CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Assembly Tests Live Telecasts

The Assembly beamed its session live across the state as part of a test to determine if the Legislature wants to follow the lead of Congress and televise its proceedings. The Assembly will be carried from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. through Aug. 31 on 27 cable channels with a potential for more than 2 million viewers. After the test is completed, the membership will decide whether to go ahead with a full-scale television program patterned after C-SPAN, which televises Congress. Some lawmakers have suggested that the Legislature’s performance would improve if the members knew that their actions--or inactions--would be transmitted to the voters back home. “You’ll find a more responsive Legislature, a better Legislature,” said Assemblyman Stan Statham (R-Oak Run), a former television news anchor man. “This can only help.”