid a $25.4-billion deficit is a symptom of California’s byzantine system of lockbox budgeting, which has constrained and confounded state officials for years. Because voters earmarked the cigarette tax dollars 23 years ago for a particular purpose, the money cannot be spent differently without a public referendum.

Lew Uhler, president of the National Taxation Limitation Committee, called the ad an example of the “worst kind of abuse” of budgeting by initiative, particularly as taxes could be raised and programs cut this year.

“It shows the excesses to which this kind of uncontrolled spending can be taken,” Uhler said. “We should be subjecting all public expenditures to the give-and-take of the legislative process.”

For her part, Colleen Stevens, chief of the Tobacco Control Media Campaign at the California Department of Public Health, said she was thrilled by the Super Bowl exposure. The year’s football game drew a record 111 million viewers nationally, according the Nielsen’s estimates. The state's ad aired at least in Los Angeles and Sacramento.

“It’s one of the most viewed shows all year. People are watching it, paying attention and they’re doing something that almost never happens: They’re paying attention to the commercials,” Stevens said.

The exact price paid to air the Super Bowl ad wasn’t knowable, she said, because it was just one piece of a broader, 18-week media buy. Nationally, airing a 30-second Super Bowl ad cost a reported $3 million.

Lori Misicka, sales manager for KTXL, the Fox affiliate in Sacramento, which, like The Times is owned by Tribune Co., said the average price of a 30-second Super Bowl slot was $52,000 at her station. She would not say precisely how much the anti-tobacco commercial cost due to confidentiality rules.

A sales representative from KTTV, the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles, did not return a call asking how much the ad cost there, but typically a Los Angeles ad buy costs several times more than the far smaller Sacramento market.

Stevens said two decades of anti-tobacco commercials have played a major role in reducing California smoking rates to among the lowest in the nation, and the results have saved -- as is claimed in the ad -- $86 billion in healthcare costs. And she said the Super Bowl ad would pay off in the long term for California.

[Updated 3:55pm: The embedded commercial has been removed from this post but can be be viewed on tobaccofreeca.com.]

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento

With local governments struggling financially, a state lawmaker has proposed giving counties the power to raise vehicle license fees with the approval of a majority of voters.

Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation Friday that would allow county boards of supervisors to place measures on the ballot to restore the total vehicle license fee in their county to 2% of the vehicle’s value, the rate used from 1948 to 1998 -- before state officials approved reductions.

"As county services continue to face drastic cuts ... it is critical that we provide local governments the tools they need to generate voter-approved revenues," Leno said in a written statement. "With these funds, counties can help preserve and restore essential programs."

Leno, who is chairman of the state Senate Budget Committee, said boards of supervisors would be required to muster a two-thirds vote to put a fee measure on the ballot.

The proposal to raise the fee was denounced by Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. as "another tax grab." He predicted it would be unpopular with voters.

"Since we already have some of the highest car and gas taxes in the nation, we don’t like it," Coupal said.

The statewide vehicle license fee is currently 1.15% of a vehicles value because of a temporary increase in 2009 as part of a budget agreement. The increase is set to expire at the end of July, dropping the tax back down to 0.65%. Gov. Jerry Brown has said he plans to ask voters this summer to approve a five-year extension of the 1.15% level.

Leno said boosting the fee by .85% in San Francisco would allow the county to reap up to $44 million annually.

His legislation was endorsed at a San Francisco news conference by Mayor Edwin M. Lee and San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.

"Even a small increase in revenue will go a long way in restoring some of the budget cuts the city has been forced to make," Chiu said.

-- Patrick McGreevy

Gov. Jerry Brown was back on the campaign trail Friday in hopes of easing the path for his budget proposal in the Legislature.

Brown appeared at Democrat Ted Lieu’s Torrance campaign office to urge South Bay voters to send the former assemblyman to the state Senate in Tuesday’s special election.

Lieu’s eventual election is all but assured in this safe Democratic district. But for Brown, timing is everything. If Lieu receives more than 50% of the vote Tuesday, he can be sworn into the Senate next week -- in plenty of time to vote on Brown’s proposal to ask voters to agree to billions of dollars in taxes to help balance the budget.

If Lieu does not hit the 50% threshold, he will head for an April runoff.

Lieu said he supports the governor’s plan to place an extension of income, car and sales taxes before voters in a special statewide election in June. But putting that plan on the ballot requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. With Lieu’s support and the backing of all other Senate Democrats, Brown would need just two Republican votes in the Senate.

Brown said he made the trip to Torrance at the request of Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who was also on hand Friday. The governor said he was still hoping for more than just the bare minimum Republican support for a ballot measure.

“I want Republican votes,” he said. “I need Republican votes -- not just to get it through the Legislature but to make it credible so it will pass.”

The campaign stop capped a two-day swing through the Los Angeles area for Brown, who was making his first public trip outside the capital since being sworn in as governor last month.

-- Anthony York in Torrance

Gov. Jerry Brown’s first television appearance since becoming governor was preempted Friday by the news that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had resigned.

Los Angeles Fox station KTTV cut away from a live interview with Brown on Good Day LA to announce the Egyptian leader’s resignation.

Brown did not get much of a chance to talk about his push for a special election in June. But before the cut away, he did manage to describe for viewers his sense of the differences between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

“They look different; they dress different,” Brown said. “The Democrats tend to be from the coast and the Republicans tend to be more inland -- more desert people, more mountain people. Whereas the Democrats are more ocean people, more urban people.

“Good things come out of the desert,” Brown added. “Jesus came out of the desert.”

-- Anthony York

A Sacramento tribal lobbyist and former legislative aide who failed to file quarterly disclosure statements for three years should have known better, state Fair Political Practices commissioners said Thursday.

Frank J. Molina, who represents Indian tribes with casinos in Southern California, could face $50,000 in fines after commissioners balked at settling the case with a $30,000 penalty.

Some members doubted Molina's assertion that the lapse was an oversight. They said they considered him more sophisticated than that: After all, Molina had worked eight years in the state Legislature before starting his lobbying business, including time as senior advisor to Senate and Assembly leaders and a stint as chief of staff for former Assemblyman Simon Salinas.

Such an experienced hand, "at least should suspect lobbyists have disclosure requirements," Commissioner Elizabeth Garrett said.

Molina has argued that he entered private practice with no lobbying business experience and claimed ignorance about the required disclosures. Commission staff faulted him for negligence and recommended that the case be settled with half the maximum possible fine. But the commission didn't accept his assertions and told the staff to seek the higher amount.

Molina's firm, Strategic Solutions Advisors, is accused of failing to disclose $840,000 in payments for lobbying on behalf of several clients. His clients included the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which operates a casino in San Bernardino County; the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, which runs a casino in San Jacinto; and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, which has a casino in Santa Ynez.

Molina could not be reached for comment on whether he will agree to the higher fine or fight it in an administrative appeal.

The commission also pushed for an increase in fines against another former legislative chief of staff, saying he also should have known state disclosure rules. Commission staff recommended a fine of $2,000 against Sean MacNeil, who was chief of staff for former state Sen. Pat Wiggins, for failing to disclose receiving $2,000 in income from Wiggins’ campaign committee. But some commissioners said the fine should be double that, and directed the staff to seek the higher penalty. MacNeil also has a chance to appeal the ruling.

-- Patrick McGreevy

Anyone who needed a reminder about how much has changed in terms of gubernatorial style with the election of Jerry Brown just needed to look at Southwest Airlines Flight 896 from Sacramento to Burbank on Thursday morning.

There, in the fourth row, was Brown, sitting amid the regular procession of business travelers.

Not only does Brown fly commercial, but he flies coach, and without an entourage. No staffers or security made the trip south with the governor, who is scheduled to address the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce on Thursday night.

"We have to divide labor," Brown quipped when asked by reporters why no staff was travelling with him.

Brown took his seat with a white briefing binder on his lap -– a binder that remained closed for most of the flight. Brown spent the bulk of hourlong trip talking to Tianne Rios, an employee of the state Department of Corrections who teaches special education classes to incarcerated youth.

“Nice to meet you. I work for you,” Rios said, introducing herself to her seatmate. When he did begin thumbing through his binder, he discussed its contents with Rios.

Brown shook hands with a couple of well-wishers, some of whom snapped shots of the governor with their cellphone cameras.

In an era of political celebrity, Brown's throwback style is a welcome change for some. Mark Pinkus, a senior vice president for Rhino Records, was also on the flight, and called Brown's presence “refreshing. I think it's great that he's so accessible," Pinkus said.

That populist flair could also be an important weapon for Brown as he tries to persuade voters to support billions of dollars in extended taxes. As he begins taking his message to voters around the state, he may be doing it one Southwest flight at a time.

-- Anthony York

Retiring Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) said Thursday she will resign her House seat on Tuesday to allow for a special election in early June to replace her.

Harman, who has been criticized for accepting a job with a Washington think tank so soon after winning reelection in November, said she wants to make the election "as inexpensive and as convenient for voters as possible" by allowing it to be held at the same time as a possible statewide election on taxes.

She said she has had two conversations with Gov. Jerry Brown about the timing of her resignation.  Once her seat is vacant, the governor can call a special election within a specific time frame. He is hoping to ask voters in June to extend several expiring tax increases in order to help the state out of its budget deficit. Republicans in the Legislature, whose approval is needed to put the measure on the ballot, have so far balked.

Harman told constituents Monday of her plans to accept a job as head of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; she starts her new job Feb. 28.

The 17-year House veteran, in a meeting with reporters in her El Segundo district office Thursday, said the decision to leave the House was "excruciating" and that she regretted the cost to taxpayers. But she said she had no idea when running for reelection that the position would be open and said it presented an irresistible opportunity for a "new chapter" in her career.

She said she would not endorse a candidate to replace her because her new job brings her "into a nonpartisan" world, but that she would maintain a home and vote in the South Bay-based 36th Congressional District.

-- Jean Merl

Gov. Jerry Brown said his administration will abandon the proposed sale of 11 government buildings, including the Junipero Serra State Building and Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles, that would have netted an estimated $1.2 billion to help balance the state budget.

Brown said the building sale, negotiated by the administration of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, amounted to a budget gimmick. State offices would have remained in the buildings after the sale and paid rent under the previous administration's plan. The plan would have provided some short-term cash, Brown said, but ultimately cost taxpayers more money over time.

"The sale of the buildings didn't really make much sense," he said at a Wednesday morning Capitol press conference. "It is in effect a gigantic loan with interest payments equal to 10% every year."

Brown is proposing to do other internal borrowing from state funds at a lower rate to cover the funds that would be lost this year by canceling the sale. "We found an alternative that can save a lot of money," he said.

The sale of the buildings had been tied up in court in recent weeks, after two former building commissioners argued it was an illegal waste of taxpayer money.

Brown said he also was reconsidering whether the state should sell other property, such as fairgrounds it owns in Orange County and San Diego County.

"This is not the best time to be selling real estate," he said. "I think we have time to consider what we ought to do with that. "

-- Shane Goldmacher and Evan Halper in Sacramento

Photo: The Junipero Serra State Building in downtown Los Angeles was one of the structures the state had proposed selling. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon has spent much of the last year fending off a grand jury indictment that accuses him of perjury and voter fraud. But that hasn’t slowed down his campaign plans.

Alarcon has begun sending out invitations for a campaign fundraiser in Sacramento -- this time for his 2012 bid for a state Assembly seat. Invites for the March 14 event, sent out by Alarcon campaign fundraiser Dwight Buchanan, calls for donors at $1,000 and sponsors at $3,900.

Our colleagues at L.A. Now have more details: Alarcon sets fundraiser for state Assembly bid

RELATED:

Alarcons plead not guilty to perjury, voter fraud, false declaration of candidacy

Alarcon indicted on perjury and voter fraud charges

Alarcon tells city officials he expects to be indicted

Photo: Councilman Richard Alarcon Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown met with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in Sacramento Tuesday to ask for federal help to solve the state’s budget problem.

Brown’s budget hinges on $3.7 billion in cuts that must first be OKd by the federal government. The governor’s plan to shift certain state services to the counties also needs the Obama administration’s approval, Brown said.

“I met with the secretary this morning and asked her for waivers so that we can implement some of our realignment programs without the federal government getting in the way or blocking them,” Brown said Tuesday. He characterized Sebelius as “receptive but it isn’t worked out yet. We have still some things to work on.”

Among the cuts proposed by Brown that would need federal approval are $1.7 billion to Medi-Cal, $300 million in in-home healthcare and other cuts to mental health programs.

Brown said the federal government is “going to be reluctant” to approve some of those waivers but “we hope they go along with it.”

Brown made his comments Tuesday after meeting with Senate Democrats in the Capitol. He will meet with Assembly Democrats over dinner in Sacramento on Tuesday evening. Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with both Republican caucuses and Thursday he'll address the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Brown said he was cautiously optimistic about getting bipartisan support for his budget plan in the next several weeks, a plan that he called a “wrenching adjustment” in the level of services the state can provide.

“I want the Republicans to be part of it,” he said. “I want them to own the budget, just like the Democrats. I don’t want anybody hiding out.”

“I think we have a reasonable chance of getting there,” he said, adding that the current unanimous public Republican opposition is just “part of the process.”

“I think there is enough Republicans to vote for this budget,” he said.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento

State auditors would be given new power to dig into city financial books to ferret out the kinds of fraud and financial abuse alleged in the city of Bell, under a package of bills introduced Tuesday by state lawmakers.

State Controller John Chiang said he is sponsoring the five pieces of legislation to address shortcomings in the state’s ability to identify financial irregularities in cities such as Bell, where eight current and former city officials have been arrested and charged with misusing funds.

“The City of Bell has been a vivid illustration of the devastation that can occur when there is little accountability over how local dollars are spent in our communities," Chiang said. It is time for the state to have a role in making sure sound fiscal management is being practiced at the local level so that all public dollars are protected.”

Chiang said his office has received about 50 tips about questionable activities in other local agencies, leading the controller to believe the Bell scandal is "the tip of the iceberg."

The state is limited to launching audits of cities, counties or special districts when annual reports filed by those agencies provide evidence that state or federal funds have been misused, or when the agencies themselves invite state auditors in, Chiang said.

SB 186 would expand the controller’s power to perform discretionary audits that look at how local tax, fee and bond money is spent, according to Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), who introduced the bill.

"The public’s faith in our government is shaken, and with good reason," Kehoe said at a Capitol press conference with Chiang and other legislators. "In order to restore the public trust and protect our hard earned tax dollars, the controller must have greater authority to audit spending."

Other legislation announced Tuesday would:

-- Allow the state auditor to establish a "high-risk local government agency audit program" to identify, audit, and issue reports on any local government agency that the auditor deems to have a "high risk for the potential of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement." The cities would be designated "high risk" in consultation with the state controller and attorney general.

-- Require cities to file their annual financial audits with the state controller within nine months of the audited period, and increase fines when cities file late. Currently, reports can be filed a year or more after the audit period.

-- Create a Committee on City Accounting Procedures by the Controller, which would come up with guidelines to make sure the annual city audits use uniform standards. In Bell, the audits were found to be inadequate.

-- Allow the controller to convene a Local Agency Financial Crisis Intervention Committee to provide assistance to local agencies that seek help in averting or managing a financial crisis.  

-- Patrick McGreevy

California court administrators failed to properly plan for and realistically budget a massive computer modernization project that has fallen years behind schedule and on which the cost could balloon from the original estimate of $260 million to $1.9 billion, state auditors said Tuesday.

As a result, State Auditor Elaine Howle recommended that the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) delay moving forward with installing the system until an independent reevaluation is conducted of potential problems with the California Court Case Management System.

The office "has not analyzed whether the project would be a cost-beneficial solution to the superior courts’ technology needs and it is unclear on what information the AOC made critical decisions during the project’s planning and development," Howle wrote to Gov. Jerry Brown in suggesting the delay in deploying the system at three court systems. 

Envisioned as a way to modernize and tie together computer systems operated in the state’s 58 counties, the new system has been in trouble from the beginning, and some presiding judges have called on the administrative office and the Judicial Council of California to rethink the project. 

Originally estimated to be completed in 2009, the project now may not be finished until 2015-16, but there is not enough money yet to install it in all counties, which diminishes its value, Howle said.

Howle found the administrative office did not adequately heed warnings by a consulting firm it hired that raised "significant concerns" about the case management system, and bungled the handling of contracts to develop the system. In particular, the main contract to develop the system lacked cost controls, which resulted in the state changing the contract 102 times to increase the contract from $33 million to $310 million, Howle said.

"To make certain that no significant quality issues or problems exist," the audit said, the court administrators "should retain an independent consultant to review the system before deploying it" as planned to three court systems.

The Judicial Council agrees with many of the recommendations but has already made changes and will go ahead with deploying the system in three court systems during the next two years. The council also believes the final project will be brought in at a cost of $1.3 billion, below Howle's estimate. 

"The Judicial Council is largely in agreement with the (auditor's) recommendations and in many instances has already adopted practices and policies consistent with the recommendations made," said William C. Vickrey, administrative director of the courts.

-- Patrick McGreevy